Why is Ignorance the main enemy of the inventor? How can Artificial Intelligence help solve complex situations? Why do the coolest ideas need protection?

The answers to these and other questions are in the comic book titled "Metaverse Travelers". The series consists of five issues and was created mainly for teenagers. But adults will also find a lot of interesting things for themselves.

The heroes of the comic are Ukrainian teenagers who want to implement their ideas and earn money from them. However, they are hindered by the forces of evil led by Ignorance. However, teenagers have an ally - Artificial Intelligence, which will explain why IPR knowledge protects works and ideas.

The comic book is not for sale.

Download it using the following links:

For online reading:

• in Ukrainian,
• in English.

Print version:

• in Ukrainian,
• in English.

Disclaimer:

The publication was developed within the support of the international cooperation project ReACT4UA ("Utilization and Implementation of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine in the field of trade"), that is financed by the German government and is implemented by the German federal company "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH".

The beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. The authors of the script and text are representatives of the IP Office.

This publication is the result of creative activity and is not intended for sale or commercial use.

On April 26, the world traditionally celebrates World IP Day. The theme chosen by WIPO for the 2023 campaign is "Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity."

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General Daren Tang called for increased support from the IP sphere for women's inventive, creative, and entrepreneurial activities, talking about WIPO's key initiatives in this direction.

We offer a video of the address of the Head of WIPO.

You may watch a video here.

Achievement of the sustainable development goals and economic growth is possible only after the aggressor state of russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine. This was emphasized by the Ukrainian delegation at the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) in Geneva.

The full-scale invasion of the russian federation devalues all collective efforts to develop and promote IP. This was emphasized by Marharyta Okseniuk, Deputy Director of the Investment, Innovation and IP Department of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, in her address to the Chair, the WIPO Secretariat and representatives of the member states.

«Ukraine marks 426 days of the war for survival after russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. On this day, I would like to remind you of 19,514 cases of forced transfers of Ukrainian children, including under the pretext of psychiatric and medical rehabilitation. About 4,390 Ukrainian children with a special status (orphans and children deprived of parental care) remain in the temporarily occupied territories and in russia. About 43 camps for the "ideological re-education" of Ukrainian children that were created on russian territory and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. These young people do not learn how to commercialize their products or protect their IP. We may never be able to show them collaborative efforts to promote IP. Moreover, I want to remind you about 10 thousand civilians, including 465 children, who will never again be able to contribute to the global IP sphere ever», - emphasized the representative of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

«We can discuss sustainable development only after the war is over», - emphasized Bohdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the Ukrainian IP Office:

“The role of SMEs and innovation in achieving economic recovery and sustainable development is crusial. It is also important that support is provided to the most vulnerable social groups to ensure their engagement in inclusive growth and counteract the negative factors of the war. Ukraine recognizes the valuable efforts of WIPO in developing programs aimed at building IP capacity for such groups, including through various DA projects”, - said the representative of the IP office.

At the same time, during the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the russian delegation systematically tried to conceal information about the impact of the full-scale war and to prevent statements in support of Ukraine. However, the representatives of the delegations supported our country: Poland - on behalf of the countries of the Regional Group of Central Europe and Baltic States; Switzerland - on behalf of the countries of Group B; Sweden - on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

The IP community remains focused on the goals of the WIPO Strategic Action Plan to support and empower women and youth in the IP sphere, methodological and economic research, digitalization, etc.

The participants discussed the draft Agenda of the 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP):

• Reporting on a number of WIPO projects on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and related tasks;
• Consideration of development project proposals for countries with economies in transition and developing countries;
• Empowering young people to innovate for a better future;
• Discussing WIPO's technical assistance in the area of cooperation in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Participation of Ukrainian representatives in the Committee's sessions provides our specialists with an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the impact of intellectual property on development, as well as to continue discussions on the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations. This is important for supporting national stakeholders, taking into account WIPO's technical assistance and efforts together with Member States in developing programs aimed at building IP capacity.

For reference:

The 30th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) takes place in Geneva, Swiss Confederation, on April 24-28, 2023.

Topics of the meeting: providing effective IP training programs at the national and regional levels and current IP and innovation sphere development trends.

The special virtual session was organized by the WIPO Academy and the Intellectual Property Academy Singapore (IPOS International) with the participation of representatives of the IP Office, namely the team of the Intellectual Property Academy Department and the Department for the network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) development. The session was held online on April 18, 2023.

In particular, the Ukrainian representatives were interested in valuable and progressive cases related to the experience of the IP Academy Singapore in managing intangible assets and intellectual property in the context of reducing risks, increasing efficiency, and creating social and economic value.

During the meeting, issues related to applying a diverse range of programs covering law and technology, from awareness to professional development for practitioners in the IP sphere, were also discussed.

The speakers of the event were representatives of the Intellectual Property Academy Singapore:

• Toon Meng Peh, Head (IP Academy) IPOS International
• Eric Khoo
• Soh Hui Tay

The Ukrainian IP Office thanks colleagues for a productive and exciting meeting and the knowledge gained.

In the conditions of the military aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, it is essential to ensure control over the assets of persons associated with the aggressor state since they can be used as a source of financing for the russian federation and, on the other hand, become a valuable asset for the restoration of Ukraine.

To organize cooperation on the exchange of IPR-related information, and to develop proposals for improving the legislation on applying special economic and other restrictive measures, the Staff of the NSDC of Ukraine and UANIPIO (IP Office) concluded a Memorandum on Interaction and Cooperation.

