WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
6 February 2002
(02-0574)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
MOLDOVA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on Trademarks and Appellations of
Origin Nº 588-XIII, as last amended in 2000, as notified by Moldova under Article 63.2 of the
Agreement (see document IP/N/1/MDA/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriétéintellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
MOLDOVA
Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi n° 588-XIII sur les marques de fabrique ou
de commerce et les appellations d'origine du produit, modifiée pour la dernière fois en 2000, qui a été
notifié par Moldova au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/MDA/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
MOLDOVA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley sobre las marcas de fábrica o de
comercio y denominaciones de origen Nº 588/XIII, modificada en 2000, notificado por Moldova de
conformidad con lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el documento
IP/N/1/MDA/1).
                                                     
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 2
Law
on Trademarks
and Appellations of Origin
Chapter IGeneral Provisions
Art 1 Legal Rule
Art. 2 TrademarksArt. 3 Appellations of Origin  and Geographical Indications
Art. 4 Legal Protection of Tradem arks and Appellations of Origin
Art. 5 Registration Certificates for Trademarks and Appe llations of Origin
Art. 6 Exclusive Rights in Trademarks
Art. 7 Grounds for Refusal to Register a Trademark, an Appellation of Origin or a
Geographical Indication
Chapter II
Registration of Trademarks  and Appellations of Origin
Art. 8 Application for Registration of a Trademark or an Appellation of Origin
Art. 9 Filing Date of the ApplicationArt. 10 Priority of TrademarkArt. 11 Examination of ApplicationArt. 12 Formal ExaminationArt. 13 Substantive ExaminationArt. 14 Opposition to Decision on ApplicationArt. 15 Withdrawal of ApplicationArt. 16 Publication of ApplicationArt. 17 Opposition to RegistrationArt. 18 Registration and Issue of Regist ration Certificates for Trademarks and
Appellations of Origin
Art. 19 Publication of Notice of RegistrationArt. 20 Term of RegistrationArt. 21 Amendments
Chapter III Exploitation of  Trademarks and Appellati ons of Origin. Transfer of
Trademarks
Art. 22 Exploitation of Trademar ks and Appellations of Origin
Art. 23 Warning NoticeArt. 24 Transfer of Rights in TrademarksArt. 25 Liability for Unlawful Exploitation of Trademarks and Appellations of Origin
Chapter VI Termination of Legal Protec tion of Trademarks and Appellations of
Origin
Art. 26 Cancellati on of Registration
Art. 27 Removal from the Register
Chapter V Final Provisions
Art. 28 Hearing Litigation in Relation to this Law
Art. 29 Tasks of the Agency in the Prot ection of Trademarks and Appellations of
Origin
Art. 30 FeesArt. 31 Registration of Trademarks and Appellations of Origin Abroad
Art. 32 Rights of Foreig n and Natural Legal Persons
Art. 33 International TreatiesIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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Chapter VI Transi tional Provisions
Art. 34.
Art. 35.Art. 36.Art. 37.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.
Legal Rule
The relationships that arise in connection with the registration, legal protection and
use of trademarks and appellations of or igin (geographical indications) shall be
governed by this Law and by other legislative instruments.
Article 2.
Trademarks
(1) Product trademarks and service trad emarks (hereinafter referred to as
“trademark”) mean the signs or combinati ons of signs that enable the goods and
services of one natural or legal person to be distinguished from the goods and services
of the same type of othe r natural or legal persons.
(2) Signs, in particular words (incl uding personal names), letters, numerals,
figurative elements and combinations of colours as well as a combination of suchsigns visually perceptible shall be eligible for registration as trademarks. Figurativeelements of a mark may consist of graphic representations, plane or three-dimensional
forms (in relief), which have  a distinct configuration.
(3) A trademark may be registered in black and white or in colour.(4) Trademarks may be individual or co llective. An individual mark is a mark
that belongs to a specific natural or le gal person. A collective mark is the mark
intended to distinguish the goods manufactur ed or sold, or services provided by a
union, an economic grouping or any other a ssociation (hereinaft er “association”) of
natural or legal persons from the goods and se rvices of the same type of other natural
or legal persons.
