We live in an age where inventiveness, creativity and authenticity are values ​​that can bring you to the heights of success. Today, you no longer have to work a life in the corporation, to advance, step by step, to become a careerist – you can create a viral mobile application that will make you a millionaire overnight, make embroidered blouses that will “drive mad” Hollywood stars or bake the best handicraft bread in town.

No matter in which domain you have created something valuable, the fruit of your work is yours and it is right that the law can offer you not only the confirmation of this, but also the guarantee that no one will claim your laurel wreath. In the Republic of Moldova, the only public institution that can provide this guarantee is the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

Intellectual property:

• Industrial property objects (trademark, industrial design, invention, plant variety, geographical indication, appellation of origin, traditional specialty guaranteed)
• Copyright and related rights (literary, scientific works, works of art, musical works, etc.)

AGEPI helps you to add value to your product

Support in completing the specification

Have you ever heard of the famous Italian cheese “Parmigiano-Reggiano”? Well, what makes it so special? A unique recipe, ingredients of the highest quality, as well as a limited production area, the center of which is the cities of Parma and Reggio Emilia. Under EU legislation, only the cheeses produced in this region can be labeled as such. Being an exclusive product, no wonder that Parmesan has become the most popular Italian traditional product. Little by little, in the Republic of Moldova as well the entrepreneurs are learning to use their traditional products. For instance, rose petal jam – we all enjoyed it in the childhood, in the horn-shaped cookies or rolls prepared by the grandmother.

Did you know that there is only one entrepreneur in our country that produces it on an industrial scale? We are talking about the Canning Factory in Calarasi, whose leaders decided to capitalize on this asset and managed to obtain the title of “Protected Geographical Indication” for this aromatic dessert both in the RM and the EU. The procedure was not easy at all, but AGEPI provided maximum support in the preparation of all the documents, says the director of the enterprise.

Mihail Vladicescu, director of “Canning Factory in Calarasi”: “Our jam is a unique product in Moldova, without preservatives, with exceptional taste qualities and both nutritional and detoxifying properties. All of this had to be confirmed in laboratories, we had to get a series of certifications, we were even visited by EU experts, but in the end we managed to get the GI protection. This would not have been possible without the support of AGEPI, which helped us to meet the specification due to a European grant. It was a difficult road, but throughout it, the institution’s specialists showed patience and understanding, even if we were quite impulsive sometimes.”

“Rose petal jam of Calarasi” is exported to several European countries, and importers from Asia as well have recently shown interest in this dessert. The PGI product opens new opportunities for the producer, who does not exclude the possibility of launching pastries with the delicious jam or even pharmaceuticals from rose petals.

Geographical indications help producers to earn profit from their products and keep the traditions of the region of origin. The reputation of GI products in turn contributes to increased production and export. Another benefit of the cooperation with AGEPI is the fact that the recognition of Moldovan PGIs within the EU is free of charge, based on the RM-EU Association Agreement which provides for the mutual protection of PGIs of the parties.

AGEPI helps you to capitalize on your creativity

65% reduction for SMEs and tax exemption for pupils and students

What is the most obvious distinctive feature for a product? The appearance, of course. The way a product looks like is one of the main factors influencing its successful sale and which determines the buyer to prefer a product from the many proposed variants. Moreover, sometimes the appearance is much more important than the product name (brand). Designer Mihai Stamati knows it, creator of decor items, furniture, and also the author of a collection of eco-mechanical toys for children. The “Gosling”, “Pony”, “Tricycle”, “Caterpillar”, “Grasshopper and Ant” are intended for children between 2 and 4 years old. Each piece separately is first sketched, and then cut into wood by a factory in the capital, and the craftsman dips them and assembles them together, creating simple forms, easily perceived by the little ones.

“The design of the product is protected as an ID, rendered by line and color assemblies or three-dimensional shapes. If the registered trademark serves to distinguish the products from the point of view of the manufacturer, then the industrial designs refer to the appearance of the product itself. The range of ID owners is extremely varied: from tool makers to jewellers. More than 100 IDs in the same product category may be included in an application for registration.”

Mihai Stamati, designer: “The idea of ​​making wooden toys came from the desire to create something that can be produced relatively easily but at the same time have a strong visual impact. Wood gives me some possibilities and also limits, and I see this as a challenge that inspires me and sometimes obliges me to render the essence through stylized, simple forms. I do not own a trademark because, for the time being, I do not produce these toys in series. But I wanted to mention that the design of toys belongs to me, therefore I registered them with AGEPI in the category “Industrial Designs” (ID). So I secured the exclusive right in these products and obtained the guarantee that no one would plague my creations, no one would produce toys with an identical appearance, but with another name, so to say.”

AGEPI helps you change the world

95% reduction on the fee paid by natural persons and organizations in the field of science and innovation

Inventions have always been the engine of progress, and their authors have entered the history of mankind as personalities that have changed the world. In the Republic of Moldova we also have inventors, including in areas of the future. A group of scientists from the Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Laboratory of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “N. Testemitanu” have announced that they have developed a unique method that facilitates the creation of a healthy liver under laboratory conditions without the need for a donor. Promising, isn’t it? Without much thought, the authors of the invention patented it with AGEPI, because their plans are great: to revolutionize transplantology in our country.

Mariana Jian, scientific researcher, Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Laboratory, SUMPh: “The method we have worked on involves the decellularization of the liver of the patient who needs transplantation and its repopulation with stem cells taken from the same patient. Later, in the laboratory, these stem cells are transformed into hepatic cells to obtain a functional liver. The big challenge is to 100% extract the diseased hepatic cells so that only the matrix with collagen (skeleton) remains from the liver. This ensures that the rejection rate of the new organ will practically be reduced to zero. The novelty with which we came is precisely that complex of substances that destroy the hepatic cells without clotting the blood, the matter is about substances that have an increased capacity to penetrate all the parts of the organ, respectively, they help us to get that “white sheet”, with which we can work further.”

Nowadays, the authors of the invention have managed to obtain a rat liver created under laboratory conditions, and their great hope is to apply for a grant under the European Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020 and to continue the research.

Lilia Bolocan, Director General of AGEPI: “The patent is a “contract” between the inventor and the state where: the inventor undertakes to disclose his invention to the society, and the state instead grants the inventor through a title of protection, containing the information about that invention, an exclusive right to exploit it throughout its term of protection and to prohibit others who do not have his consent from exploiting the invention, so that the inventor recovers the expenses associated with the creation of the invention and eventually obtains an income. The State Agency on Intellectual Property is a supporter of the technical and scientific progress in our country, therefore upon patenting the invention the natural persons and organizations in the field of science and innovation get a 95% reduction.”

More details on the procedure for registration of industrial property objects with AGEPI and the requirements for IPO right claimants are available at: http://agepi.gov.md/ro/content/obiecte-de-proprietate-industriala.