On 20 February this year, the specialists of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) attended a meeting focused on issues of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the field of geographical indications, organized at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure (MEI). The meeting was attended by representatives of AGEPI, MEI and SE “Center for Applied Metrology and Certification”.

The purpose of the meeting was to exchange information on the implementation of the national system of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the field of geographical indications and appellations of origin, in the context of ensuring compliance with the commitments assumed by the Republic of Moldova under the Association Agreement between the RM and the EU on the segment of geographical indications.

The meeting was chaired by Iuliana Dragalin, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure.

During the meeting, Simion Levitchi, head of Trademarks and Industrial Design Department, reviewed the characteristics of the geographical indications system in the Republic of Moldova, especially in the context of implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union on Geographical Indications. Subsequently, Andrei Moisei, coordinating specialist, AGEPI Training Division, presented the legal framework for enforcement of rights in GIs, legal institutional competences, applied measures and sanctions.

The participants discussed the various issues related to the enforcement of rights in geographical indications, the mechanisms for the protection and control of geographical indications in the internal market, as well as the means of communication between competent institutions in the event of infringements of rights in geographical indications. A distinct subject was the mechanism for ensuring observance of EU geographical indications on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

Under the Association Agreement, over 3,500 geographical indications of the EU Member States are protected in the Republic of Moldova.

Information on GIs protected under the Association Agreement is available on the AGEPI website: http://www.db.agepi.md/GeogrIndications/SearchGI.aspx.