(5) The conformity mark (certificati on mark), applied or issued under a
certification system, which indicates with a sufficient degree of certainty that theproduct, the method or service in question co mplies with a standard or other particular
legislative act, shall enjoy legal protection under this law.
(6) A well-known mark is the mark known in the relevant sector of the public on
the territory of the Republic of Moldova including the knowledge in the Republic of
Moldova which has been obtained as a resu lt of the promotion of the trademark, onIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 4
the date on which an application for regist ration of a trademark was filed or on the
priority date invoked in the application. The present law shall afford protection to
well-known marks.
Article 3.
Appellations of Origin a nd Geographical Indications
(1) Appellation of origin are the designati ons - current or historical - of a
country, a region or a locality (hereinafter “geographical area”) used to designate a
product whose natural propertie s derive essentially or ex clusively from the natural
and/or human factors specific to that geographical area.
(2) A geographical indication is the i ndication which identifies a good as
originating in the territory of a State, or a region or locality in that territory, where agiven quality, reputation or other characteris tics of the good are e ssentially attributable
to its geographical origin.
(3) It shall be rejected or invalidated, ex officio or at the request of the interested
party, the registration of a trademark c ontaining a geographical indication, for goods
not originating in the territory indicated, if  the use of such a geographical indication in
the trademark is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the goods.
(4) The use, in the designation or pres entation of a product, of any method
indicating or suggesting that the goods origin ate in a geographical area other than the
true place of origin, in a manner which misleads the consumer as to the true origin ofthe goods, shall be prohibited, and any such  use shall constitute an act of unfair
competition in the sense of Article 10 bis of  the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property.
(5) The use of a geographical indication which, although literally true as to the
territory, region or locality of origin of goods, indicates that the goods originate inother territory, region or localit y, shall be prohibited by law.
(6) Homonymous geographical indications may be used when they are
differentiated from each other, accompanied for instance by figurative elements with aclear indication of the true origin, en suring an equitable treatment for the
manufacturers in question and preventing the consumer from being mislead.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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Article 4.
Legal Protectionof Trademarksand Appellations of Origin
(1) The legal protection of trademarks and appellations of origin shall be afforded
on the basis of registration with the Stat e Agency on Industrial Property Protection
(hereinafter “Agency”) carried  out in accordance with this Law, except for the well-known
trademarks protected without regist ration under article 6bis of the Paris
Convention for the Protecti on of Industrial Property.
(2) Legal protection of the trademark a nd appellation of origin of goods shall
include matters affecting the availab ility , acquisition, scope , maintenance and
enforcement of intellectual property rights, as well as those matters affecting the useof intellectual property rights.
(3) One natural or legal pers on may own several trademarks.
(4) An appellation of origin may be regist ered by one or more natural or legal
persons conducting business activities in the corresponding geographical area.
Article 5.
Registration Certificatesfor Trademarksand Appellations of Origin
(1) A registration certificate shall be issued for each trademark or appellation of
origin that is registered.
(2) A registration certificate for trademark attests the priority date of the trademark
and the exclusive right of the owner in the trademark for the goods and services
entered on the certificate.
(3) A registration certificate for an appellation of origin shall attest to the right to
use that appellation.
Article 6.
Exclusive Rights in the Trademark
(1) The owner of a registered trademark shall enjoy throughout the term of
validity of the trademark an exclusive righ t to dispose of and exploit his trademark
and the right to prevent all third parties not having the owner’s consent from using in
the course of trade identical or similar sign s for goods or services which are identical
or similar to those in respect of which the trademark is registered where such usewould result in a likelihood of confusion. In case of use of an identical sign for
identical goods or services, a likeli hood of confusion shall be presumed.
(2) Rights laid down in paragraph (1) sha ll not prejudice any of the existing priorIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 6
rights, nor shall they affect the possibility of making rights available on the basis of
use.
