During the working visit to Chisinau (Moldova), the management of the Ukrainian IP Office visited the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI), and met with students of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (ASEM).

The Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations in Moldova was represented by Olena Orliuk, Director of the IP Office (UANIPIO), and Bogdan Paduchak, First Deputy Director of the IP Office.

• At the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

During the visit to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Olena Orliuk noted Moldova's progressive experience in implementing European regulations in the IP sphere and how confidently Ukraine is moving towards the full membership in the EU:

"This is hard work, our countries are making both great individual and joint efforts that will bring significant results for our people, for the European future. Given the prospect of EU membership, our countries should have rules and standards in place that will allow innovators and creators, IP-based businesses to effectively protect the results of intellectual and creative activities, protect and commercialize them, distribute them, and thus promote themselves and their country" , - Olena Orliuk is convinced.

• At the Moldovan IP office

The Ukrainian delegation, together with colleagues from the EU and Georgia, also visited the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova, where they got acquainted with the current functioning of the Moldovan IP office, challenges and main priorities of its activities.

During the meeting between the EUIPO and AGEPI, the Working Plan for 2024-2025 was signed. It is worth mentioning that the Working Plan for 2024 and 2025 between the Ukrainian IP Office and EUIPO was signed in October 2023.

During the meeting at AGEPI, Olena Orliuk noted that participation in the EU4IP project would allow to attract supporting tools at many levels, which go far beyond the registration and administration of intellectual property rights. As a result, this will help mitigate the negative impact of the war.

"This will help bring closer the vision of Ukraine as a country where innovation is the basis of the economy and the foundation of national security. Today we face many challenges. And the issue of implementing the EU acquis into national legislation is one of them. In this matter, we will rely on the experience of our partners and experts. After all, it is important for us not only to do our homework on the implementation of European legislation, but also to develop a comprehensive vision of a sustainable, transparent and effective system for applying these norms. This is the basis for innovative development and economic recovery. Moreover, we are ready to contribute to the development of the European intellectual property system with our experience and expertise, which can also be useful to European institutions and businesses. And I really hope that as part of this project, Ukraine will be able to host experts in peacetime not only in Kyiv or Lviv, but also in Ukrainian Yalta», - said the Director of the IP Office.

• At the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova

Along with the official events, representatives of the delegation delivered a speech to the students of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova. Olena Orliuk emphasized that students should not take peace for granted, should not waste their opportunities, and should not delay.

"Ukrainian students study, dream and act in accordance with their beliefs even in the most difficult conditions of war. I was planning the future with my graduates in 2022, when Russian troops were very close to the capital», - the Director of the Ukrainian IP office shared her experience.

Olena Orliuk is convinced that the future belongs to intellectual property, and she cited specific statistical facts to prove it:

"In 2017-2019, IP-dependent industries in Europe accounted for 29.7% of employment. This figure is growing every year. Currently, more than 40% of EU GDP is generated by industries based on the utilization of intellectual property."

Photo: Ion Buga Photographer

For information:

The working visit to Moldova took place within the framework of the official launch of the EU4IP - a cooperation project between EUIPO and national intellectual property offices - UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia) and AGEPI (Moldova) - to strengthen intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with the support of the EU, and lasted from March 25 to 26, 2024.

The visit was attended by EUIPO Executive Director João Negrão, high-level representatives of the beneficiary countries, the EU Delegation to Moldova and the heads of the European national intellectual property offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania within the framework of the Team Europe initiative.

Read also:

• EU4IP project will become a tool of practical support for small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises, creators and innovators, – Olena Orliuk
• Strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to support EU accession

During the working visit to Chișinău (Moldova), the management of the Ukrainian IP Office took part in the event dedicated to the official launch of EU4IP - a cooperation project between EUIPO and national intellectual property offices - UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia) and AGEPI (Moldova) - for strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with the support of the EU.

The event was organized with the participation of João Negrão, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), high-level representatives of the beneficiary countries, the EU Delegation to Moldova and European national intellectual property offices from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania within the framework of the Team Europe initiative.

