The Small Business Association (AMB) announces a new protest of the patent holders. The traders will picket again the Parliament’s building on February 14 in protest against the Law No.208 that bans patent-based entrepreneurial activities, Info-Prim Neo reports. The AMB chairman Eugen Roscovanu told a news conference on February 13 that the talks with the governors reached deadlock. On February 11, members of the Small Business Association submitted a set of alternative proposals formulated by patentees to the Ministry of Economy and Trade. Eugen Roscovanu said that later he had a short telephone conversation with the Minister of Economy Igor Dodon, who promised that the ministry will work out its own alternative proposals that will be discussed with representatives of the patentees. But no official answer was given by the time when the conference was held. “We consider that the talks are intentionally delayed. The results are unpredictable,” the head of the Small Business Association said. Eugen Roscovanu stated that the patent holders demand the unconditional cancellation of the Law No.208 or, as alternative, the institution of a moratorium until 2015. A compromise solution, according to the AMB chairman, is to amend article 2 of the law so that the right to open individual companies free of charge is respected in parallel with the right to work under patent. The patentees hope that their demands will be discussed at the Parliament’s plenary sitting of February 14. If no agreement is reached, the protests will go on. Roscovanu said that they will also hold a march of protest. According to official statistics, 1,647 persons registered individual companies in 2007, while 1,900 companies were closed, the cited source said. There are approximately 40,000 patentees in Moldova at present. The patent holders have staged about 120 protests in all the towns of the country, members of the association say.