(3) The exclusive right shall not extend to those elements of the trademark
which under the present law, may not be regi stered independently as trademarks, such
as descriptive terms, provided that these el ements are used in good faith, taking into
account the legitimate inte rests of third parties.
(4) The nature of the goods or services to  which a trademark is to be applied
shall in no case constitute an obstacle to registration and protection of the trademark.”
Article 7.
Grounds for Refusal to Register a Trademark, an Appellation of Origin or a
Geographical Indication
(1) Trademarks may not be regist ered and afforded protection if:
1) do not meet the conditions under article 2 paragraph (1);2) are exclusively composed of sign s or indications which do not possess a
distinctive character, especially those including only:
a) signs and indications which have become well-known or usual designation;
b) signs representing separate letters a nd/or figures, lacking a special graphic
representation, as well as simple lin es and basic geometrical figures;
c) signs or indications, which may be used  in trade for designation of the type,
quality, quantity, properties, purpose or value of goods or services, or the place and
time of the manufacture of goods or serv ices, as well as headquarters of the
manufactures or any other characteristics thereof;
d) signs constituting a geographical indication.(2) Signs may not be registered as tradem arks or elements of trademarks if they
a) are deceitful or liable to mislead the consumer as to the goods or services or
to the manufacturer or provider of services;
b) reproduce or imitate armorial bearings, flags or emblems of States official or
historical names of States or the abbrev iation of such names,  full or abbreviated
names of international intergovernmental organizations, official signs or hallmarks ofcontrol, warranty or testing, or decorati ons or other honorary signs. Such signs may
appear in a trademark as non-protected elements on condition that elements oncondition that they do not occupy a predominant place therein and subject to theconsent of the competent body or of the owner of the sign;
c) contain geographical indications identif ying wines and spirits not originatingIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 7
in the place indicated by th e geographical indication in question, even where the true
origin of the goods is indicated or wh en the geographical indication is used in
translation or accompanied by expressions such as “kind”, “type”, “style”, “imitation”or the like;
d) which contain a geographical indica tion identifying wines and spirits or
which consist of such a geographical indica tion, in cases when such wines or spirits
do not have this origin.
e) are contrary to ordre public or morality.
(3) Signs may not be registered as trademarks if they reproduce:a) trade names (or parts of such name s) that are well-known in the Republic of
Moldova unless they belong to the person who is seeking registration of thetrademark;
b) industrial designs in which the rights  belong in the Republic of Moldova to
other persons;
c) the names of scientific , literary or artistic works that are well-known in the
Republic of Moldova or ch aracters taken from such works, quotations from such
works, or works of art or parts of such works, without the consent of the owners of
copyright in those works or of their successors in title;
d) surnames, forenames, pseudonyms or  names derived therefrom, as also
portraits or likenesses of known persons, without the consent of such persons, of their
heirs or of the competent body on the protec tion of valuable works of the respective
State.
(4) Signs may not be registered as trademarks is they are identical or similar, to
the point of misleading:
a) to registered trademarks or trad emarks for which an application for
registration has been made at an earlier date on behalf of another person for goods or
services of the same type;
b) to well-known trademarks which are pr otected without registration regardless
of the nature of the products or servic es to which they are applied. A well-known
trademark shall be protected including a pplied to goods or services which are not
similar to those in respect of which a trademark is registered, provided that the use ofa trademark in relation to those goods or  services would indicate a connection
between those goods or services and the owner of the registered trademark and
provided that the interests of the owner of the registered trademark are likely to bedamaged by such use. Any person shall be allowed within a period of five years from
the date of registration to request the can cellation of such a mark based on a well-known
trademark known in the Republic of Mo ldova. No time limit shall be fixed for
requesting the cancellation or the prohibition of  the use of marks registered or used inIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 8
bad faith.
c) to appellations of orig in, protected under this law, except where they are
included as non-protected elements in a trad emark for which registration is sought on
behalf of a person authorized to use su ch appellation and following the provisions
under paragraph (2) subparagraph c) of the present article;
d) to certification marks registered under the established procedure.(5) Product shape and package shall not be registered as three-dimensional
marks if:
a) it results from the nature of the product,  in other words it is the indispensable
of the manufacture or di stribution of the product;
b) it is necessary for obtaining a techni cal result, when there is no alternative
for manufacturing this product;
c) it refers to the esse ntial value of the product.
