Last week, a delegation of the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO) visited Latvia to strengthen cooperation and discuss issues related to Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU) in the field of intellectual property (IP).
The visit of UANIPIO director Olena Orliuk and UANIPIO Deputy Director Liubov Maidanyk to Riga was part of the Baltic visit, and its purpose was to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the IP offices of all the three Baltic states, which is one of the UANIPIO’s strategic priorities.
At the meeting with Director of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) Agris Batalauskis and other LPO experts, the discussed topics covered the harmonization of the Ukraine’s legislative acts with the European Union’s (EU) legislation in the field of patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and indications of geographical origin, cooperation with the European Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as the developments in information technology for the administration of IP rights. The LPO representatives shared with the UANIPIO management their experience in organizing the institution's work using the possibilities of modern technologies, including document workflow and archiving.
"Latvia is one of those countries that are very active in supporting Ukraine with its EU integration processes, that is why, since autumn 2023, the LPO has joined as a partner the EU4IP cooperation project which seeks to provide support for Ukraine's integration into the EU IP system. We are ready to provide our support and share our experience for Ukraine to recover as soon as possible and become a member of the European Union," states LPO Director Agris Batalauskis.
During the visit to Latvia, the UANIPIO’s representatives together with the LPO’s management met with representatives of the Ministry of Justice to discuss the current legislative challenges in the field of IP in the context of European integration processes. There was also a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Culture, during which opinions were exchanged on the EU regulation in the field of copyright and related rights, as well as on the impact of artificial intelligence on copyright. Special attention was paid to Latvia's experience in operating copyright collective management organizations and in developing the system of royalty distribution.
Olena Orliuk thanked her Latvian colleagues for their support to Ukraine which started from the moment when Russia began to implement its full-scale military operations on the territory of Ukraine. During the meeting, the UANIPIO Director talked about the main stages of the IP reform in Ukraine and the challenges the institution was facing in the circumstances of the warfare carried out by Russia. Olena Orliuk introduced the main structural units of the UANIPIO and their operational objectives. She also stressed that the statistical data on filed applications showed positive dynamics in 2023.
"It just proves that enterprises, innovators and creators of IP have been able to adapt to the challenges of wartime, power outages and communication disruptions. We in Ukraine fully understand that we must continue to develop the IP field, provide reliable protection of IP rights and thus ensure the stability of the national economy," pointed out UANIPIO Director Olena Orliuk.
To get acquainted with the LPO’s experience of implementing cooperation projects with the EUIPO, the representatives of Ukraine participated in the opening event of the LPO’ s annual anti-counterfeiting campaign. This year, the “Counterfeit – a great kit?" campaign aims to draw the public’s attention to the “kit” that accompanies every purchased counterfeit product.