The goals of the global IP community and economic stability cannot be achieved without taking into account global influences and challenges, an accelerator of deepening them was russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. This was emphasized by the Ukrainian delegation at the 35th session of the WIPO’s Program and Budget Committee (PBC) in Geneva.

It is within the mandate of this Committee to take into account the devastating consequences of the actions taken by one of the member states and to make appropriate decisions to counteract them as it considers proposals for the WIPO Work Program and Budget for the next biennium 2024-2025.

«453 days ago, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. Russia damaged and destroyed more than 92 thousand civilian infrastructure facilities, including residential buildings and houses, educational and medical institutions, cultural and religious buildings, and water and electricity networks. Russian occupiers also damaged 1,322 sites of cultural heritage and cultural infrastructure in Ukraine, 505 of them were completely destroyed. These numbers do not include those damages on the temporarily occupied areas, in which the real level of destruction is much higher», – emphasized the First Deputy Director of the IP Office (UANIPIO) Bohdan Paduchak, in the meeting hall during his speech to the Chair, the WIPO Secretariat and member-states representatives.

The Ukrainian delegation emphasized that russia’s actions deepen the consequences of all global problems. According to the UNDP, last year alone, 71 million people from 159 developing countries experienced poverty because of soaring food and energy prices driven by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian occupiers have left more than 180,000 square kilometers of our territory dangerous because of mines and unexploded ordnances. For a country that ranks among the world’s top 5 agricultural exporters, this represents a direct devaluation of global food security guarantees.

At the same time, the russian delegation during the PBC session systematically tried to conceal information about the impact of the full-scale war and to prevent statements in support of Ukraine.

However, representatives of the delegations supported our country:

• Poland – on behalf of the countries of the Central European and Baltic States of the WIPO
• Switzerland – on behalf of the Group B countries;
• Sweden – on behalf of the European Union and its member states,
• and also Canada.

In turn, the First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office emphasized:

«Russian full-scale war against Ukraine undermines the efforts of WIPO and other UN agencies, while simultaneously taking advantage of all privileges and abusing IP law. This harms not only the global community but also individual right holders and relevant actors».

Bohdan Paduchak also encouraged the IP community to take measures to deprive the russian federation of the opportunity to enjoy all the privileges and honors of the WIPO and thanked all WIPO member-states who continue to provide support and solidarity to Ukraine and our people.

What else is the PBC Committee working on during the 35th session

The participants of the session discuss the draft agenda of the 35th session of the PBC Committee, including the following issues:

• report on the progress in implementing the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Group;
• WIPO’s performance report for 2022;
• update the mechanism for further involvement of member states in the preparation and implementation of the Work Program and Budget;
• work program and budget for 2024/2025;
• methodology for the distribution of income and expenses.

During the session, member states analyze WIPO’s performance report for 2022, assess the financial results and progress towards achieving the goals set out in the Work Program and Budget for the biennium 2022-2023.

Taking part of the Ukrainian representatives in the PBC’s session allow to:

• speed up the optimal formation and functioning of the innovation ecosystem with the participation of national stakeholders,
• counteract the attempts of the russian federation to use the platforms of international organizations to legitimize its actions,
• facilitate the attraction of technical assistance from WIPO and its member states.