The Government of the Republic of Moldova approved, on July 20 this year, amendments to Government Decision No. 489/2008 on the National Commission on Intellectual Property (NCIP), initiated in order to update the nominal composition of NCIP and adjust it to the normative acts approved in the context of public administration reform.

The National Commission on Intellectual Property is an advisory body to the Government and is set up to coordinate and ensure the interaction of ministries, other central administrative authorities, and holders of intellectual property rights in activities aimed at developing the national intellectual property system, combating and preventing infringements of intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting and piracy in the Republic of Moldova.

Since its establishment in 2008, the Commission has managed to promote several initiatives and recommendations aimed at strengthening the national intellectual property system, serving as a platform for communication and dialogue for all actors involved in the process of creating, protecting and using intellectual property rights.

Thus, in addition to representatives of ministries and other authorities with responsibilities in the field of protection and enforcement of IP rights, the Commission includes representatives of the academic and private sector, in the person of the President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, respectively.

The new composition of the Commission corresponds to the provisions of Law No. 136/2017 on the Government, which excluded the position of Deputy Minister and established the position of State Secretary, as well as the provisions of Parliament Decision No. 189/2017 for the approval of the list of ministries, which approved the institutional reorganization of the Government..