(6) The fact that a trademark has been us ed prior to the filing of an application
shall not constitute grounds for refusal if registration of the trademark is sought on
behalf of the person who has been using it.
(7) If a trademark has been used prior to the filing of an application for
registration for at least five years in rela tion to the manufacture or marketing of goods
or the provision of services and it is well known to consumers in the Republic of
Moldova, its registration may not be refu sed under paragraph (1) subparagraph (b) of
the present article, except where the trademark consists of only one geographicalindication.
(8) Trademarks, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), which are considered similar
or identical may be registered with the deliberate consent of the right holder to registersuch marks.
(9) The registration of a trademark or the right to possess a trademark shall not
be denied or invalidated on the basis that such a trademark is identical with, or similarto a geographical indication where the trad emark has been applied for registered in
good faith, or where rights to the trademark have been acquired through use in goodfaith prior to the protection of the geogra phical indication in its country of origin.
(10) Any sign which, in spite of represen ting or including the designation of the
geographical area, is publicly used on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for
designating a product of a certain type whic h to not refer to the place of manufacture,
shall not be deemed as appella tion of origin of the product.
(11) Registration shall be refused a nd protection shall not be granted to
appellations of origin which ar e not protected in their country of origin, or which are
no longer protected or used in their country of origin.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 9
Chapter II
REGISTRATION
OF TRADEMARKS
AND APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN
Article 8.
Application for Registration of a Tr ademark or an Appellation of Origin
(1) Natural and legal persons domiciled in the Republic of Moldova and legal
entities having their headquarters therein (n ational) entitled to the protection of a
trademark may act either directly or throug h a professional representative in industrial
property, authorized by a power of attorney.
(2) Foreign natural and legal persons domiciled and having their headquarters
therein shall act with the Agency through a professional represen tatives in industrial
property, except where international trea ties to which the Re public of Moldova is
party provide otherwise.
(3) The activity of professional represen tatives in industria l property shall be
subject to the regulations approved by the Government.
(4) An application may concern only one  trademark or appellation of origin.
(5) The request shall contain:a) a petition for registration;b) the surname, forenames (or designation) , address and signature of the applicant;
c) the surname, forename, address and sign ature of the representative in industrial
property if the application has been file d through a representative in industrial
property;
d) a reproduction of the trademark or appe llation of origin for which protection is
sought and its description;IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 10
e) a list of the goods or services for whic h registration of the trademark is sought,
grouped in accordance with the Internationa l Classification of Goods and Services for
the Purposes of the Registration of Marks;
f) the list of products, for designation of  which the registration of appellation of
origin is sought;
g) indication of the place of manufacture of the product, for designation of which
the registration of the appellation of origin is sought (limits of geographical area);
h) a description of the special properties of the product, for designation of which
the registration of an appe llation of origin is sought:”
i) a claim by the applicant to priority for the trademark under the conventions to
which the Republic of Moldova is party;
j) a statement of the colour or colours of the trademark if the applicant wishes to
obtain protection for the trademark in colour.
(6) The application shall be accompanied by:a) the statute of the collective mark, including the list of the members of the
association authorized to use the coll ective mark signed by them; the purpose of
registration of the collective mark and the conditions of its use; the list of goods or
services, together with their common features, whether qualitative or other, that are tobe designated by the mark, together with the penalties applicable to violations of theconditions of use of the collective mark. In the event that one of the members of the
association is issued the title of the protec tion, his relations with the other members of
the association and their rights in the collective mark shall be governed by a specialagreement;
b) in the case of a foreign applicant, a document proving his entitlement to the
appellation of origin conc erned in the country of  origin of the product;
c) a power of attorney, if the application is filed through a representative in
industrial property;
d) where applicable, documents attestin g to the priority date of the mark;
e) a document proving payment of the prescribed fee;
f) for the registration of an appellation of origin - a certified attestation ascertaining
that the applicant is situated within the geographical area stated and that hemanufactures the product in that area and th at the special properties of the product are
determined by natural and/or human f actors, typical of the geographical area
indicated;
g) for the registration of the certificati on mark - the authorization or the documentIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 11
confirming the legal display of the certification activity or, if necessary, a proof that
the certification mark has been registered in the country of origin.
