The Cabinet of Ministers approved on April 24, this year, the Draft Government Decision approving the Draft Law for the ratification of the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, presented during the meeting of the Executive by the Deputy Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property, Andrei Popa.

The purpose of the Geneva Act consists in expanding the coverage area of the Lisbon Agreement in force by creating an attractive mechanism for the protection of geographical indications (GIs), similar to the protection of appellations of origin (AOs), and also offering the possibility of joining intergovernmental organizations.

With the entry into force of the Geneva Act, it will be possible to request protection for GIs from the Republic of Moldova at the international level, which is beneficial for domestic producers as well as consumers.

At the same time, the Republic of Moldova assumes the responsibility to examine the applications for the grant of protection in the Republic of Moldova for GIs and AOs from Member States of the Lisbon Agreement and to protect the appellations of origin and geographical indications registered on its territory, according to its own legal system, but in accordance with the requirements of the Geneva Act.

It is important to note that the international registration procedure involves the payment of fees for obtaining the protection of an AO or GI considerably lower than in the case of registering an AO or 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 for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, signed on October 31, 1958. Republic Moldova signed the Geneva Act on April 11, 2016.