The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) welcomes the expansion of the Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISC) network in Ukraine and hopes that Ukrainian innovators will use all available mechanisms to operate and commercialise their creations successfully.

Currently, the TISC global network consists of 1,530 centres in 93 countries. Last year alone, these centres provided more than 2 million consultations to inventors and creators worldwide.

This was emphasised by Mr Andrew CZAJKOWSKI, Director of WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Division, during his opening remarks at the IP&I for Science and Business event in Kyiv:

“WIPO looks forward to continuing its strong support for TISCs in Ukraine as regards capacity development, providing resources, and reinforcing networking with other TISC networks around the world. I am most pleased to inform you of our continuing support in providing free-of-charge access for Ukrainian institutions to what are usually expensive subscription-based scientific and technical journal databases available through the Research for Life Partnership, in particular, WIPO's Access to Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI) program, as well as free-of-charge access to what are usually costly commercial patent databases through the Access to Specialised Patent Information (ASPI) program. We hope very much that you will be able to make use of them as much as possible.”

Andrew Czajkowski

Andrew Czajkowski also positively noted the activity of the TISC network in Ukraine, emphasising its role in the development of an innovative environment, which is necessary for quality economic development:

“Well-developed intellectual property and innovation ecosystems are essential for enabling inventors, researchers, entrepreneurs and others to fulfil their innovative potential and create value from their ideas and inventions. TISCs play an important role in such an ecosystem by providing access to and supporting the effective use of the vast storage of information and knowledge produced by the Global Patent System. TISCs continue to evolve and offer a growing and broader range of technology and innovation support services, including patent search and analytic services, technology transfer and new product development support”, — noted Mr Czajkowski.

International cooperation and new projects for young Ukrainian creators are something that is also being worked on in Poland. Lukasz Wawak, the project manager at the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge, emphasised this:

“Our large-scale cooperation can be a chance for both Ukraine and Poland. We are currently working on preparing new projects for Ukrainian startups and technology entrepreneurs, which will be larger and will include more partners from Ukraine and Poland.”

Lukasz Wawak

Photo: Yurii Bielakh

You can follow the broadcast of the IP&I for Science and Business event on the IP Office’s YouTube channel:

14 December 2023