Patent merchants give up talks and will march along Chisinau streets to protest law banning their work

The talks between the Ministry of Economy and Trade and patent holders have failed. The vendors rejected the modifications the officials proposed to the law on patent-based entrepreneurial activities and said they would take to the streets again. A protest march along Chisinau’s streets is set to take place on March 13. It will end in picketing the Parliament, Info-Prim Neo reports. Eugen Roscovanu, the president of the Small Business Association (AMB), told a news conference on March 11 that representatives of the patentees had been summoned to a meeting the day before to discuss the Economy Ministry’s proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock. In protest at the proposed changes, the patent holders left the negotiating table and demanded that the law that bans their activity was cancelled unconditionally. According to Eugen Roscovanu, the modifications proposed by the authorities contain nothing but bureaucratic formulations that provide for the same prohibitions. “The way in which the Economy Ministry conducts the talks limits people’s economic rights,” the cited source said, stressing that the patent vendors would not tolerate such an attitude. The AMB chairman said that the local authorities from a number of districts decided to extend the period of validity of the patents so that the patentees can further work under patents. Among the given districts, Eugen Roscovanu mentioned Soldanesti and Rezina as well as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. Asked if the extended patents will be considered valid by the law enforcement and fiscal bodies given that the law bans the activity under patent, the AMB leader has said that the inspectors will not dare to come into conflict with the patentees that are infuriated. “We have staged over 130 protest rallies in markets so far. The people are very disgruntled. I make considerable effort to stop the protesters from entering the Parliament by force during pickets,” Roscovanu said. According to the cited source, there are about 65,000 “individual firms” at present. Only 2% of them present reports. De facto, only 1% carry out economic activities. In a communique released during the news conference, the Ministry of Economy and Trade says that at the beginning of the meeting of March 10, before starting the talks over the modifications, the AMB president Eugen Roscovanu presented as an ultimatum the definitive unilateral version, excluding the possibility of talks or dialogue. The amendments proposed by the patentees defy the law and modify the primary law norms and principles in the fiscal and customs areas and the whole patent-based system, and this runs counter to Moldova’s international commitments and the international practice in the field, the communiqué says. It also says that the modifications proposed by Eugen Roscovanu allow the sale of domestic appliances and building materials under patent, the patent-based retail trade at kiosks, the issuing of family patent to relatives and the amendment of the procedure for declaring goods imported by patentees by not paying customs duties and value added tax. However, the Economy Ministry expresses readiness to be more flexible in the dialogue with patentees so as to find compromise solutions to the patent-related problems, and to continue the talks. The authorities state that at the working meeting of February 27, the Economy Ministry and the patentees identified a number of solutions like the continuation of patent-based trade at stands and counters in authorized markets and the extension of the legal term for carrying out patent-based entrepreneurial activities until 2017, except trade at kiosks. The protest march scheduled for March 13 will set off from Cantemir Market, which is located at the intersection with Ismail Street. The protesters will move along Stefan cel Mare Boulevard, will stop at the Government and Presidential Office and will picket the Parliament at the end.