Copyright protection capabilities in cyberspace continue to increase. Ukraine has joined many countries in cracking down on websites that infringe on intellectual property rights on the WIPO ALERT platform. The Ministry of Economy adopted an order on March 21, 2024 approving the procedure for the formation and maintenance of a list of national websites that raise issues regarding compliance with intellectual property rights.
Through cooperation between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and WIPO through the WIPO Alert data exchange platform, participating countries can share information on potential intellectual property infringements internationally. Going forward, copyright owners and/or related rights holders may submit a request to the IP Office to include websites that raise IP compliance concerns on the national list of such websites.
“Despite the challenges of total war, we are doing everything we can to protect the copyright and related rights of Ukrainian and foreign intellectual property holders on the Internet. Ukraine has become one of the first countries in the world to fully implement corresponding mechanisms based on a secure online platform, authorizing countries (members of the World Intellectual Property Organization) to upload information about copyright-infringing websites and applications from the perspective of national norms. This is also a confident step for Ukraine towards European integration.” Yulia Sviridenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, pointed out.
Ukraine is the fifteenth country to join the WIPO initiative. This is an important step towards creating a more protected digital space in Ukraine, which will not only promote intellectual property protection but also promote further development of the national economy.
“The priority of the Ministry of Economy is to ensure the transparency of activities in the economic field related to the dissemination of content on various Internet platforms and reduce cases of unfair or opaque competition. This in turn contributes to improving the economic efficiency of economic activities. Laws in related fields actors, improve the regulatory framework in the field of intellectual property and improve national standards for the protection of copyright and related rights in Ukraine and internationally,” Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Vitaly Kindratev pointed out.
The WIPO ALERT database is a secure online platform managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization where authorized participants from WIPO member states can upload lists containing details of websites (as well as mobile applications) reasonably suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.