The intellectual property sector remains a challenge for the Republic of Moldova. More information is required and the intellectual property rights should be respected. IPN had a discussion on the issue with Lilia Bolocan, director general of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

AGEPI registers, owner uses

The intellectual property is private property. After registration, the owner is responsible for the protection of the property. A protection certificate offers exclusive rights over the registered property. No one can use it without the consent of the owner. If there is a registered brand name for particular products and/or services, other persons can make or sell identical or similar products under the same brand name only with the consent of the owner. Thus, the owner can sue those persons and claim damages.

Under the law, the AGEPI provides and issues, in the name of the state, protection certificates for intellectual property, such as brand names, inventions, industrial design, literary works, works of art, sorts of plants, geographical indications, guaranteed traditional specialties and others. At the same time, such institutions as the Customs Service, the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General’s Office do not have powers to detect, identify and eliminate trade that violates intellectual property rights.

In 2014, there was launched the e-AGEPI service for submitting applications online. The number of online applications for registering intellectual property and extending ownership rights has increased. In 2016, there were filed over 3,600 applications. Almost 42% of these were submitted in a digital format. Of all the protection certificates provided so far, over 80% refer to trademarks. More than 70% of the trademarks protected on Moldova’s territory belong to foreigners. “Those from outside are more interested in protection on our market than the national applicants. The national intellectual property system has worked for only 25 years and necessitates informational support. We lay special emphasis on the promotion of the area,” stated Lilia Bolocan.

When an asset is registered, the owner with exclusive rights can ban the use of this asset, but can also allow using it in exchange for remuneration or even free. Some do it for promotional purposes. One of the tasks of the AGEPI is to tell the people that they can do whatever they want with their intellectual property, but should do it consciously.

In the Republic of Moldova, as in other states, piracy is widely spread. This is one of the reasons why the persons do not show increased interest in ensuring the protection of their rights on the market in the Republic of Moldova. Such situations are often met in the case of foreign cosmetics and perfumery firms. For consumers, this is an advantage as long as they can use a counterfeit or pirated product at a much lower price than the price of the original product. But they face risks related to life and health in such a case.

Duration and procedures

The protection of intellectual property in Moldova can be requested by submitting an application directly to the AGEPI (national procedure) or through the World Intellectual Property Organization (international procedure). The procedures for intellectual property types are different, as is the length. They consist of several stages, such as examination of the application submission conditions, publication in the Intellectual Property Bulletin, followed by a period of three months for those interested to submit observations, examination and issuing of the decision to register or reject the application.

The procedure for examining an application can last for up to a year in the case of trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications and for up to 18 months in the case of invention patents. The AGEPI is preparing the implementation of a system that would offer the applicant the possibility of obtaining a protection certificate for a trademark in a shorter period of time based on an own responsibility application. Any decision taken as a result can be challenged in the AGEPI Contestation Commission where the sides present additional arguments in favor of providing protection or, if necessary, of rejecting the application. The decisions taken by the Contestation Commission can be disputed in court.

In the Republic of Moldova, businesses are often launched and promoted on the market under a nonregistered brand name and without ensuring protection. Consequently, other persons can register the brand name in their name and can claim damages from the real producer for violation of the intellectual property right. In this case, the producer can request the court to annul the registration of the brand name if the registration was made ill-intentionally.

Lilia Bolocan said in the Republic of Moldova there are owners who registered trademarks for all the classes of products and services in order to benefit from extended protection and to make sure that no one will benefit from already well-known and protected trademarks.

Entailed costs

To register a trademark for one class of products or services, with protection enjoyed during ten years, the applicant will pay €490. The private individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from 50% discounts.

To patent inventions, register industrial designs, works protected by copyright and related rights, a series of applicants (students, master’s decree students, doctoral students, persons with disabilities, pensioners, war veterans and others) are exempted from payment, while the organizations from science and innovation and the SMEs benefit from 95% and, respectively, 85% discounts. Moreover, the organizations from science and innovation are exempted from paying tariffs for extending the duration of invention patents during the first five years.

According to Lilia Bolocan, money for extending the duration of the invention patents after the first five years can be obtained only by owners that used the intellectual property rights and implemented the innovation. When a pensioner patented the invention or registered the intellectual property with the AGEPI, this may not have money to renew the protection certificate even if he benefits from discounts. “The percentage of those who can renew the patents is very low because not many patents are implemented, but their non-utilization does not bring profit,” stated Bolocan.

A number of 127 345 intellectual property assets obtained protection in Moldova since 1993 until 2016. Of these, 80.2% are trademarks.

Maria Procopciuc, IPN