How can EU support cultural and creative sectors of Ukraine’s economy? How will this influence on the development of European economies? What are the current issues of intellectual property rights protection, and what are the prospects for the development of copyright legislation in the light of the European integration process?

These and other issues were in the focus of the two-day seminar “Ukrainian Creative Economy as a Sphere of Cross-Sectoral Cooperation and Mutual Support”, organized on March 7-8, 2024 in Brussels (Belgium) by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture (DG EAC).

Representatives of the European Commission, UNESCO, EU member states patent offices and countries with the EU candidate member states status, creative sectors of the economy, and cultural stakeholders participated in the seminar. The Ukrainian IP Office in Brussels was represented by Liubov Maidanyk, Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Development Department. It was the first time that the Ukrainian IP Office joined such a discussion between DG EAC and Ukrainian cultural institutions in the context of supporting the sustainability of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors of the economy through intellectual property rights instruments.

The representative of the IP Office joined the discussion of urgent issues of ensuring protection and development of intellectual property rights at the international level, taking into account the peculiarities of the national legislation.

“The main message from the EU in the field of copyright is that the EU candidate countries should harmonize their domestic copyright legislation with the EU acquis, but at the same time, the economic interests of the country and its national peculiarities should be taken into account,” noted Liubov Maidanyk.

As Ms Liubov mentioned, harmonization of copyright legislation with the EU acquis is one of the challenges for Ukraine on its pass to becoming a full member of the EU. And meetings with such representation allow us to form a holistic global vision of where we should move forward.

“Another important task is popularization of IP among the creative sectors of the economy. Copyright registration and improvement of protection tools will help creators earn better income, as registration and quality protection contribute to commercialization. It is necessary to raise IP awareness so that creators know how to protect their copyright and not violate the rights of others,” – emphasized Liubov Maidanyk. She is convinced that state should promote the development of the creative sector, as the country’s economy development depends on it.

For information:

The seminar was held in pursuance of the European Union’s Culture Work Plan for 2023-2026, which provides support to Ukrainian stakeholders of the creative and cultural spheres, as well as within the framework of activities carried out by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture with the support of the Cultural Relations Platform, implemented by the Goethe-Institut in Brussels.

Photo: Cultural Relations Platform

Further readings:

European Integration IP Digest: tracking the Ukrainian IP sphere’s progress on the way to the EU

National and International Experts Discussed the National Intellectual Property Development Strategy