On the sidelines of the 66th series of meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a meeting took place between the Delegation of Ukraine and the leadership of the European Patent Office (EPO).

 

The key outcome of the meeting was the signing of a renewed Memorandum of Understanding on Reinforced Technical and Strategic Partnership between the EPO and the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO/IP Office).

 

Meeting Participants

 

On behalf of the EPO, the following took part in the meeting:

 

• António Campinos, EPO President;
• Mariana Karepova, Principal Director, European & International Affairs, Principal Advisor to the President;
• Tilman Quarch, Senior Advisor, President’s Office;
• Nelson Das Neves, Desk Lead, Americas, Africa and ASEAN;
• Nikolaos Chardalias, Desk Lead, IP5, International Organisations and Global Users;
• Sandro Mendonça Ferreira, Advisor, President’s Office.

 

The Ukrainian delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and UANIPIO:

 

• Olena Orliuk, Director of UANIPIO;
• Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of UANIPIO;
• Vladyslav Bilotskyi, Deputy Director of UANIPIO;
• Alina Podolieva, Adviser to the Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

 

 

Memorandum: a framework for long-term partnership

 

The renewed Memorandum outlines the continuation and deepening of cooperation between the offices in strategically important areas, including:

 

• technical assistance in the field of patent examination;
• support for infrastructure and staff development;
• exchange of legal and analytical data;
• raising public awareness of IP;
• access to EPO expertise during the examination of Ukrainian applications;
• strengthening the capacity of the national IP system.

 

Focus areas: digitalization and European integration

 

In her speech, Olena Orliuk, Director of the UANIPIO, expressed gratitude to the EPO leadership for its unwavering support of the Ukrainian IP system both technical and strategic:

 

“The signing of the Memorandum is an important step for our Office. It reflects not only our joint technical priorities but also signals solidarity during challenging times. We highly value the EPO’s technical support, the training programs of the EPO Academy and the opportunity for knowledge exchange”.

 

Olena Orliuk emphasized that despite the russian federation war of aggression, the Ukrainian IP Office team continues to operate at full capacity developing new IP legislation and implementing strategic initiatives. One of them is the finalization of the National IP Strategy of Ukraine, jointly developed with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and prepared according to the WIPO methodology as well as the elaboration of a Roadmap for Ukraine’s accession to the European Patent Convention.

 

“We also appreciate the openness to consultations regarding the Roadmap for Ukraine’s accession to the European Patent Convention. This is a long-term objective that requires substantial technical preparation and we are pleased to have a reliable partner on this path”, noted Olena Orliuk.

 

Bogdan Paduchak informed about new legislative initiatives on patents that are currently being developed to ensure full alignment with EU standards and to facilitate Ukraine’s EU membership, in particular those aimed at aligning Ukraine with the European patent system.

 

Alina Podolieva spoke about Ukraine’s digital transformation initiatives, including the implementation of AI-based tools, expanding access to electronic services even under wartime conditions and further digitalization plans for the Ukrainian IP Office.

 

Next steps

 

The Ukrainian delegation invited the EPO to engage in joint experience sharing and consultations on patent procedures, quality management and digital tools. Discussions also touched upon the continued support of Ukrainian patent attorneys as a key link in the national IP protection system.

 

“We consider our cooperation with the EPO as a strategic and long-term partnership. This collaboration supports our technical development and we are confident that a strong national intellectual property office in Ukraine will also be a valuable asset to the European IP community”, concluded Olena Orliuk.

 

Фото: LinkedIn EPO

 

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