The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) organized from April 15 to 17, this year, the 22nd Meeting in the field of cooperation, the 31st Meeting in the field of trademarks and the 23rd Meeting in the field of industrial design.

Experts from the intellectual property offices of EU Member States, candidate countries as well as representatives of international intellectual property associations and organizations met to discuss the latest developments in the field of trademarks, industrial design, and international cooperation.

The Republic of Moldova was represented by Victoria Pulbere, Deputy Head of the Trademarks and Industrial Design Department, within the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

A general introduction with reference to the Strategic Plan 2030, the challenges and opportunities identified during the consultations as well as the preliminary results were presented during the meeting in the field of cooperation. The projects funded, implemented by the EUIPO, the latest developments and achievements, as well as the perspectives on the ongoing European cooperation projects, including EU4IP, were also presented.

A new topic addressed at the meeting was the registration of geographical indications for craft and industrial products where the EUIPO is the authority responsible for implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753.

The intellectual property offices within the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) collaborate in the context of the convergence of practices in the field of trademarks, industrial designs and agree on some common practices (CP). Thus, the European convergence projects, the actions in the context of PC maintenance, the implementation of new PCs were presented during the meetings in the field of trademarks and industrial design. Thanks to the collaboration between AGEPI and EUIPO, the following CPs were adopted by AGEPI, namely:

• CP5. Relative Grounds – Likelihood of Confusion (Impact of non-distinctive/weak components);
• CP9. Distinctiveness of Three-Dimensional Marks Containing Verbal and/or Figurative Elements When the Shape is not Distinctive in Itself;
• CP10. Criteria for Assessing Disclosure of Designs on the Internet.

The legislative chronology regarding the protection of industrial designs, the main changes, new requirements for design representation as well as future challenges were also presented during the meeting on industrial design.

The meetings (Liason Meeting EUIPO) constitute a formal forum to discuss technical topics by experts and are therefore an important step towards the continued development and sustainability of the EUIPN.