The Ukrainian IP Office in Moldova is represented by the IP Office Director (UANIPIO) Olena Orliuk and the First Deputy Director of the IP Office Bogdan Paduchak.

Ukraine has already achieved significant results on the way to full membership in the EU, which we are ready to demonstrate. This was emphasized by Olena Orliuk during panel discussion dedicated to the integration of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia into the European intellectual property system, recent developments and prospects for the future.

The IP Office’s Director expressed her gratitude to the European Commission, EUIPO and European national offices for their continued support of Ukraine, especially in these dark times of Russia's full-scale invasion. She expressed her belief that participation in the EU4IP project will improve the intellectual property and innovation system not only in the three EU candidate countries, but will also bring a positive impact on the global users of the IP system.

“I am confident that the project will become a tool of practical support for SMEs, businesses, innovators and creators who need our joint efforts not only to protect their IP rights, but also to open new ways to commercialize them. Ukraine is now working on this very actively", - emphasized Olena Orliuk.

The IP Office Director noted that the challenges of Russian war of aggression against Ukraine are only getting deeper: human loss, brain drain, infrastructure damage, limited financial resources and losses of the IP ecosystem, creative and innovative sectors, and even mental impact. This affects both commercialization of IP rights and the ability to create IP.

Olena Orliuk

"But despite these challenges, statistics show an increase in the number of applications and renewed interest in the intellectual property rights protection. Compared to 2022, in 2023, the number of trademark applications increased by 55.4%, and the number of industrial design applications increased by almost 35%. The number of applications filed by national inventors under the national procedure increased by 27%," - noted Olena Orliuk.

The fact that the IP and innovations system is developing is also evidenced by the large number of competitions and new projects, in particular in the field of green technology, digitalization, biomedicine, and IT.

"Ukraine is demonstrating great progress, and we have to ensure that it has proper and effective protection and enforcement  intellectual property rights mechanisms ", - the IP Office’s  Director is confident.

Bogdan Paduchak

For information:

The EU4IP initiative aims to use intellectual property to create an enabling environment for innovation, creativity and free competition. Thus, the partnership paves the way for the three candidate countries - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - to join the EU and the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN), which consists of the EUIPO, national IP offices and EU user associations.

Photos: Ion Buga Photographer

Read also:

• Strengthening intellectual property rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to support EU accession

On 25-26 March an EU delegation led by João Negrão, Executive Director (ED) of the EUIPO, visits Chișinău, Moldova. The top management of the Ukrainian IP office also takes part in the event.

The first day marked the launch of the EU4IP, a cooperation project between the EUIPO and the national IP offices – UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia), AGEPI (Republic of Moldova) to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine with the support of the EU.

The initiative aims to leverage IP to create a favourable environment for innovation, creativity and free competition. In doing so, the partnership paves the way for the three candidate countries’ accession to the EU and the European Union IP Network (EUIPN), a network made up of the EUIPO and the national IP offices and User Associations of the EU.

During the 2-day visit, the EU delegation also engages with European and international stakeholders, holding discussions on the needs and goals of the EU4IP project. On 25 March the EU delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mihai Popșoi, as well as with other senior government officials of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan government.

EU4IP official launch

On 25 March, the EU4IP was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and chief negotiator of the Republic of Moldova for EU accession, Ms Cristina Gherasimova, the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Mr Jānis Mažeiks, and the Executive Director of the EUIPO at a launch event. The conference gathered high-level representatives from the beneficiary countries, as well as from the EUIPO, the EU Delegation to Moldova and the European national IP offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania in a Team Europe approach.

“On our European path, we remain steadfast in our understanding of the importance of high quality IP protection for building a competitive and sustainable economy based on innovation, technology and creativity, especially in the face of the challenges posed by the ongoing war. Achieving the vision of a shared, innovative European future is impossible without the experience, expertise and dedicated support of our European colleagues. We have had the opportunity to meet all these elements of support through our cooperation with EUIPO”, Olena Orliuk, Director of UANIPIO.