(7) The request for registration of a tradem ark or an appellation of origin shall be
filed in the national langua ge. Other documents containe d in the application may be
filed in the national language  or in other languages. If they are filed in another
language, the applicant shall be required to pr ovide a translation into  the national lan-guage
within two months of the filing date of the application.
(8) The applicant shall be entirely respons ible under legislation in force for the
legitimacy and correctness of the materials filed with respect to the registration of atrademark or of an appellation of origin.
Article 9.
Filing Date of the Application
(1) The filing date of the application shall be the date on which the Agency
receives a request satisfying the conditions set out in Article 8(5) a nd a document pro-ving
payment of the prescribed fee.
(2) The documents referred to in Article 8, pa ragraph (6), in subparagraphs a) to c),
f) and g) may be filed with the Agency within two months of the filing date of theapplication. If, on expiry of that time limit, the applicant has not submitted those
documents or has not filed a request for extension of the time limit, the applicationshall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Article 10.
Priority of Trademark
(1) The priority of a trademark shall be determined by the filing date of the
application.
(2) The priority of a trademark may be determined by the filing date of a first
application of which such mark was the s ubject made in a State party to the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industria l Property (convention priority) on condition
that an application be filed with the Agen cy within six months of such date. These
periods shall start from the date of filing the first application and the date of filingshall not be included in the period.
(3) The priority of a trademark appearin g on articles shown at an international
exhibition held on the territory of a Stat e party to the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Pr operty (exhibition priority) may be determined in
accordance with the date as from which the article concerned was presented to thepublic at such exhibition, on condition that an application is filed with the Agency
within six months of such date. Exhibi tion priority may not extend the period of
convention priority.
(4) An applicant who wishes to claim c onvention priority or exhibition priorityIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 12
shall state such fact when filing the application or within two months of the date of
receipt of the application by the Agency and shall submit the necessary documents to
prove that his claim is justified within three months, at the latest, after the date ofreceipt of the application by the Agency. Documents justifying the claim of thepriority date shall be accompanied by a ce rtificate from the same authority showing
the date of filing, and by a translation into the national language.
(5) The priority of a trademark may be determined by the date of an international
registration made under international agreem ents to which the Republic of Moldova is
party.
Article 11.
Examination of Application
(1) The Agency shall subject applications to an examination which shall consist of
a formal examination and a substantive exa mination of the sign for which protection
is sought.
(2) Between the date of receipt of the a pplication and the date on which a decision
is taken on the application, the applicant sh all have the possibility, on payment of a
fee, of supplementing, detailing or corr ecting the documents in the application,
without essentially modifying the trademark or the appellation of origin themselves.
(3) A request that lists more than one pr oduct or service may be divided, by the
applicant himself or at his request, into a number of applications between which the
goods and services listed in the initial application shall be  divided. Divisional
applications shall continue to enjoy the filing date of the initial application and thepriority date of the trademark concerned by  that application. Goods or services may
only be added to the list referred to in Article 8(5)(e) by filing a new application.
Article 12.
Formal Examination
(1) Within one month from the date of recei pt of the application, the Agency shall
carry out a formal examination of the application during which it shall check that thedocuments referred to in Article 8(5) and (6) have been submitted and meet therequired conditions.
