From April 7 to 11, 2025, the Ukrainian delegation participated in the 46th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), which took place at WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Ukrainian delegation was represented at the WIPO headquarters:

• Ramiz Ramazanov, Counsellor of the Economic Section of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office and other International Organisations in Geneva;

• Oleksii Ardanov, Deputy Head of Department – Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Unit, Department of Copyright and Related Rights Development, UANIPIO;

• Anastasia Tolkachova, Leading Intellectual Property Professional, Copyright and Related Rights Unit, Department of Copyright and Related Rights Development, UANIPIO.

Main topics of the session

The agenda included a number of pressing issues, including:

• Protection of broadcasting organizations

• Limitations and Exceptions for

• • libraries and archives

• • educational and research institutions

• • persons with disabilities

• Digital environment and copyright

• • Proposals for analyzing challenges and changes related to digital technologies

• Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

• • Information Session on Copyright and Generative Artificial Intelligence

• Scoping Study on Public Lending Right

• Plan for further work of the Standing Committee

• Discussion of strategic directions and next steps.

Ukraine’s statement: Russian aggression, destruction of culture, call to action

At the opening of the session, the Ukrainian delegation reminded the participants of the brutal, illegal and unprovoked Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Oleksii Ardanov noted In his statement:

“Despite international calls for peace, including Ukraine’s positive response to the US ceasefire proposals, Russia continues its brutal campaign against Ukrainian civilians, targeting residential areas and critical infrastructure. On 4 April 2025, Russian forces killed 20 civilians, including 9 children, in a single attack in the town of Kryvyi Rih. Another 74 civilians were injured, ranging from a three-month-old infant to elderly citizens,  – noted he.

Oleksii Ardanov

Oleksii Ardanov emphasized that Russian aggression has resulted in unprecedented destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, unseen in Europe since World War II. Over 2,100 cultural infrastructure objects have been damaged or destroyed. The historic centers of Odesa, Lviv, Kyiv, and Kharkiv – UNESCO-listed and other heritage sites – have suffered deliberate attacks, amounting to what falls under the definition of genocidal policy.

“The war took the lives of 149 Ukrainian artists and 97 media professionals. Just as the Stalinist regime destroyed generations of Ukrainian artists in the 1920s and 1930s, Russia is now deliberately destroying Ukrainian culture. As Russia continues its cultural genocide aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity, it must bear full legal responsibility for all internationally wrongful acts, including compensation for damage to Ukraine’s intellectual property, innovation, and creative sectors”,- Oleksii Ardanov urged.

International support of Ukraine

The members of the Central European and Baltic States (CEBS) Group delivered a joint supportive statement to Ukraine, announced by the representatives of Estonia. The participants strongly condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, emphasized the devastating impact of the aggression on the Ukrainian cultural, creative and innovative spheres, and called on WIPO to strengthen its assistance to Ukrainian institutions in their recovery.

CEBS members also noted a decrease in copyright applications registration  (compared to the period before the full-scale invasion), losses in the publishing and concert sectors, and a reduction in the number of employees in the film industry.

Delegations reaffirmed their support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and called on WIPO to continue to implement the General Assembly’s decision to support Ukraine’s innovation and creative ecosystem.

Statements of support for Ukraine were made by:

• Poland: on behalf of the following like-minded countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom;

• Canada in national capacity.