Trademarks represent the majority of intellectual properties for which protection is requested. During the activity of the State Agency for Intellectual Property (AGEPI), since 1993, about 100,000 requests for trademark registration have been submitted, with 21.5% coming from national applicants.
AGEPI vice director Svetlana Munteanu told IPN that registering a trademark provides territorial protection against competitors. The high number of requests from foreign companies, which is rising every year, should not be worrying, but encouraging, as it proves Moldova has an attractive and renewable market, suited for free competition.
“This rise might suggest at first sight that there is a small number of applications from national organizations, but we must not forget that the 78.5% come from 120 countries, compared to 21.5% from a single country, Moldova, who has the highest share of requests”, explained Munteanu. The most active foreign applicants are those from Germany, Switzerland, France, USA and Italy.
The principles that underlie the national legislation regarding trademark protection were established at the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, on March 20, 1883, currently signed by 175 member states. Any natural or juridical person from any member country can request and obtain the registration of a trademark in any other member country, if the trademark meets the registration conditions.
Foreign applicants who submit a request in a foreign country do so through a representative. In Moldova's case, they must be represented by an authorized trustee, attested by AGEPI.
The request for national registration must be sent to AGEPI, which verifies if all requirements are met, allots it a date and deposit number and publishes the request data in the intellectual property gazette (BOPI). Any interested party can submit grounded observations to AGEPI within 3 months since the publication.
“If the final examination of the trademark whose registration is required shows that all the conditions are met, AGEPI decides its registration for 10 years, with the option of renewing it for consecutive 10 year spells, as many times as needed”, explained Svetlana Munteanu.
Trademark protection can also be requested through international procedures, according to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol related to it (the Madrid System). “Most foreign entities prefer to request trademark protection through the Madrid System. Its advantages can also be used by national applicants who want to protect their trademarks in the 92 member countries. So far, there are 510 registered Moldovan trademarks”, said Munteanu.
The AGEPI vice director said that in Moldova the culture of intellectual property, in general, and trademark, in particular, is lacking. There is work to be done with applicants, to raise awareness about what is a trademark, how it must be designed, what are the methods and benefits of protection and how rights can be defended.
