Moldova

GENERAL INFORMATION

Area: 33,846 sq. km.

Population: 3,599,528 (2024).

Capital: Kishinev.

Language: Romanian.

Currency: Moldovan leu.

 

 

GENERAL REMARKS

One of the ex-USSR republics, Moldova became an independent State on August 27, 1991, with its own IP Office – State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

 

 

PATENTS OF INVENTION

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on the Protection of Inventions No. 50-XVI of March 7, 2008, in force since October 4, 2008, last amended on June 11, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, since December 25, 1991.
• Validation of a European patent possible since November 1, 2015.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Specification, claims and abstract (may be filed in any language, but if not Romanian, then a Romanian translation must be filed within a period of three months);
• Drawings (if designated);
• Priority document, if claimed.

 

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.

Validity: short-term patent issued after a formal and preliminary examination: valid for 6 years; patent issued after full examination: valid for 20 years from the day following the filing date.

Annuities: accumulated and due after the grant of the patent; subsequent annuities are payable prior to the anniversary of the filing date.

Opposition: may be filed within six months after the publication of the official notification of grant.

 

 

TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on the Protection of Trademarks No. 38-XVI, published on June 6, 2008, in force since September 6, 2008, last amended on March 24, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991.
• Madrid Agreement, since December 25, 1991.
• Madrid Protocol, since December 1, 1997.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• 8 prints of the sign to be protected (8 x 8 cm) (none for word marks);
• List of goods and services, according to the International Classification;
• Priority documents, if any.

 

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trademarks and service marks (word marks, numbers, letters, digits, device marks, three-dimensional, and combinations thereof). Sound, olfactory and tactile marks are also registrable. Besides the original version, filing of word mark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended, Russian still being one of the parallel languages in this country.

Classification: International.

Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. If not used within any five-year period after the registration (or last use) date, the mark can be cancelled upon request of an interested party.

Duration – renewals: 10 years from the filing date, renewable for further periods of 10 years.

Opposition: within three months after the publication of the mark.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on the Protection of Industrial Designs No. 161-XVI, in force since December 1, 2007, last amended on March 24, 2023.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991.
• Hague Agreement, Geneva Act, since December 23, 2003.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• A set of photographs or graphic representations (size 80 x 80 mm, max. 160 x 240 mm). 8 prints are required if b/w representation, 12 if colored;
• Description, if necessary;
• Priority document, if any.

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal examination: 5 years. Extension: four additional 5-year periods.

Opposition: may be filed within three months of publication of the data concerning the application (following the formal examination), and within thirty days after publication of the decision to grant the design.

 

 

DOMAIN NAMES

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

 

FILING

• ccTLD: .md
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local presence: not required.

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable yearly.

Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available (ICANN UDRP model) before WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

 

 

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