The EU funded Project “Support to Enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights” in the Republic of Moldova, together with the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), organized an event on 18^th September 2018 to present the Moldovan IPR enforcement system to the international community. The event "Intellectual Property Right Enforcement in the Republic of Moldova: Stronger and more efficient" brought together the international community, among which representatives of the EU Delegation, Embassies, international business associations, public authorities and other related Projects.

At the opening of the event, AGEPI Director General, Ms. Lilia Bolocan, stated that to strengthen respect for intellectual property (IP) is not an easy task but is very important for both social and economic development.

”As a national office for intellectual property, AGEPI, in cooperation with other responsible authorities, insists on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. In this context, AGEPI is actively involved in raising the level of respect for IP in society, through awareness activities and giving more attention to the education of young people. In this way, we will encourage the respect of IPR and will reduce the level of piracy and counterfeiting”, Ms. Lilia Bolocan said.

Mr. Marco Gemmer, the Head of Operations at the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, highlighted that the Association Agreement is a framework which offers support for intellectual property protection in the Republic of Moldova and the European Union will continue its support for this sector, provided that this assistance brings tangible and visible results for the citizens.

"Intellectual property rights are an engine for economic development. In the EU, 38% of jobs are created by IPR intensive industries. Consequently, we must encourage the development and protection of intellectual property in the Republic of Moldova to grow the economy, taking into account the experience of EU countries." Mr. Marco Gemmer stated.

The Team Leader of the project, Maximilian Foedinger, together with the Deputy Team Leader, Kenny Wright and the Project experts then gave an overview of the current IPR enforcement system in the Republic of Moldova and how it can be enhanced. They affirmed that the Republic of Moldova has a strong and functional IPR system, aligned with the international framework, and all businesses should be encouraged to use it to enforce their IPR.

International experts, Gyula Almasi, from the Hungarian Customs Service and Florin Alexandru, from the Romanian Police Force, presented their countries' solutions to the current challenges in the field of intellectual property rights protection. Finally, the participants discussed the most pressing IPR enforcement issues that can be solved in close cooperation with development partners.

The scope of the event was to showcase the progress achieved by the Republic of Moldova in strengthening the IPR enforcement system thus far, harmonizing national legislation to European acquis and inviting investors to develop businesses in the Republic of Moldova and benefit from the protection of this system.

The event also served as a platform to enhance dialogue and cooperation with foreign institutions in the Republic of Moldova.

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.