Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the general director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Francis Gurry signed a memorandum of cooperation. The document was signed on Monday, October 22, on the occasion of the latter’s visit in Chisinau. “In a modern world that witnesses an unprecedented development of technologies and innovations, to ignore intellectual property and the methods of protecting it means to ignore the wish to modernize the state”, said Vlad Filat. He admitted that Moldova enjoyed over the years multilateral support from WIPO and its members. According to the Prime Minister, there is still a lot of work to do to ensure the implementation of laws regarding protection of intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. “The signed document is meant to boost the protection of innovations, of intellectual property and, most importantly, to encourage creativity as an engine of our country’s development. A direct effect will be the strengthening of the capacities of Moldova’s State Agency for Intellectual Property”, said Vlad Filat. Francis Gurry said Moldova was part of all the treaties signed by WIPO. “Intellectual property is a good instrument for economic and social growth. Its importance is increasing thanks to the Internet. In future, intellectual property will be the tool that will ensure the balance of all the parts involved in the process of creation and innovation”, said Francis Gurry. Moldova has been a member of WIPO since 1991.