Cooperation between Ukraine and the World Intellectual Property Organization, consequences of the full-scale russian aggression on the creative and innovation sectors, as well as digitalization and administration of the IP sphere were discussed during the meeting of the IP Office management with WIPO Director General Daren Tang. The meeting took place during the WIPO General Assembly in Geneva.

“Cooperation of such a level is extremely important for Ukrainian IP sphere,” emphasized Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office:

“Our global priorities are maximum help for the national economy, victory over the aggressor, saving the lives and potential of our people. We restart our work on the Academy projects in Ukraine after they were stopped by russian military aggression.

We would also like to prioritise other WIPO projects, such as the preparation of guides for conducting IP audits in the public sector, training for patent attorneys, etc.

We are looking to adapt the National IP Strategy with a focus on Ukraine’s recovery to overcome the negative effects of the russian war, as well as in the framework of our integration into the EU. And in this regard, we already have a good experience of cooperation with WIPO in working on strategic documents.”

The main attention was devoted to the discussion of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and WIPO. The document intends to deepen cooperation in the field of intellectual property based on the results of the assessment of the immediate, medium and long-term impact of the military aggression of the russian federation on the innovation and creative sectors and the ecosystem of Ukraine. The assessment prepared by the WIPO International Bureau.

“The Memorandum will allow us to deepen and expand cooperation with WIPO,” said Bogdan Paduchak, The First Deputy Director of the IP Office:

“We are pleased to work with the WIPO experts on a large number of national legislative and policy changes to mitigate the negative impacts of the war and to adapt to the new emerging technologies, especially with leading experts. We are pleased to share new developments on establishing the IP Mediation and Arbitration Center at Ukrainian IP Office. This year, we conducted several public and internal discussions during this year; developed the necessary regulation; we are in the process of creating a public pool of IP mediators and preparing for the official announcement for which WIPO will be gladly invited to. This sphere will definitely benefit from our MoU with WIPO on ADR development”

Further cooperation with WIPO will focus on the following aspects:

• facilitate attracting international technical assistance and financial resources to meet the needs of Ukraine’s IP and innovation sector, including technical means and other support to restore the innovation infrastructure damaged by the war;
• implementation of a joint project of the Ministry of Economy and WIPO on IP Audit and IP Management for public institutions;
• development of the National Intellectual Property Training Centre (IP Academy);
• support and development of the national network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) in Ukraine, in particular by continuing to provide free access to the services of the ASPI and ARDI programs;
• implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Alternative Dispute Resolution and development of the IP Mediation and Arbitration Centre;
• further exchange of experience on digitalization and improvement of IP administration with WIPO and the world’s leading IP offices.

During the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation also underlined the need to prevent russia’s actions of legitimizing its aggressive war against Ukraine. Yevheniya Filipenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, stressed this point:

“We would like to emphasize our position on preventing russia’s actions to justify its aggression through the international organization’s platforms, namely through WIPO official website, russian TISC network and global IP services like Madrid and PCT systems. We kindly request you to consider introducing additional measures to monitor and prevent such actions in accordance to UN Resolutions and international law.”

Reference:

The meeting with WIPO Director General Daren Tang, Deputy Director General, Head of the Regional and National Development Sector Hassan Kleib, Director of the WIPO Department of Transition and Developing Countries (TDC) Habip Asan and TDC Program Manager Richard Frelek took place on 8 July 2023.

The Ukrainian delegation was represented by:

• Yevheniia Filipenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva;
• Ramiz Ramazanov, Counsellor of the Economic Section of the Permanent Mission;
• Olena Orliuk, Director of the Ukrainian IP Office;
• Bogdan Paduchak, The First Deputy Director of the IP Office;
• Vladyslav Bilotskyi, Deputy Director of the IP Office.