Intellectual property protection, periodical census, and new Ombudsperson

On July 1, MPs appointed the new Commissioner for Human Rights — Dmytro Lubinets. Also, they made the first steps towards strengthening the protection of intellectual property and taking a census every 10 years. 

Introduction of new intellectual property protection measures 

Draft bill # 6464 of December 24, 2021 

Status: adopted in the first reading, MPs still have time to amend the bill. 

Who is affected: owners of intellectual property, government bodies, and Ukrainian citizens. 

Summary of the bill: 

• introduces a fine for an unintentional violation of intellectual property rights 
• establishes the right to receive information about the origins and distribution networks of goods and services that infringe the intellectual property rights 

• gives the owners of patents on working models and inventions and also owners of certificates on logos for goods and services of registered or unregistered production models the right to demand compensation or reimbursement from offenders of their intellectual property rights. 

What is right: 

• intellectual property protection provided by the state will be more efficient. In Ukraine, piracy and other forms of intellectual property rights violations are common and this situation damages the investment climate of the country 
• better intellectual rights protection was a part of the Association Agreement with the EU. Ukraine took an obligation to introduce additional measures, procedures, and methods ensuring the protection of intellectual property 
• protection of the intellectual property is a part of audiovisual legislation. The European Union included harmonization of this legislation as one of the requirements for Ukraine to retain the candidate state status. 

Voted in favor: Servant of the People (189), European Solidarity (19), Platform for Life and Peace (12), Batkivshchyna (2), For the Future (6), Trust (10), and Restoration of Ukraine (11). 

Appointment of Dmytro Lubinets as the Ombudsperson 

Draft resolution # 7514 of July 1, 2022 

Status: adopted. 

Who is affected: prisoners, detainees, suspects, police officers, penitentiary service, the Security Service of Ukraine, and Ukrainian citizens. 

Summary of the bill: Dmytro Lubinets is appointed as the Commissioner for Human Rights. 

What is right: Dmytro Lubinets before the appointment was the head of the Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. There he collaborated with the former Ombudsperson Lyudmyla Denisova and controlled her work, worked with legislation on human rights. Thus, he meets the requirements for the position of Commissioner for Human Rights. 

What is wrong: 

• candidates for the position were selected without contest and engagement of human rights activists, so it is an open question whether Dmytro Lubinets is the best and most professional candidate 

• Dmytro Lubinets was an MP from For the Future faction. Since he was caught ghost-voting and is, allegedly, connected to smuggling, there are some doubts about whether the newly-elected Ombudsperson will be able to remain independent and efficiently control the work of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Voted in favor: Servant of the People (181), Batkivshchyna (10), Platform for Life and Peace (14), For the Future (9), Holos (8), Trust (12), and Restoration of Ukraine (3). 

Background: on May 31, MPs ignored the law and dismissed Liudmyla Denisova as the Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Proposal to take a census at least once in ten years 

Draft bill # 5108 of February 19, 2021 

Status: adopted in the first reading, MPs still have time to amend the bill. 

Who is affected: Ukrainian citizens, businesses, and government bodies. 

Summary of the bill: 

• provides a legal definition of “census” as a statistical study that ensures the collection of data on population, accommodation, economic units, buildings, households, etc. 

• makes respondents’ participation in censuses mandatory 
• proposes to take a census at least once in ten years. The date and duration of a census will be set by the Cabinet 
• gives the state the right to use information from official registries for purposes of taking a census, defines requirements for personnel conducting a census, and introduces requirements to ensure the protection of respondents’ personal data. 

Why this is important: the goal of taking census is not to get statistics just about the quantity of the population but also about age and sex distributions, family, language, education, etc. This information is necessary for the state to prepare and implement special-purpose programs, and for businesses — to plan investments. 

What is right: 

• a requirement to take a census periodically. The last official census in Ukraine was taken back in 2001, so information collected back then is now outdated and useless 
• the bill fulfills one of the requirements of the Association Agreement. Ukraine has to ensure a stable, effective, professional, and independent national statistical system. 

Voted in favor: Servant of the People (189), European Solidarity (20), Platform for Life and Peace (1), For the Future (11), Trust (11), and Restoration of Ukraine (10).