Starting from October 11, 2024, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications will officially enter into force for the Republic of Moldova. This was possible after, on July 11, 2024, the Republic of Moldova submitted the instrument of ratification of this international agreement, a significant step for the commercialization and promotion of domestic products on international markets.

This ratification gives our country the opportunity to internationally protect its appellations of origin (AOs) and geographical indications (GIs), such as Divin, Codru, Romanesti (wines and spirits) or Popeasca Cheese and Zabriceni (dried herbs for tea), registered for emblematic products and is a major opportunity for domestic producers, who will be able to request, starting from this date, international protection for Moldovan GIs as well, benefiting from an attractive mechanism and low registration costs.

At the same time, the Republic of Moldova assumes the responsibility to examine the requests for granting protection in the Republic of Moldova for AOs and GIs from the states party to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement and to protect AOs and GIs on its territory.

It is important to note that the procedure for international registration of an AO or a GI in order to obtain their protection requires the payment of considerably lower fees than in the case of registering an AO or a GI separately in each country.

We remind you that the Geneva Act was adopted on May 20, 2015, during the Diplomatic Conference organized for this purpose and constitutes a revision of the Lisbon Agreement regarding the protection of indications of the place of origin of products and their international registration, signed on October 31, 1958. The Republic of Moldova signed the Geneva Act on April 11, 2016, and by ratifying it, our country joins the 25 contracting parties, covering up to 60 countries, within an extended system of GI and AO protection.

In the Republic of Moldova, 11 geographical indications and 7 local appellations of origin are protected.