The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova (CCI of the Republic of Moldova), together with the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), organized an open online meeting of Sectoral Entrepreneurship Committees under the CCI of the Republic of Moldova entitled “Encouraging Innovation Process: Protecting Patented Inventions and Other Technological Solutions”.

In the opening of the event, Sergiu Harea, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova noted that the event aims to promote innovation, investment and intellectual property so as to encourage the implementation of innovations by domestic companies.

Director General of AGEPI Viorel Iustin mentioned that: “We are sure that only through the joint efforts of the authorities and the entrepreneurial sector can the economic and social security of the country be ensured, and in the conditions of the coronavirus caused-crisis this cooperation becomes even more stringent, and the AGEPI-CCI partnership aims to increase the business potential of enterprises by using IP objects.”

“The theme of this event is very current: in the contemporary era, intellectual property and innovation are the foundation of the knowledge-based economy. The starting point of the innovation process is the elaboration of new information, knowledge and inventions, which need to be protected through intellectual property rights. Only together will we succeed in streamlining the innovation activity in the Republic of Moldova and in increasing the competitiveness of local products and services,” added the Director General of AGEPI.

The dialogue was attended by specialists from AGEPI, who provided information on specific topics and answered the participants’ questions. Thus, the most current issues in the field, including the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurial activity in the light of insufficient use of innovation potential by the real sector were discussed during the meeting.

AGEPI representatives spoke about the role that the Agency and other state institutions have in strengthening the innovative capacities of companies and presented the patenting services and assistance and support tools offered by AGEPI for the protection and use of inventions.

Topics related to the opportunity to create business-science partnerships in priority areas for the national economy, as well as the importance of innovative policies in business development and the deficiencies of the intellectual property system, and also the tools it offers to stimulate innovation and the implementation of new products and technologies were also addressed.

Finally, the enterprises participating in the event were invited to apply to a Mentoring Program launched within the project Fostering Innovations in the Danube Region through Knowledge Engineering and IPR Management (KnowING IPR), funded by the Danube Transnational Programme.