On 15 February 2024, with the participation of Habip Asan, Director of the Division for Transition and Developed Countries (TDC) within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), there was held a constituent online meeting of the IP Office representatives and the national and international experts who will work on the development of Ukraine’s National Intellectual Property Strategy until 2030.

The Strategy is being developed at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine initiative within the framework of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and WIPO on Cooperation in the Sphere of Intellectual Property.

During the meeting, the IP Office was represented by:

• Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office;
• Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office;
• Liubov Maidanyk, Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Development Department;
• Andrii Zozuliuk, Head of the International Cooperation Department;
• Daria Chaika, Head of the Economic Issues of Innovative Development Department;
• Dmytro Doroshenko, Head of the Unit for the Economy’s Creative Development Unit; and
• Alla Ivashchenko, Head of the Innovation Indicators and Patent Information Analysis Unit.

WIPO involved international and national experts in the National IP Strategy drafting process:

• Richter Heiko, Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, PhD, Humboldt University of Berlin;
• Kateryna Militsyna, Doctoral Student, Max Planck Institute of Innovation and Competition;
• Oleksandr Doroshenko, Director of the Research Institute of Intellectual Property of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences;
• Andrii Omelchenko, Head of Department at Vadym Hetman Law Institute within the Kyiv National Economic University, Doctor of Legal Sciences; and
• Anna Shtefan, Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Department of the Scientific Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Legal Sciences.

IP sphere european integration, addressing war impacts, support and development of innovations, development of innovation infrastructure, development of creative industries and digital transformation of the IP system – these are the drafting priorities for the National IP Strategy until 2030, – Olena Orliuk outlined. Also among the priorities are strengthening rights protection (notably by supporting the creation of the High Intellectual Property Court and the development of the Mediation Center), improving IP culture through education and creating a strong and united IP community.

“I am sure that with the WIPO support and such skilled experts, Ukraine will be able to find a way to an innovative and creative future due to the implementation of this Strategy. In a time of war, these are ambitious plans, but we believe that with your support and the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people, they are quite realistic,” Olena Orliuk is convinced.

She emphasised that the IP Office is ready to provide maximum assistance to experts in collecting and analysing information and in the Strategy drafting process.

Bogdan Paduchak shared the current state and the vision for developing the National IP Strategy. According to him, for the preparation of the draft Strategy, there will be a diagnosis of IP legislation and the collection and processing of relevant data from national law enforcement agencies regarding violations in the IP sphere and courts regarding the protection of IP rights in Ukraine.

“I am convinced that with the active support and assistance of WIPO, the coordinated activities of international and national experts and the National IP Strategy project drafting will be successful,” said Bogdan Paduchak.

Ryszard Frelek, Program Officer at the TDC Division, spoke about the further steps on this issue on the part of WIPO. He noted that at its core, intellectual property is not only about legal procedures but also about infrastructure, administration and culture – many elements from different sectors of the economy that must be taken into account when building a comprehensive and long-term intellectual property strategy that will have a significant impact on innovators and creators of Ukraine.

The process of preparing the National IP Strategy will include three stages:

• diagnosis of national legislation;
• consultations with national stakeholders and drafting of the document;
• finalising the National Strategy and its presentation to the Government of Ukraine for approval.

Further readings:

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