• The Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO) and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have agreed on a set of activities to support Ukraine’s EU integration process.
• The signature will take place during the visit of an EU delegation headed by João Negrão, Executive Director of the EUIPO, to Kyiv.
• The Ukrainian IP office will get support from the EU in trade mark and design-related matters including enforcement of IP rights.

Today’s meeting in Kyiv is organised under the auspices of the EU Delegation to Ukraine and will gather representatives from the EUIPO, UANIPIO, the European IP offices from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and the State Agency on Intellectual Property from Moldova (AGEPI).

The purpose of the meeting is to consolidate the cooperation between the EUIPO, the EU national IP offices, AGEPI and the UANIPIO and exchange views on how to support the efforts of the UANIPIO and the Ukrainian IP community to pave the way for future accession to the EU and for joining the European Union IP Network (EUIPN), a network made up of the EUIPO and the national IP offices of the EU. This cooperation will take shape in the form of a Work Plan for the years 2024 and 2025, following a previous Memorandum of Understanding agreed in Geneva in July 2023. The goals of the meeting also include discussing the significant impact of the ongoing war of aggression on Ukraine's IP sphere, emphasizing the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address these challenges and mitigate their adverse effects. Additionally, the visit aims to explore the role of intellectual property and innovation in the post-war recovery of the country, as well as in enhancing Ukraine's investment climate.

The two-year plan will be signed by Olena Orliuk, Director of UANIPIO and João Negrão, Executive Director of the EUIPO.

‘‘Intellectual property and innovation play a crucial role in the context of Ukraine's EU candidate status. Through the harmonizing of rules and procedures in these spheres, we are not only enabling Ukraine to present itself as an innovative and creative nation to the global community but also substantially enhancing the country's investment attractiveness. And the innovative post-war recovery of Ukraine will largely depend on how effective we are in this regard. It is especially valuable that EUIPO Executive Director Mr João Negrão undertook his first foreign visit in his new position to Ukraine. This demonstrates the high level of support for Ukraine by our partners", - commented Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

‘Today's agenda includes not only current challenges, but also the formulation of a vision for a shared future in which intellectual property and innovation will play a pivotal role. Effective protection and enforcement of IP and innovations are integral to sustaining Ukraine's economic infrastructure and ensuring its competitiveness. The decisions and documents of today's meetings will make a substantial contribution to this endeavor. We deeply value the support of our steadfast partners on this challenging yet irreversible journey", - stated Olena Orliuk, Director of the UANIPIO.

‘The work plan agreed today in Kyiv not only stresses the EUIPO’s and the EU national offices’ commitment to support our Ukrainian partners in the run-up to EU accession, it also reinforces our role as an effective interlocutor for Ukraine in the dialogue with the EU partners, - added João Negrão, Executive Director of the EUIPO.

‘Strengthening the protection of intellectual property is not only essential in the context of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but also for the more immediate needs of reconstruction: without a robust intellectual property ecosystem, foreign investors just won't come in large enough numbers. It is essential to protect investment, foster innovation, and boost economic growth and job creation. What was agreed today shows our commitment to support Ukraine’s accession path to the EU and help it become a modern and thriving economy", - concluded Rémi Duflot, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

Towards the integration of Ukraine into the EU intellectual property system

The 2024-2025 Work Plan will enable the Ukrainian office UANIPIO to benefit from EU support in several areas related to the management of intellectual property rights: management tools for examination purposes, support in harmonising trade mark and design registration and examination practices with those of the EU, staff training opportunities and cooperation.

The plan also includes activities such as the mutual exchange of information on studies related to the impact of intellectual property on the economy, as well as enforcement and anti-scam activities. In addition, it paves the way to include Ukrainian trade mark and design data in the EUIPO’s databases, which are the largest in the world, comprising more than 115 million trade marks and more than 20 million designs from five continents.

The adoption of the tools and practices for IP rights of the EUIPO and the EU IP offices is expected to attract foreign investment opportunities and help Ukrainian businesses when operating abroad.

The Work Plan will be complementary to the EU-Ukraine IP Dialogue, which reviews progress on the intellectual property reform with a view to implementing the ambitious IPR provisions for future EU membership.

As part of the EU’s broader efforts to deepen the integration of the UANIPIO into the EU’s IP system, an international IP cooperation project involving Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia is also being discussed.

EU support to Ukraine in the field of IP

In 2022, the EUIPO took measures to provide support to Ukrainian trade mark and design owners and to safeguard their IP rights within the EU, while continuing the technical work and cooperation with the Ukrainian IP authorities.

The Work Plan is also built upon a ground-breaking agreement reached in February 2023 between the European Commission and Ukraine, allowing the latter to participate in activities financed by the European Union under the Single Market Programme.

In June 2023, the EUIPO’s and the European Commission’s SME Fund was extended to support Ukrainian businesses, which can now get funding to apply for IP rights like trade marks, designs or patents.

ABOUT THE EUIPO

The EUIPO is one of the largest decentralised agencies of the EU, based in Alicante, Spain. Ranked as the most innovative intellectual property office in the world in 2021, the EUIPO manages the registration of the European Union trade mark (EUTM) and the registered Community design (RCD), both of which provide intellectual property protection in all EU Member States. It also carries out cooperation activities with the national and regional intellectual property offices of the EU and hosts the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

ABOUT THE UANIPIO

In 2022, Ukraine completed the institutional reform of the IP sphere and the implementation of the relevant legislation. The result of the reform was the establishment of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO, IP office). The UANIPIO functions as client-oriented state services, grounded on the principles of transparency, professionalism, decency and support. It is an ecosystem of IP protection and innovation for a creative cluster, which in its turn will become an investment magnet. UANIPIO perform ISA/IPEA functions. Recently the UANIPIO launched a full-fledged Mediation Center. This is a new tool for the Ukrainian IP system, which functions in all developed economies of the world.

24 October 2023