A work plan for 2024-2025 in fulfillment of a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation was signed on Monday by the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovation (UKRNOISI, IP Office) and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) during a visit to Kiev by an EU delegation led by EUIPO Executive Director Joao Negrau.
“The plan … opens the door to the inclusion of data on Ukrainian trademarks and industrial designs in the EUIPO databases, which are the largest in the world with more than 115 million trademarks and more than 20 million industrial designs from five continents,” the Ministry of Economy said in a press release following the meeting and the signing of the document.
It is also assumed that UKRNOISI will receive support from the EU on issues related to the legal protection of trademarks and industrial designs, including IP rights protection.
In addition, as part of the work plan, UKRNOISI will take advantage of the EU support in harmonizing the Ukrainian practice of registration and examination of applications for trademarks and industrial designs with the EU practice. Such harmonization should allow Ukrainian businesses to operate more easily abroad.
As part of larger EU initiatives to deepen UKRNOISI’s integration into the EU intellectual property (IP) system, a project on international IP cooperation involving Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia is also under discussion.
It is specified that this was the first foreign visit in the new position of EUIPO Executive Director Joao Negrau.
“Intellectual property and innovation in the context of Ukraine’s attainment of EU candidate status play a defining role. By harmonizing rules and procedures in these areas, we not only open Ukraine to the world as an innovative and creative nation, but also significantly improve its investment attractiveness,” the release quotes First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko as saying.
“The work plan agreed in Kyiv today not only emphasizes the commitment of EUIPO and EU national agencies to support our Ukrainian partners on the eve of EU accession, but also reinforces our role as an effective mediator for Ukraine in the dialogue with EU partners,” Negrau added.
According to Remy Duflo, Deputy Chairman of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, strengthening intellectual property protection is important not only in the context of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but also for the more pressing needs of recovery, as without a strong intellectual property ecosystem, foreign investors will simply not come in sufficient numbers.
The MoE recalls that in June 2023, the EUIPO and the European Commission’s SME Fund to support Ukrainian enterprises was extended to include Ukrainian enterprises, which can now obtain funding to apply for the acquisition of intellectual property rights, in particular trademarks, industrial designs or inventions and utility models.
EUIPO is one of the largest decentralized offices of the EU, located in Alicante (Spain). EUIPO registers EU Trade Marks (EUTM) and Community Designs (RCD), which makes it possible to obtain legal protection for the relevant intellectual property in all EU Member States. The Office also cooperates with national and regional EU intellectual property offices and coordinates the activities of the European Observatory for Intellectual Property Infringement.
