Intellectual Property in the Republic of Moldova

The Moldovan Dniester Republic (Pridniestrovskaya Moldovskaya Respublika - PMR) was founded on the left bank of the river Dniester already in 1992. Up to now, it has not been officially recognized in the world, but de facto it exists with all attributes of statehood and its own currency - Dniester Rubels. The PMR also has a Republican Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property (RAIS), which accepts applications and carries out examination of objects of intellecutal property and issues protective docu- ments. Our Moldovan colleagues have personally met with the director and staff of RAIS and have learned that protective documents on objects of industrial property issued in Moldova are not recognized on the territory of the PMR, and consequently, the owners of such documents cannot exercise their rights in the PMR. In order to protect their industrial property in the PMR, owners must obtain a protective document of the PMR issued by RAIS. The current situation with regard to the protection of industrial property (IP) is the following. At the moment, questions concerning IP protection are regulated by a Provisional statute passed in 1994. The various IP bills are currently under consideration in Parlament and it is expected that they will be passed in the near future. The Parliament of the PMR is also preparing a document on the unilateral recognition of the Paris Convention and the application of the rules foreseen therein. As of today, RAIS has issued about 130 protective documents. About 10 of them are trademark certificates, the others patents on inventions. It is interesting to know that 4 trademark certificates have been issued in the name of a foreign applicant - British Petroleum. The examination procedure for applications is quite simple. In fact, only a formal examination is carried out. Patents on inventions are granted on the applicant's responsibility in a registrational system. The approach with regard to trademark examination is in many respects similar to the Russian possition. However, the existence of registrations in other countries is, as a rule, accepted as a basis for protectability in the PMR. Information on granted patents and registered trademarks was originally published in the Juridicial bulletin of the PMR, but because this bulletin is available only in the PMR, information on patents and trademarks is now being published in the Bulletin of the university of Tiraspol, which is distributed in several CIS states, including Russia. As regards the enforcement of IP rights and legal precedents in IP matters, surprisingly, several court actions concerning patent infringements, authors' rights, payment of remunerations etc. have already taken place. Since there is no Institute of Patent Attorneys in the PMR, Moldovan patent attorneys are authorized to represent clients at RAIS. Personal contact with the director and staff of RAIS and the territorial proximity enable our Moldovian colleagues to effectively represent you and obtain the necessary information. Therefore, if you would like to obtain IP protection in the PMR, our Moldovan representative and we are ready to represent you in this part of the Republic of Moldova as well.

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