The new conception of the Trademark of the Year contest, presented on November 7, encourages small and medium-sized enterprises to develop own brands. Each participant will enjoy direct benefits by simply enrolling in the contest, the chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry Valeriu Lazar said in a news conference, quoted by IPN.

The Trademark of the Year contest forms part of the Made in Moldova events that include the Made in Moldova exhibition, the Trademark of the Year contest and the Quality Award conferred by the Chamber in partnership with the compliance assessment employers association.

Lilia Bolocan, director of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), said the national companies submit annually more than 1,500 new brands for registration, but only established companies apply to take part in the contest. The companies that will become involved in the contest this year will benefit from publicity in the AGEPI’s publications, free courses and consultancy when registering the trademarks and free intellectual property pre-diagnosis services.

This year, not only the companies with recognized trademarks can compete in the category “Debut of the year”, but also those who only develop their own brand and filed an application to the AGEPI, but the brand name wasn’t yet registered. A new category was included – “Recognized trademark”. It is intended for companies with more than five awards won in the previous contests.

The deadline for applications is December 24. The award ceremony will take place at the end of next January.