On 29 January this year, in the framework of the Gala of Moldovan Business, were awarded prize-the winners of the Contest “Trademark of the Year 2014”, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI). The Contest, now in its twelfth edition, is organized traditionally in the framework of the National Exhibition “Made in Moldova” and offers a unique opportunity to analyze the experience of creation and promotion of trademarks, which allows highlighting the leaders and establishing the dynamics of consumer behavior on domestic market.

In opening the event, Mr. Valeriu Lazar, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova, President of the Organizing Committee of the Contest, wished to mention that this contest is organized for the first time under the Free Trade Agreement with the EU, he also specified that “Trademark” is based on the principle of continuity and innovation, that is why every year were organized new categories of rewarding the enterprises: National Responsible Operator Contest and Contest for Achievements in the Field of Quality with subcategories: Industrial Goods; Consumer Goods; Food and Agricultural Products; Services.

Mrs. Lilia Bolocan, Director General of AGEPI, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee, in her speech said that trademark is what shapes the personality and identity of the goods and services, while it has a role to “educate” consumers regarding the quality. Also, she congratulated and encouraged the most active and courageous enterprises that took part in the contest stating that they are the promoters of the national economy and that we should take pride in our products and services.

During the years 2003 -2014, in the contest were presented around 1,000 trademarks of enterprises from 16 regions of the country, Chisinau and Balti. This year, 73 files were submitted to the Contest “Trademark of the Year”, which competed for awards from the 9 nominations for 11 categories of products and services, namely:

Nominations according to consumer criteria: Consumer Appreciation, Local Trademark.

Nominations according to professionalism criteria: Debut of the Year, Trademark Export, Trademark Inter, Trademark Favorite of the Year, Socially Responsible Trademark, Acknowledged Trademark, Reputation and Trust.

Thus, at the twelfth edition of the Contest “Trademark of the Year”, were awarded 58 prizes, including Golden Mercury – 22, Gold Medal - 19; Silver Medal - 14; Bronze Medal - 3. The awards were handed to the winners by H.E. Mr. Pirkka Tapiola, Head of the European Union Delegation to Moldova and Mrs. Lilia Bolocan, Director General of AGEPI.

Also, during the Gala of Moldovan Business were awarded enterprises, winners of the contest “Award for Achievements in the Field of Quality”, contest Gold Medal of the National Exhibition “Made in Moldova” and contest “Promoting Food Safety”, organized by the East-European Foundation with the support of the European Union, Governments of Sweden and Denmark. The awards were handed to the winners by H.E. Mrs. Ingrid Tersman, Ambassador of Sweden in the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Octavian Calmic, Deputy Minister of Economy and Mr. Valeriu Lazar, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova.

Gala of Moldovan Business was organized for the first time by the Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), Ministry of Economy, with its specialized institutions - Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development (ODIMM), National Institute of Standardization, National Institute of Metrology, National Accreditation Centre “MOLDAC” - and Employers’ Association in the field of Conformity Assessment of Products, East-European Foundation, National Office of Vine and Wine and USAID CEED II Project.

Detailed information about the winners of the Gala of Moldovan Business can be found at http://chamber.md/ro/nout%C4%83%C8%9Bi/

More photos from the event https://www.facebook.com/AGEPI