Violation of authors’ right to be sanctioned by law

The violation of the authors’ right will be punished according to certain amendments to the Penal Code, approved by the Parliament in final reading on Friday, April 27. The disclosure of information regarding the invention, blueprint or industrial model, without the author’s consent, will be punished with a fine from 500 to 1,000 conventional units (1 c. u. = 20 lei) or community service from 180 to 240 hours. The same fine will be imposed for illicit use of the mark or origin name (title) of the protected product, as well as for identical or similar signs that can be mistaken for the marks or origin titles. Legal persons who will commit these violations will face fines from 3.500 to 5.000 conventional units, depriving them of the right to hold a certain position for a period from 1 to 5 years. Such punishments will be also imposed if producing, importing, exporting, transporting, selling the product that represents an invention which requires the holder’s authorisation. The unfair competition will be penalized with a fine ranging from 600 to 1.000 conventional units, or imprisonment term from 1 to 3 years. Legal persons will be liable to the same sanctions for the abovementioned violations. The amendments will come into force upon publishing in “The Official Monitor of Moldova”.