The 23rd Liaison Meeting on Cooperation, the 32nd Liaison Meeting on Trade Marks and the 24th Liaison Meeting on Designs took place from 14 to 16 October this year at the headquarters of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain.

Experts from the intellectual property offices of EU Member States, candidate countries as well as representatives of international intellectual property associations and organizations met to discuss the latest developments in the field of international cooperation as well as in the field of trademarks and industrial design.

The Republic of Moldova was represented by Victoria Pulbere, deputy head of the Trademarks and Industrial Design Department, within the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) and Victoria Severin, principal specialist, International Relations and European Integration Division.

All three meetings on cooperation, trademarks and designs were chaired by Sandris Laganovskis, Director of EUIPO’s Cooperation and Partnerships Department.

During the 23rd Liaison Meeting on Cooperation, participants addressed key topics for the future of European cooperation in the field of intellectual property, including the EUIPO Strategic Plan 2030, European Cooperation Projects and the new regulatory framework for artisanal and industrial geographical indications. Developments in international cooperation were also discussed, including support for Ukraine and restrictive measures related to the current crisis. The agenda also included a session dedicated to new trends in artificial intelligence and their impact on intellectual property.

During the 32nd Liaison Meeting on Trade Marks held on 15 October 2024, several key topics were discussed, including the EUIPO Strategic Plan 2030 and the promotion of common practices at EU level, with a focus on past achievements and new initiatives included in the future plan. Also during this session, the CP15Common Practice “Comparison of goods and services: treatment of terms lacking clarity and precision and common interpretation of Canon criteria and other factors” from European Cooperation Projects PCE4 Convergence of Practices was presented. Also, the status of the implementation of the Action Plan of the Boards of Appeal and their recent decisions were analyzed. In addition, the latest achievements in the development of examination tools and solutions were presented, as well as EUIPO’s alignment with new trends in the field of artificial intelligence.

During the 24th Liaison Meeting on Designs, held on October 16, 2024, the main changes and challenges regarding European legislation in the field of industrial design protection were discussed. Also, the most important amendments proposed in the Industrial Design Guide, which represent guidelines for the examination of Community designs, were presented.

EUIPO Liaison Meetings are a formal forum for experts to discuss technical topics and are therefore an important step towards the continued development and sustainability of the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN).