As a result of the intensification of relations of co-operation between the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova and European Patent Organization in the context of the new neighboring policy of the EU, the European Patent Office (EPO) initiated signing of a common working program AGEPI-EPO on the period of 2008-2009.
With this aim, Gerard Giroud, Main director of the European and international affairs of EPO made an informative visit to AGEPI. The current July 8 in the frame of meeting with the governing body of the Agency, there were signed the Program of co-operation for 2008-2009.
The Program provides for a series of activities in the following fields:

• harmonization of the national legislation with the international and European ones;
• consolidation of the institutional capacities;
• observance of the intellectual property rights;
• promotion of the patent system.

The program does not represent an exhaustive list of actions, existing a possibility to modify and complete thereof with the accord of both parties. In the frame of the visit it was also discussed the subject of a perspective collaboration between the EPO and the Republic of Moldova, including matters of extension of the European patent on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and opportunity of signing an agreement between EPO and the Government of the Republic of Moldova.

It was organized a round table with participation of the collaborators of AGEPI in the frame of which to the official European guests it was represented the intellectual property system of the Republic of Moldova, especially the system of patents protection. Moreover, the specialists of AGEPI had an occasion to discuss a set of subjects relating to the protection and examination of the patent applications and instruments used by the EPO specialists in the process of examination. In closing, Gerard Giroud had a meeting with representatives of the European commission Delegation in the Republic of Moldova.