The representative of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office and other International Organisations in Geneva condemned the large-scale armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine during the 17th session of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE). The meetings were held from 4 to 6 February 2025 at the WIPO Headquarters (Geneva, Switzerland).

 

 

Speaking on behalf of Ukraine, Ramiz Ramazanov, Counsellor of the Economic Section of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine, expressed his gratitude to the WIPO Secretariat and Member States for their commitment to strengthening respect for intellectual property.

 

“However, genuine respect for intellectual property cannot exist without first upholding international humanitarian law and the UN Charter. Almost three years have passed since russia’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which led to an escalation of russian aggression that began in 2014. Recent attacks, including the first-ever use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine and targeted air strikes in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Poltava, have resulted in significant civilian casualties,” Ramiz Ramazanov said.

 

According to him, to date, Ukrainian authorities and international organisations have documented more than 154,000 war crimes, including the deaths of about 14,000 civilians.

 

“In addition to military aggression, russia systematically undermines intellectual property rights. In 2022, it legalised the violation of intellectual property rights against foreign rights holders from countries that support Ukraine, which led to large-scale expropriation of brands and illegal film distribution,” Ramiz Ramazanov said.

 

Ramiz Ramazanov

 

He called on Member States to recognise that while the issue of protecting intellectual property rights is being discussed, one country continues to violate fundamental rights and fundamental principles of the UN.

 

“russia should bear legal consequences for this, including compensation for the Ukrainian IP sector and closure of the WIPO External Office in moscow,” the representative of Ukraine is convinced.

 

This statement was supported by Ukraine:

 

• CEBS group (coordinated by Estonia);

 

• Group B (coordinated by the United Kingdom);

 

• EU member states (coordinated by Poland).

 

   

Representatives from Estonia, the United Kingdom and Poland

 

The Committee’s agenda included consideration and discussion of a number of topical issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights, in particular:

 

• exchange of information on national experience in implementing awareness-raising campaigns and strategies;

 

• exchange of experience in the use of institutional mechanisms for implementing policies and establishing regimes for the protection of IP rights and WIPO`s legislative assistance, with a focus on the legislative area and drafting national legislation in the IP field;

 

• exchange of information on WIPO`s successful experience in strengthening the capacity of offices and providing support to national officials at the national and regional levels to improve the effectiveness of their training;

 

• GRULAC’s proposal on the impact of counterfeit products in the biotechnology sector and the infringement of patent and other IP rights related to the bioeconomy, etc.

 

Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod.

 

Ukrainian experience

 

Over the past year, Ukraine has made significant progress in the protection of intellectual property rights, in particular with regard to:

 

• resumption of the work of collegial bodies: The Appeals Chamber (which considers objections to decisions on the registration of intellectual property rights and other applications) and the Commission “Ukraine”, which considers applications for permission to use the official name and international letter code of the state of Ukraine in a trademark and/or to include an imitation of the Small State Emblem of Ukraine in the trademark image;

 

• fighting piracy and counterfeiting;

 

• mediation and alternative dispute resolution.

 

“The efforts of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO), which consisted, in particular, in strengthening international cooperation and preparing consolidated data on the protection of intellectual property rights, were noted by the European Commission in the Ukraine 2024 Report published on 30 October 2024,” commented Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of UANIPIO.

 

According to him, UANIPIO contributes to strengthening the institutional capacity of national authorities involved in the investigation of cases related to the infringement of IP rights. In particular, the Intellectual Property Infringement Monitoring Centre of  UANIPIO and IP Academy organised a training course for the employees of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, during which they discussed the issues of IP rights protection at the national and international levels, practical cases on effective detection, investigation and counteraction to IP offences.

 

Vladyslav Bilotskyi, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations, noted in his commentary that the IPR Monitoring Centre conducted an effective National Campaign to Combat Piracy and Counterfeiting in the Field of IP ANTI-PIRACY: BOOKS, which lasted for three months.

 

In addition, last year, for the first time in Ukraine, a successful case of mediation in the field of IP was conducted on the basis of UANIPIO.

 

“As a result of the procedure, the parties confirmed the absence of mutual claims and signed an agreement on further cooperation,” said Vladyslav Bilotskyi.

 

The Ukrainian IP Office will continue to work on strengthening the IP protection system by expanding institutional capacity, enhancing the fight against piracy and counterfeiting and implementing effective mediation mechanisms. The achievements of UANIPIO have already been recognised internationally, and new initiatives to improve the IP sphere in Ukraine are ahead in close cooperation with the WIPO Secretariat and civilised Member States that adhere to the fundamental principles of the UN.

 

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