In the works of the eleventh edition of the National Exhibition “Made in Moldova”, held at IEC “Moldexpo” in the period from January 31 to February 4 this year, AGEPI participates with a large information stand on the protection, exploitation and defense of intellectual property rights in the Republic of Moldova. Participants and visitors can get at the exhibition stand of AGEPI free qualified advice and information materials (brochures, leaflets) on national and international system of protection of intellectual property objects (inventions, trademarks, plant varieties, industrial design, etc.).
On 2 February this year, in the framework of the Program of exhibition business events, AGEPI organized the Seminar “International Registration of Trademark – Tool of the Export Strategy for the Republic of Moldova”.
The seminar held by AGEPI specialists was attended by representatives of stakeholders participating in the exhibition, including of SMEs sector, associations of producers in the Republic and other central and local public administration institutions.
The seminar aimed to inform participants on legislative updates in the field of protection of product and service trademarks, the benefits of trademarks registration by national and international way and their importance in promoting the image of local enterprises on domestic and foreign market.
The seminar in question was moderated by Ms. Svetlana Munteanu, Deputy Director General of AGEPI, who stressed the importance of proper behavior on the part of economic agents in the market economy conditions, the need for registration and use of intelligent and strong product and service trademarks to exclude imitation of notorious signs, to involve an individuality that brings to manufacturer benefits, which attract and attach customers in relation to its products. For this, the manufacturer must have the necessary knowledge in the field of trademarks, to thoroughly inform itself before registering a trademark, emphasized the moderator.
The participants watched with interest the communication of Mrs. Svetlana Sahan, chief of the National Trademarks Division, AGEPI, laying out in detail the procedure for trademark registration by national way, the requirements to application materials, sources of information on the trademarks available free of charge on AGEPI site and the role of trademarks in promoting the commercial success of enterprises.
Ms. Lilia Railean, coordinator expert in the International Trademarks Division, explained the basic requirements of international registration of trademarks, and Mr. Liviu Sibov, senior lawyer in the Contentious Matter and IPO Legal Status Division, AGEPI, talked about securing rights in trademarks in the Republic of Moldova and abroad, about the national and international legal framework, named the national bodies whose competence is ensuring IP rights, etc.
Mrs. Natalia Mogol, Deputy Director of Trademarks, Industrial Designs Department, AGEPI, interfered with additions and concrete examples on the communications made by AGEPI specialists, drew some rigorous conclusions, namely: a) trademarks submitted for registration must be original, b) registration of the trademark is the basic condition to take advantage of this important intellectual property object, c) holders should consider the opportunity of trademark registration in countries where they have commercial interests.
Seminar organizers responded to a series of questions addressed by those present with reference to the territorial principle of registration of trademarks, selection of classes of goods and services for which trademarks are registered, cases of registration of autochthonous trademarks in other countries and ways of protection of rights of true holders, compulsoriness of use of registered signs, etc.
National exhibition “Made in Moldova”, eleventh edition, is organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, under the patronage of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. In the current edition of the exhibition take part about 300 stakeholders from different branches of national economy, on an exhibition area of 1600 square meters. In the Exhibition is carried out an extensive Program of business events (seminars, round tables, contests and the Job Fair).
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Also, on 2 February this year, took place the official ceremony of awarding the winners of the Contest “Trademark of year-2011”, to which were submitted the most successful projects on the creation, promotion and use of trademarks on the domestic and external market.
The ceremony was attended by persons from country’s leadership, representatives of central public authorities, of the diplomatic corps accredited in the Republic of Moldova, of organizations and business support projects, stakeholders, mass media.
The contest was held on 7 nominations and 19 categories of products and services, namely “Consumer Appreciation”, “Debut of the Year”, “Export”, “Inter”, “Favourite of the Year”, “Socially Responsible”, “Rebranding”, and “Reputation and Trust”.
The current edition of the Contest “Trademark of the Year” was attended by 90 projects, and the most successful of them were awarded the Grand Prix “Golden Mercury” (41), Gold Medals (22), Silver Medals ( 6) and the Medal “Heritage of the Republic” (5).
The awards were handed by Mr. Marian Lupu, Interim President of the Republic of Moldova, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Gheorghe Cucu, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms. Lilia Bolocan, Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property.
Year after year “Trademark of the Year” enjoys an increased interest from stakeholders, the evidence being the growing number of participants, compared with the previous editions. In the period 2003-2010 in the contest were presented about 800 projects from 15 districts of the country and the Chisinau and Balti municipalities.
Contest “Trademark of the Year”, which was initiated in 2003, is a professional competition organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova in cooperation with the State Agency on Intellectual Property. The contest offers a unique opportunity to identify and appreciate at its true value the experience of national trademark owners on creating and promoting trademarks as strategic marketing tool, to highlight the leaders in this field, to influence the purchasing decision and to develop the consumer culture in terms of intellectual property, in general, and trademarks, in particular.
Details of the festive awarding ceremony: