In the period July 13-16 this year, at the AGEPI took place the working visit of the representative of the European Patent Office (EPO) Mrs. Nina Formby, Project Leader, International Cooperation Department of EPO.
The visit was aimed at examining the implementation stage of the Biennial AGEPI-EPO Joint Action Program for the period 2014-2015 and identifying the priority directions of bilateral cooperation between offices for the next period.
The Biennial AGEPI-EPO Joint Action Program was signed on 10 July 2014 in order to provide the preparation of the Republic of Moldova for the implementation of the system of validation of European patents in our country and to strengthen the institutional capacities of the national patent protection system.
The agenda of the working visit to AGEPI of the EPO representative included meetings with the Director General of AGEPI, Mrs. Lilia Bolocan, with experts from the Promotion and Foreign Relations Department, Patent Department, Legislation Division and Information Technology and E-Transformation Division.
The participants in discussions exchanged views on developing the cooperation framework and preparedness for validating European patents in the Republic of Moldova, both from normative-legislative, informational and technical point of view.
Mrs. Formby was also familiarized with the most important changes in national legislation in the field of intellectual property in the context of harmonization of national legislation with the European one, with the activities conducted by AGEPI in order to raise society awareness of the role of intellectual property for economic, social and cultural development of the country, the need for protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
During the talks Mrs. Lilia Bolocan praised the support given by the EPO for the participation of AGEPI experts during the last years in vocational training programs in the field of administration and examination of patents, organized by the EPO Academy in cooperation with national IP offices of Greece, Poland and Romania, as well as technical assistance rendered for the organization of videoconferences in AGEPI.
The working visit ended with the AGEPI and EPO commitments to further strengthen bilateral cooperation relations in view of adjusting the national system of protection of inventions to European standards in the field.
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The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the European Patent Organization on Validation of European Patents (Validation Agreement), signed in Munich, on 16 October 2013, was ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova by Law no. 57 of 04.09.2015. The Law was enacted by the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Moldova of 5 May 2015.