"The IP Office notes the priority of IPR protection and enforcement in compliance with the national interests of Ukraine and pays special attention to monitoring the procedures for registering the IPR obtaining and deprivation to fulfill the requirements of the legislation on sanctions. At the same time, the practical implementation of measures to block assets and prevent IPR disposal of persons subject to sanctions is facing a number of problems, the solution of which requires legislative regulation," said the Head of the IP Office, Olena Orliuk.

The parties agreed to conduct research and analysis to strengthen the capacity of sanctions policy in the state, as well as exchange information related to the implementation and monitoring of the effectiveness of the relevant policy in the state and law enforcement in this sphere.

Read also:

Creation of conditions for the development of the innovation ecosystem in Ukraine: ICC Ukraine and the IP Office signed a Memorandum of Cooperation

Ukraine is intensifying activities within the framework of the Regional Group of the Central European and Baltic States (CEBS) of WIPO, which aims at the development of the IP sphere, creative industries, educational activities, support for innovation within the member states, and cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization.

At the beginning of April, the pilot issue of the CEBS Newsletter: "CEBS Women" was released, which collected inspiring stories about women from the member states of the CEBS group; their world-changing achievements; statistics, and interesting facts.

For example, did you know that, according to UNESCO, Ukraine has a significant share of female scientists (45% against 28% on average worldwide), and in the Ukrainian IP Office, about 75% of employees are women?

Read this and much more in the quarterly CEBS Newsletter information bulletin. It also contains information about the results of the work of the regional group and the current situation of the IP sphere of the member states.

Key topics for 2023:

• women from CEBS member states: innovation and creativity,
• achievements in the field of industrial design,
• a brief overview of the creative industries,
• traditional knowledge, folklore.

In the CEBS Newsletter, you can also familiarize yourself with the projects and programs of the Division for Transition and Developed Countries of WIPO, which takes care of the member states of the CEBS group:

• IP training program for women entrepreneurs from local CEBS communities;
• Videogame Development: A Quest for IP, etc.

You can get acquainted with the issue of "CEBS Newsletter: CEBS Women" by following the links:

• The Twitter message of the Permanent Mission of Poland to the UN in Geneva,
• direct link to the release in PDF.

For reference:

In March 2022, Ukraine became a member of the Regional Group of the Central European and Baltic States (CEBS) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

CEBS currently has 19 participating countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Montenegro.

Poland performs the role of Coordinator of the group in 2023.

Cooperation between all participants of the innovation process to create an innovation ecosystem in Ukraine and control over the processes by two professional organizations. The IP Office signed a memorandum of cooperation with ICC Ukraine.

Signatories: Head of IP Office Olena Orliuk, President of ICC Ukraine Volodymyr Shchelkunov and founder of IP Global Expert, Vice President for the innovative activity protection and technology transfer of ICC Ukraine Ihor Starodubov.

The document provides for the assistance of both parties for the following:

• creation of conditions for the development of the national innovation ecosystem in Ukraine;
• development of the IP sphere in Ukraine;
• creation of conditions for the development of innovative infrastructure;
• development of innovative entrepreneurship skills;
• raising the level of public awareness of IP and innovations;
• organizing and conducting joint activities in the field of intellectual property and innovation;
• interaction between all participants of the innovation process.

Joint work is essential for the reconstruction and further development of Ukraine, - stressed the Head of the IP Office, Olena Orliuk:

"We value ICC Ukraine as partners of a new level and will involve them in projects. In the 21st century, we must improve the IP culture and support business. Intellectual property in Ukraine should bring money to Ukrainians. And I hope that together we will implement all our goals."

Also, the Memorandum envisages the maximum involvement of specialists of both organizations in cooperation, exchange of experience, and promotion of practical solutions, as well as in choosing an effective form of IPR protection.

International practices, improvement of Ukrainian legislation, and what is necessary for the development of the innovative ecosystem of the state were discussed by the representatives of the IP Office and the Innovation Holding "Sikorsky Challenge," co-founded by the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute."

Significant areas of work, according to the IP Office team, are:

• restoration of operation, support, and promotion of the TISC network (Technology and Innovation Support Center),
• providing information and advisory support to innovation ecosystem participants on the commercialization of intellectual and creative activity results,
• technology transfer,
• generalization of the international practice of application of legislation in the field of innovation and implementation of popularization measures for the development of the innovation system,
• development of proposals and improvement of normative-legal, methodological, and information-analytical support of innovations.

"National standards in the field of innovative activity, harmonized with European and international standards, will contribute to a high-quality and effective process of forming proposals for improving legislation. And the functioning of the TISC network and its further development will contribute to increasing the efficiency of innovative activities and IPR protection. This will also contribute to the growth of the creative industries sector, the formation of creative environments, and the concept of a creative economy," noted Ihor Parenchuk, Deputy Director of the IP Office.

In their turn, Igor Sikorsky KPI representatives suggested developing a special course on intellectual property management or an educational program for training specialists in technology transfer. Training such specialists will contribute to IP commercialization and the effective development of Ukraine's innovative ecosystem.

For reference:

"Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine" (SCU) is an open innovation ecosystem that unites the country's institutions interested in developing the Ukrainian innovation economy. These are universities, scientific institutions, state and local self-government bodies, business companies, foundations, and public organizations.

Read also:

• Support of innovation potential: meeting of the teams of the IP Office and the Ukrainian Startup Fund