On 12 July this year, Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), Octavian Apostol and Vice-President of the European Patent Office (EPO), Raimund Lutz signed a Joint Program of Activities that will be implemented by the two offices during the period 2016-2017.

The event took place at the European Patent Office based in Munich, Germany, during the AGEPI-EPO Bilateral Meeting.

During the meeting they discussed several issues related to the bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Patent Organization, particularly following the entry into force on 1 November 2015 of the Agreement on Validation of European Patents and the process of European integration that our country is passing through.

Also, AGEPI Director General, Octavian Apostol, stressed the importance that our country attaches to the new system of protection of European patents, a system that will allow users of the European patent system to validate their patents in the Republic of Moldova in the patenting procedure managed by the European Office.

Also, Octavian Apostol informed European partners about the latest developments in policy and legislation, noting the progress made by Moldova in building a modern system of protection of intellectual property rights.

In this context, Vice-President of the EPO, on behalf of the President of the EPO, Benoît Battistelli, assured the Moldovan delegation that the organization he represents will further make every effort to support our country in order to strengthen the institutional capacities of the authorities responsible for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, promotion of the validation system of the Republic of Moldova among users of the European patent system and potential investors, utilization of the innovative potential in boosting businesses and creating new opportunities for development. The Program of Bilateral Cooperation signed by the two offices is a valuable and complex tool, said Vice-President of the EPO. However, this is not a complete list of actions and commitments, the EPO announcing its full readiness and flexibility to also respond to other requests and needs within the competence of the organization.

Attending the event, Director for International Cooperation, Nicolas Morey, conducted a review of the EPO activity, focusing on the priorities and challenges of the office today. The official noted the growing importance of collaboration and unification of efforts in order to timely provide quality services to users of the patent system. Referring to the experience of other countries in the process of validation and expansion, Nicolas Morey showed confidence that Moldova will benefit from the implementation of the validation system, becoming part of a common area of ​​validation of the European patents that includes 38 EPO Member States and 4 non-member states under extension or validation relationship with the European Patent Organization.

Parties mutually assured themselves of full openness for the continuation and deepening of relations in bilateral and multilateral context and agreed on priority directions of cooperation.

Photo Source: EPO.