Olena Orliuk

Bogdan Paduchak

“I am glad that the success of the Georgia-EU joint project 2020-2023 laid the foundation for the new regional project, in which Moldova and Ukraine are involved along with Georgia - this is especially valuable, as all the three countries participating in the EU4IP project were granted EU candidate status. I strongly believe that the mentioned project will make a significant contribution to the further development of the field of Intellectual property of the participating countries“, - stated Soso Giorgadze, Chairperson of Sakpatenti.

Soso Giorgadze

Eugeniu Rusu, Director General of AGEPI, emphasized the importance of the EU4IP project for the beneficiary countries, stating:

“Hosting the launch of this EU project is of a great significance for the Republic of Moldova as it reaffirms our commitment to strengthening intellectual property system and advancing our European integration agenda. We are delighted to collaborate with the EUIPO and our EU partners to further enhance intellectual property protection in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. This collaboration is essential to create a favorable environment for innovation, creativity, and free competition, thus contributing to our objectives of EU accession and integration into the European intellectual property network."

Eugeniu Rusu

”We will spare no effort in providing any and all assistance required according to the specific needs arising from each of the countries. The EU-funded project EU4IP we are launching today will support the alignment of the legal framework of our partner countries with the EU acquis on intellectual property, aligning rules, legal protection and enforcement.”, said João Negrão, EUIPO Executive Director.

João Negrão

EU4IP: project objectives and meanings

By strengthening the IP landscape, EU4IP promotes economic and cultural development, bolsters the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and raises the level of investment attractiveness. The EU4IP project’s main objective is to contribute to an adequate and effective level of registration, protection and enforcement of IP rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The goal is that the three countries - Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia - adopt European and international best practices and adhere to the commitments set out in their respective Association Agreements, as well as Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA), and implement the European Commission's recommendations on EU membership.

The EU4IP project highlights the importance of upholding IP rights by focusing on four key areas:

• enhancing legal frameworks and facilitating their alignment to the IP EU acquis;
• supporting IP institutions and networks;
• collaborating on enforcement mechanisms; and
• raising awareness, targeting the private sector and SMEs.

This EU-funded project is implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for an initial duration of 48 months, starting from 1 January 2024, with a total budget of EUR 4 million provided by the European Union, including the EUIPO.

EU support to Ukraine in the field of IP

In 2022, the EUIPO took measures to provide support to Ukrainian trade mark and design owners and to safeguard their IP rights within the EU, while continuing the technical work and cooperation with the Ukrainian IP authorities. In February 2023 a  ground-breaking agreement between the European Commission and Ukraine was reached, allowing Ukraine to participate in activities financed by the European Union under the Single Market Programme. In June 2023, the joint EUIPO-European Commission SME Fund was extended to support Ukrainian businesses, which can now get funding to apply for IP rights including trade marks, designs, patents or plant varieties. In October 2023, the EUIPO’s ED João Negrão visited Ukraine to discuss the significant impact of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine’s IP sphere, emphasizing the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address these challenges, and to explore the role of IP in the post-war recovery of the country to enhance its investment climate. During this visit, the biennial Work Plan for 2024-2025 was signed between the EUIPO and UANIPIO, outlining joint activities following the MoU signed in July 2023.

For information:

The EUIPO is one of the largest decentralised agencies of the European Union, based in Alicante, Spain. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, the EU Intellectual Property Office manages the registration of EU trade marks since 1994 and designs since 2003, both of which are intellectual property rights that cover the 27 Member States of the European Union.

In 2023, another IP right, craft and industrial geographical indications, was added to the agency's portfolio. The EUIPO also carries out cooperation activities at EU and international level to create a level playing field in the world of IP and hosts the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

Photos: Ion Buga Photographer

The IP office will consider the request and make a conclusion on the presence (or absence) of grounds for including the website in the relevant register.

This refers to the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine No. 2945 dated February 1, 2024 "On Approval of the Procedure for Formation and Maintenance of the National List of Websites Raising Concerns Regarding the Observance of Intellectual Property Rights". The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine registered it on March 11, 2024 under No. 357/41702. The Order will come into force on the date of its official publication in the Official Gazette of Ukraine.

Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" provides for the maintenance of the national list, subject to amendments to this Law in 2023. The amendments also provide for administrative liability for advertising on websites that will be included in this list.

