On 25-26 March an EU delegation led by João Negrão, Executive Director (ED) of the EUIPO, visits Chișinău, Moldova. The top management of the Ukrainian IP office also takes part in the event.

The first day marked the launch of the EU4IP, a cooperation project between the EUIPO and the national IP offices – UANIPIO (Ukrainian IP Office), Sakpatenti (Georgia), AGEPI (Republic of Moldova) to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine with the support of the EU.

The initiative aims to leverage IP to create a favourable environment for innovation, creativity and free competition. In doing so, the partnership paves the way for the three candidate countries’ accession to the EU and the European Union IP Network (EUIPN), a network made up of the EUIPO and the national IP offices and User Associations of the EU.

During the 2-day visit, the EU delegation also engages with European and international stakeholders, holding discussions on the needs and goals of the EU4IP project. On 25 March the EU delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mihai Popșoi, as well as with other senior government officials of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan government.

EU4IP official launch

On 25 March, the EU4IP was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and chief negotiator of the Republic of Moldova for EU accession, Ms Cristina Gherasimova, the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Mr Jānis Mažeiks, and the Executive Director of the EUIPO at a launch event. The conference gathered high-level representatives from the beneficiary countries, as well as from the EUIPO, the EU Delegation to Moldova and the European national IP offices of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania in a Team Europe approach.

“On our European path, we remain steadfast in our understanding of the importance of high quality IP protection for building a competitive and sustainable economy based on innovation, technology and creativity, especially in the face of the challenges posed by the ongoing war. Achieving the vision of a shared, innovative European future is impossible without the experience, expertise and dedicated support of our European colleagues. We have had the opportunity to meet all these elements of support through our cooperation with EUIPO”, Olena Orliuk, Director of UANIPIO.

Olena Orliuk

Bogdan Paduchak

“I am glad that the success of the Georgia-EU joint project 2020-2023 laid the foundation for the new regional project, in which Moldova and Ukraine are involved along with Georgia - this is especially valuable, as all the three countries participating in the EU4IP project were granted EU candidate status. I strongly believe that the mentioned project will make a significant contribution to the further development of the field of Intellectual property of the participating countries“, - stated Soso Giorgadze, Chairperson of Sakpatenti.

Soso Giorgadze

Eugeniu Rusu, Director General of AGEPI, emphasized the importance of the EU4IP project for the beneficiary countries, stating:

“Hosting the launch of this EU project is of a great significance for the Republic of Moldova as it reaffirms our commitment to strengthening intellectual property system and advancing our European integration agenda. We are delighted to collaborate with the EUIPO and our EU partners to further enhance intellectual property protection in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. This collaboration is essential to create a favorable environment for innovation, creativity, and free competition, thus contributing to our objectives of EU accession and integration into the European intellectual property network."

Eugeniu Rusu

”We will spare no effort in providing any and all assistance required according to the specific needs arising from each of the countries. The EU-funded project EU4IP we are launching today will support the alignment of the legal framework of our partner countries with the EU acquis on intellectual property, aligning rules, legal protection and enforcement.”, said João Negrão, EUIPO Executive Director.

João Negrão

EU4IP: project objectives and meanings

By strengthening the IP landscape, EU4IP promotes economic and cultural development, bolsters the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and raises the level of investment attractiveness. The EU4IP project’s main objective is to contribute to an adequate and effective level of registration, protection and enforcement of IP rights in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The goal is that the three countries - Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia - adopt European and international best practices and adhere to the commitments set out in their respective Association Agreements, as well as Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA), and implement the European Commission's recommendations on EU membership.

The EU4IP project highlights the importance of upholding IP rights by focusing on four key areas:

• enhancing legal frameworks and facilitating their alignment to the IP EU acquis;
• supporting IP institutions and networks;
• collaborating on enforcement mechanisms; and
• raising awareness, targeting the private sector and SMEs.

This EU-funded project is implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for an initial duration of 48 months, starting from 1 January 2024, with a total budget of EUR 4 million provided by the European Union, including the EUIPO.

EU support to Ukraine in the field of IP

In 2022, the EUIPO took measures to provide support to Ukrainian trade mark and design owners and to safeguard their IP rights within the EU, while continuing the technical work and cooperation with the Ukrainian IP authorities. In February 2023 a  ground-breaking agreement between the European Commission and Ukraine was reached, allowing Ukraine to participate in activities financed by the European Union under the Single Market Programme. In June 2023, the joint EUIPO-European Commission SME Fund was extended to support Ukrainian businesses, which can now get funding to apply for IP rights including trade marks, designs, patents or plant varieties. In October 2023, the EUIPO’s ED João Negrão visited Ukraine to discuss the significant impact of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine’s IP sphere, emphasizing the pressing need for collaborative efforts to address these challenges, and to explore the role of IP in the post-war recovery of the country to enhance its investment climate. During this visit, the biennial Work Plan for 2024-2025 was signed between the EUIPO and UANIPIO, outlining joint activities following the MoU signed in July 2023.

For information:

The EUIPO is one of the largest decentralised agencies of the European Union, based in Alicante, Spain. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, the EU Intellectual Property Office manages the registration of EU trade marks since 1994 and designs since 2003, both of which are intellectual property rights that cover the 27 Member States of the European Union.

In 2023, another IP right, craft and industrial geographical indications, was added to the agency's portfolio. The EUIPO also carries out cooperation activities at EU and international level to create a level playing field in the world of IP and hosts the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

Photos: Ion Buga Photographer

25 March 2024