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Chapter 1. Law on innovation activity in Ukraine

 

The law defines legal, economic and organizational principles of state regulation of innovation activity in ukraine [1].  The objects of innovation activity are:

  • innovation programs and projects; 
  • new knowledge and intellectual products; 
  • production equipment and processes; 
  • infrastructure of production and entrepreneurship; 
  • organizational technical decisions of production, administrative, commercial or other nature, which significantly improve the structure and the quality of production and (or) social sphere; 
  • raw materials, means of their mining and processing;
  • commodity output; 
  • mechanism of consumer market forming and sale of commodity output. 

The subjects of innovation activity may be natural persons and (or) legal entities of ukraine, natural persons and (or) legal entities of foreign states, stateless persons, their  associations,  which  conduct  innovation  activity  in  ukraine  and (or)  attract property and intellectual values, invest own or borrowed funds in the implementation of innovation projects in ukraine.

Pursuant to the law, the state regulation of innovation activity is performed as follows: 

  • definition and support of priority directions of innovation activity on state, branch, regional and local levels; 
  • forming and implementation of state, branch, regional and local innovation programs; 
  • creation of normative legal base and economic mechanisms for support and stimulation of innovation activity; 
  • protection of rights and interests of the subjects of innovation activity; 
  • financial support of implementation of innovations projects; 
  • encouragement   of   commercial   banks   and   other   financial   crediting establishments, which credit implementation of innovations projects; 
  • support   of   functioning   and   development   of   contemporary   innovation infrastructure.

The subjects of innovation activity may obtain financial support for implementation of financial projects by: 

  • full  interest-free  crediting     (under  the  conditions  of  inflation  indexation)  of priority 
  • innovation projects at the expense of funds of the state budget of ukraine, budget 
  • funds of the autonomous republic of crimea and funds of local budgets; 
  • partial (up to 50%) interest-free crediting     (under the conditions of inflation indexation) of priority innovation projects at the expense of funds of the state budget of ukraine, budget funds of the autonomous republic of crimea and funds of local budgets on condition, provided that the other funds necessary for project financing were invested by the project agent and (or) other subjects of innovation activity; 
  • full or partial reimbursement (at the expense of funds of the state budget of ukraine, budget funds of the autonomous republic of crimea and funds of local budgets) of interests paid by the subjects of innovation activity to commercial banks and other financial crediting establishments for crediting of innovation projects; 
  • granting  of  state  guarantees  to  commercial  banks  which  credit  priority innovation projects; 
  • property insurance of implementation of innovation projects by the insurers in compliance with the law of ukraine “on insurance”. 

The sources of financial support of innovation activity shall be:

  • funds of the state budget of ukraine;
  • funds of local budgets and funds of the autonomous republic of crimea;
  • own funds of specialized state and communal innovation financial crediting establishments; 
  • own or borrowed funds of subjects of innovation activity; 
  • other sources which are not prohibited by the legislation of ukraine [3]. 

Universities activities from primarily regulated by the law of ukraine "on higher education". This law hasn’t questions concerning innovative activities, innovative research, but chapter 10 of law is devoted to research and scientific activities in the universities. In this chapter discusses the purpose and objectives of scientific and scientific-technical activities in higher education, organization and management of scientific and technical activities. Also it has links to two documents - to the law of ukraine " on higher education " and the law of ukraine "on the scientific and technical activities", the second one determines legal, organizational and financial principles of operation and development of scientific and technical sphere, creates conditions for scientific and scientific-technical activities, ensuring needs of society and the state in technological development.

There are a set of laws dealing with innovations in ukraine [1]:

  • the law of ukraine "on the innovation" 
  • the law of ukraine «on the scientific and technical activities» 
  • the  law  of  ukraine     «on  priority  directions  of  innovative  activity  in Ukraine» 
  • the law of ukraine «on special regime of technological parks»
  • the law of ukraine «on the scientific and technical information»
  • the law of ukraine «on the scientific and technical expertise» 
  • the president of ukraine decree of 30.12.2005, № 1873/2005 "on the establishment of the state agency of ukraine for investments and innovations"
  • the  decree  by  ministry  of  education  and  science  of  ukraine  "on approval of the procedure of innovative educational activities" (from 07.11.00, № 522) 
  • the  decree  by  ministry  of  education  and  science  of  ukraine  «on approval of monitoring the implementation of innovative projects in the priority areas of technological parks» (from 17.04.03, № 245). 

O the decree of the president of ukraine from 07.11.2006 № 606/2006 "on the decision of the national security and defense council of Ukraine on april 6, 2006" on the state of scientific and technological areas and measures to support innovative development of Ukraine" the verkhovna rada of ukraine "on compliance for the development of scientific and technological capacity and innovation activity in ukraine" (№ 1786-vi). 

  • the civil code of ukraine (chapter iv "intellectual property") 
  • the law of ukraine «on property» 
  • the law of ukraine «on state regulation in the field of technology transfer» 

such legal documents can be divided into two groups: base and specific. Base acts are laws, which regulate economic activity in general, and these laws itself do not create the special favorable conditions for establishing of innovation business. Specific laws are laws and legal acts, which take into account the specific of scientific and  technical  and  innovation  activity,  such  normative  acts  which  more  or  less expressly determine the subjects of innovation sphere. We will consider laws of ukraine “about general principles of creation and functioning of the special economic zones (further  sez)  in  ukraine”, “about  the  special  mode  of  investment  and innovation activity of technological parks in ukraine” and statute about the order of creation and functioning of technoparks and innovation structures of other types. As ukraine  is  a  young  state,  there  is  not  enough  experience  on  establishing technoparks;   moreover   nowadays   there   are   some   confusions   in   legislation background of technoparks activity. 

So,  in  the  law  of  ukraine     “about  sez”  technopark  and  technopolis  are considered as such special economic zone. It automatically determines the order of their creation, essence of which is that technostructure is created by the parliament of ukraine after presentation of the government, president of ukraine or local governments. Such process of establishing, obviously, cannot assist to development of technostructure, as, at first, creation takes the heap of time; secondly, enterprises and other organizations can not support this technopark, and thirdly, technoparks in this terms are dependent on government.

Moreover it is not the same technopark and sez, as there is a wide difference between   them:   different   goals,   different   organizational   aspects.   So,   the representatives of universities or scientific units are necessarily presence in the organization structure of technostructure, moreover they act leading part in the management of technopark activity; unlike sez, where such role belongs to public authorities   and   local   government.   The   process   of   decision   making   about implementation of innovation & investment project changes according to it. Also approval of project of activity and constituent documents is carried out by committee for support of the technoparks and other innovation structures development and has aimed to receipt of innovation status. It means actually that a definite economy subject can be a technopark structure, but formally not be legislatively acknowledged, and consequently, do not get definite preferences [3].