After the order comes into force, the IP office will be able to:

• consider requests from copyright holders and/or related rights holders to include a website in the national list of websites that raise concerns about the observance of intellectual property rights;
   
• make conclusions on the presence or absence of grounds for including a website in the national list.

Thus, Ukraine will join a number of countries that will be contributing to the WIPO ALERT platform to counteract the placement of advertising on pirate websites, for which advertising revenues are an important source of livelihood.

For reference:

The WIPO ALERT Database -  a secure online platform administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization where Authorized Participants of WIPO Member States can upload lists with detailed information about websites (as well as mobile applications) that are reasonably suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.

In other words, the WIPO ALERT database is an international blacklist of websites that have been claimed by content and mobile application rights holders, which can be used in more than 190 countries.

Read also:

• EU-Ukraine: Explanatory meeting on intellectual property within the official screening of European Commission
• Ukraine-EU: support for the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors resilience was discussed in Brussels

A high level of EU acquis implementation was noted and approaches to further harmonization of legislation were approved upon: On March 15, 2024, there was held an explanatory meeting on the EU acquis with the representatives of the European Commission, the Delegation of Moldova and Ukraine on the official screening of the negotiation chapter 7 "Intellectual Property Rights".

The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the IP Office (UANIPIO) as part of the Ukrainian delegation discussed with the representatives of the European Commission's Directorates-General the EU policies and regulations on Industrial Property rights and Copyright and Related rights.

«Ukrainian society deserves a further clear signal that Ukraine and the European Union continue to build a common future. To this end, the Government of Ukraine will work diligently to implement the key areas and European Commission recommendations»,- stated Vitaliy Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, at the opening of the explanatory meeting.

The key discussion topics were focused on:

• ways of implementation and administrative procedures for trademarks under Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
   
• implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, in relation to which the Ukrainian delegation shared its experience regarding registering geographical indications for traditional craft products;
   
• patent law, in particular compulsory licensing, introduction of the Supplementary Protection Certificate and inventions in the field of biotechnology;
   
• preparing for the implementation of the trade secrets legal protection mechanisms, taking into account best practices and regulations of the EU law;
   
• current issues on implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market, as well as progress in approximation to the EU acquis as a result of the adoption of the new Law of Ukraine "On Copyright and Related Rights";
   
• best practices of implementing the Marrakesh Treaty in EU legislation;
   
• permitted use of orphan works;
   
• issues of multi-territorial licensing by collective management organizations of online copyright in a musical works, etc.

«The harmonization of national legislation in the sphere of intellectual property rights with the EU acquis is one of the challenges that Ukraine needs to solve on its way to full membership in the EU. The situation is complicated by the rapid development of the IP, innovation and creativity sectors, as well as ongoing changes in the harmonized European legislation that regulates them. At the same time, realizing our responsibility and the significant progress shown by the IP sector, confirmed by the European Commission, we are determined to make maximum effort to bring Ukraine closer to the goal of becoming a full member of the European family»,- said Olena Orliuk, IP Office Director.

For reference:

Explanatory meetings are sessions within the official screening process, during which experts from the European Commission explain chapter by chapter what the EU acquis (EU law) is in terms of legislative harmonization and proper administrative capacity. The explanatory sessions for all negotiated chapters will last until the end of May 2024.

Read also:

• Ukraine-EU: support for the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors resilience was discussed in Brussels
• Regulation on the Commission “Ukraine” has entered into force

How can EU support cultural and creative sectors of Ukraine's economy? How will this influence on the development of European economies? What are the current issues of intellectual property rights protection, and what are the prospects for the development of copyright legislation in the light of the European integration process?

These and other issues were in the focus of the two-day seminar "Ukrainian Creative Economy as a Sphere of Cross-Sectoral Cooperation and Mutual Support", organized on March 7-8, 2024 in Brussels (Belgium) by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture (DG EAC).

