The Ukrainian government delegation calls on the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), currently held in Geneva, to respond to russia’s appropriation of the geographical indication “Melitopol Cherry”.
On July 12, 2024, the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of the russian federation (rospatent) announced the registration of the designation “Melitopol Cherry”. In particular, it is said that “Melitopol Cherry” became the first registered regional brand of the so-called new regions of the Russian Federation – a geographical indication from Melitopol district of Zaporizhzhia region.
rospatent also called on representatives of “native territories”, which he considers Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, to register their brands and other intellectual property objects in order to promote their goods and services in the markets, and stated that he would provide all the necessary assistance.
Ukraine has repeatedly expressed strong protests on the sidelines of the WIPO General Assembly against constant violations of international standards in the IP field by the russian federation authorities. Thus, russia continues to provide false information about the addresses of applicants from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine through international systems of registration of trademarks and industrial designs.
The head of the government delegation, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Vitaliy Kindrativ emphasised the inadmissibility of such actions by russia:
“It is very difficult to use in one sentence the words “russia” and “intellectual property”, because moscow has proved that it has never respected the rights, property, nor the achievements of others. The international community will never recognise this theft. Melitopol will be liberated and Melitopol Cherry remains Ukrainian.”
This is another crime of the terrorist country against the national heritage of Ukrainians, – said Olena Orliuk, Director of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (IP Office), who is also a member of the government delegation:
russia is killing our children, erases our cities and our self-identification into the ashes. The fact that rospatent actually stole the Ukrainian geographical indication is another proof of moscow’s miserableness. Without their inheritance, they occupy, steal and attribute other people’s achievements to themselves.
In Ukraine, “Melitopol Cherry” was registered as a geographical indication four years ago – in July 2020 (register of geographical indications at the link).
Geographical indication (GI) – an object of intellectual property that identifies a product originating from a certain geographical location and confirms its compliance with high quality standards. In order to register a GI, it is necessary to undergo a number of approval procedures in different bodies (depending on the type of product), because it is about the high quality and uniqueness of the product and its reputation.
The country of origin of “Melitopol Cherry” is Ukraine within internationally recognised borders.
Thus, by its actions, russia once again eliminates any international obligations and international agreements, in this case – in the IP field.
In particular, the Agreements on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) defines mechanisms for the protection of intellectual property rights, including geographical indications, in the Member States of the World Trade Organisation, which also includes russia.
The 1967 Convention on the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, a member of which Ukraine acted as a co-founder of the United Nations, aims to promote the protection of intellectual property around the world through mutual understanding and cooperation between states, based on respect for sovereignty and equality.
In 2019, Ukraine implemented the norms of European legislation in terms of legal protection of geographical indications to fulfill its obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU. And Melitopol Cherry, as well as other geographical indications of Ukraine, was officially transferred to the European side for legal protection in the EU.
Ukraine will use all legal instruments to protect its geographical indications.
It should be added that russia has been appropriating the intellectual property of Ukraine since 2014 – since the occupation of the peninsula of Crimea. In particular, the russian federation illegally registered such Crimean wines as “Balaklava”, “Magarach”, “New World”, “Meganom”, which are also geographical indications of Ukraine.
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