The war exposed the problem of intellectual property protection

Ukrainian entrepreneurs have always thought of intellectual property "for the future". However, millions are already losing. The war exposed a problem that seemed to all the secondary - the protection of intellectual property until recently. Why did it happen? Ukrainian entrepreneurs thought of intellectual property "for the future". The stereotype of IP as a "fun" of the giants of the market is so entrenched in consciousness that today we have to catch up with this gap with literally seven steps.

And here it is not even about individual cases, but about the culture of IP in general. What about any training for young businessmen started with? From motivational stories and "three secrets of promotion on the network". And he would have from the banal phrase: "First of all, take care of the protection of your products if you do not want to burn. " How does it work in practice? Just look at the Ukrainian agricultural sector.

The industry, which was actively developing at the beginning of the last century, is today forced to import seed resources and fertilizers from abroad, playing according to the supplier's rules, not dictating their own conditions and developing breeding activities. The reason is quite simple: the lack of a sustained national manufacturer's support program working with domestic material.

If we consider this case from the point of view of IP, we lost millions as we worked on foreign licenses instead of registering and developing our own developments. And we continue to lose these funds today. Something similar is happening in the startup market, especially in the defense sector. Our developers, unfortunately, are used to giving the weapons to private companies for a one -time reward. And they could bring hundreds of thousands to the economy, if not millions of dollars.

That is, the problem is complex, and it was absolutely at all levels. From large Ukrainian companies, which have a hurry to take care of compliance with IP, and to small businesses that enter new markets and face a legislative curtain. And we do not now touch the design that can be protected as an industrial design. We are not talking about the direct innovative component through the prism of patents for inventions.

Due to the fact that the IR-bond has not yet launched in Ukraine, the procedures for the selection of judges have not yet been completed, the process of protection of intellectual property rights remains extremely long, value and complex. Therefore, you should think about the possibilities of protecting your business interests at the stage of product creation, not when they will be recognized and unscrupulous competition can work. Unfortunately, it will not work this problem in weeks or months.