Representatives of the European Commission, UNESCO, EU member states patent offices and countries with the EU candidate member states status, creative sectors of the economy, and cultural stakeholders participated in the seminar. The Ukrainian IP Office in Brussels was represented by Liubov Maidanyk, Head of the Copyright and Related Rights Development Department. It was the first time that the Ukrainian IP Office joined such a discussion between DG EAC and Ukrainian cultural institutions in the context of supporting the sustainability of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors of the economy through intellectual property rights instruments.

Liubov Maidanyk (on right)

The representative of the IP Office joined the discussion of urgent issues of ensuring protection and development of intellectual property rights at the international level, taking into account the peculiarities of the national legislation.

"The main message from the EU in the field of copyright is that the EU candidate countries should harmonize their domestic copyright legislation with the EU acquis, but at the same time, the economic interests of the country and its national peculiarities should be taken into account," noted Liubov Maidanyk.

As Ms Liubov mentioned, harmonization of copyright legislation with the EU acquis is one of the challenges for Ukraine on its pass to becoming a full member of the EU. And meetings with such representation allow us to form a holistic global vision of where we should move forward.

"Another important task is popularization of IP among the creative sectors of the economy. Copyright registration and improvement of protection tools will help creators earn better income, as registration and quality protection contribute to commercialization. It is necessary to raise IP awareness so that creators know how to protect their copyright and not violate the rights of others," - emphasized Liubov Maidanyk. She is convinced that state should promote the development of the creative sector, as the country's economy development depends on it.

For information:

The seminar was held in pursuance of the European Union's Culture Work Plan for 2023-2026, which provides support to Ukrainian stakeholders of the creative and cultural spheres, as well as within the framework of activities carried out by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture with the support of the Cultural Relations Platform, implemented by the Goethe-Institut in Brussels.

Photo: Cultural Relations Platform

Further readings:

• European Integration IP Digest: tracking the Ukrainian IP sphere’s progress on the way to the EU
• National and International Experts Discussed the National Intellectual Property Development Strategy

On February 27, 2024, the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine dated December 20, 2023, No. 19944 "On Approval of the Regulation on the Commission for granting permission to use the official name and international alphabetical code of the State of Ukraine and/or to include an imitation of the Small State Emblem of Ukraine in a trademark", registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on February 6, 2024, No. 188/41533, came into force.

The order can be found here.

This order creates legal conditions for the activities of the Commission "Ukraine", which will help protect national symbols and ensure compliance with the use of official state symbols for commercial purposes.

The Ministry continues to work on improving the regulatory framework for the functioning of the state system of intellectual property rights protection in Ukraine. This was emphasized by Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Vitaliy Kindrativ:

"The novelty of the Order is that not only citizens, but also legal entities established in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Ukraine will now be able to exercise their right to use the official name and international letter code of the state of Ukraine in trademarks and/or to include an imitation of the small State Emblem of Ukraine in the trademark image. For the first time, applicants have the opportunity to obtain permission to include an imitation of the small State Emblem of Ukraine in the trademark image by applying to this Commission."

Vitaliy Kindrativ

The launch of the Commission "Ukraine" is an important and long-awaited step, which was preceded by a long rule-making work of the specialists of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the IP Office. This was emphasized by IP Office’s (UANIPIO) Director Olena Orliuk:

"Approval of the bylaw that will regulate the activities of the Commission "Ukraine" is important for preserving the identity of the state, protecting national symbols on trademarks and preventing their unauthorized use by businesses."

As Olena Orliuk pointed out, the IP Office will now carry out organizational and legal measures to form the personnel of the Commission "Ukraine". After the composition is agreed upon and approved by the UANIPIO order, the functioning of the Commission "Ukraine" will be resumed.

On February 20, 2024, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine registered Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine dated December 29, 2023, No. 20599 "On Approval of the Regulation on Intellectual Property Representatives (Patent Attorneys) and Amendments to the Regulations on Certification and Maintenance of the State Register of Intellectual Property Representatives (Patent Attorneys)" under No. 263/41608.

The Regulation defines the legal status of patent attorneys and regulates relations related to the acquisition, exercise and termination of the right to practice as a patent attorney.

The Order of the Ministry of Economy will come into force on the date of its official publication in the Official Gazette of Ukraine.