Judges and prosecutors from Chisinau and Balti, as well as from circa 10 district centres, are participating in a series of seminars dedicated to ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the courts. The trainings will be implemented between 8th and 12th September by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), in partnership with AGEPI and the EU Project ”Support to Enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights”.

The training course aims to enhance the knowledge of the Moldovan justice sector concerning respect for intellectual property rights.

At the opening, AGEPI Deputy Director General, Mr. Andrei Popa, mentioned that training judiciary professionals in the field of intellectual property is extremely important for the proper examination of litigations related to this area.

Team Leader of the EU Project ”Support to Enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights” in the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Maximilian Foedinger, welcomed the presence of judges and prosecutors at the seminar, noting that the trainings will enrich participants' practices regarding the enforcement of intellectual property rights. 

EU Project Expert, Mr. Kenny Wright, talked to participants about the infringement of intellectual property rights, including the impact of counterfeiting and piracy on the economy and society.

"Over last 20 years I have been working with the governments of different countries in the field of IPR enforcement and I want to tell you that the impact of counterfeiting and piracy is causing significant harm to consumers and industries. In 2016, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that the trade in counterfeit and pirate goods is the most valuable illicit trade in the world, beating narcotics into second place” the expert revealed.

The course is dedicated to national and international regulations in the field, the basic principles of intellectual property, its role and its essence in the legal relations, the forms and limits of the protection of intellectual property objects, the rights system that it generates, as well as the practical aspects of litigations concerning intellectual property rights.

The EU Project ”Support to Enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights” in the Republic of Moldova is funded by the European Union and implemented by a Consortium of Archidata LLC (Italy), European Profiles S.C. (Greece) and Business and Strategies in Europe (Belgium). The project has a duration of two years and ends in November 2018.