(2) Depending on the outcome of the formal examination, the Agency shall notify
the applicant either that his application will be prosecuted or that it is rejected.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 13
(3) If the documents in the application do not meet the formal requirements laid
down in Article 8(5), the app licant shall be invited to make the necessary changes
within a period of two months as from receipt  of the notification. If the applicant fails
within that time to supply the elements requ ested or to submit a reasoned request for
extension of the time limit, the application shall be deemed not to have been filed.
Article 13.
Substantive Examination
(1) The substantive examination shall be ca rried out within nine months of the date
of the decision to prosecute the applica tion. During the examination, compliance with
the requirements of Article 7 shall be checked and the prio rity date of the trademark
determined, if not determined during the formal examination.
(2) Depending on the outcome of the subs tantive examination, the Agency shall
decide to publish the application or to re ject it and shall notify its decision to the
applicant.
Article 14.
Opposition to Decision concerning the Application
(1) If the applicant disagrees with the de cision given at the outcome of the formal
examination or of the substantive examina tion, he may, within three months of the
date of receipt of the decision, appeal ag ainst such decision to the Appeals Board of
the Agency, which shall take a decision within three months.
(2) If the applicant disagrees with the decision taken by the Appeals Board of the
Agency, he shall have the faculty of instituting legal proceedings against that decisionwithin three months of the da te of receipt of the decision.
Article 15.
Withdrawal of Application
(1) An application may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time during
prosecution.
(2) An application relating to a collective mark may only be withdrawn with the
agreement of all the legal persons entitled to use the mark.
Article 16.
Publication of Application
Within three months of the date on wh ich it has taken a decision to publish the
application, the Agency shall publish in th e Official Bulletin of Industrial Property
(hereinafter “Official Bulletin”) a notice concerning the application. The data to be
published in that notice shall be determined by the Agency.
Article 17.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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Opposition to Registration
(1) Any person may oppose before the Appeal Board of the Agency the
registration of a trademark or of an appella tion of origin within the three months that
follow the publication date of the notice concerning the application.
(2) If opposition is filed against an application, the Agency shall notify the
applicant thereof within 10 days.
(3) Opposition to registration shall be examined within the three months that
follow the date on which it has been received. The decision that is taken shall benotified within 10 days to the applicant and to the person who has filed the opposition.
(4) The decision of the Appeals Board of the Agency may be appealed from to the
courts within six months of the date on which it was given.
Article 18.
Registration and Issue of Registration  Certificates for Trademarks and
Appellations of Origin
(1) If no opposition has been filed against registration or if any opposition filed has
been rejected, the Agency shall register the trademark or appellation of origin andenter it in the National Register of Trademarks or in the National Register ofAppellations of Origin (hereinafter “Register”).
(2) The following elements shall be record ed in the Register: a reproduction of the
trademark or the designation that constitutes the appellation of origin, particulars of itsowner, the priority date of the trademark, the list of goods and services for which the
mark is registered, the special propertie s of the product for which the appellation of
origin is registered, other data relating to the registration of the trademark orappellation of origin and a ll subsequent amendments to the aforementioned data.
(3) The Agency shall issue a registration certificate within three months of the date
on which the trademark or appellation of origin is entered in the Register.
(4) The Agency shall lay down the form of the registration certificate and the list of
elements to be shown on it.
Article 19.
Publication of Notice of Registration
The data relating to the registration of th e trademark or appellation of origin that
has been entered in the Register in acco rdance with Article 18 shall be published byIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 15
the Agency in the Official Bulletin within three months of the date of the decision to
register.
Article 20.
Term of Registration
(1) The registration of a trademark shall subsist for 10 years as from the filing date
of the application.
(2) The term of a trademark registration may be extended, at the request of the
owner of the trademark, for an unlimited number of 10-year periods against paymentof a fee. The request for renewal of a registration shall be submitted during the finalyear of its term of validity. On payment of an additional fee, the owner of a trademark
may request renewal of the term of the re gistration during an additional period of six
months following its expiry.
(3) The Agency shall enter in the Register each renewal of a registration.(4) The registration of an appellation of orig in shall subsist for an indefinite term.
Article 21. Amendments
(1) The holder of a registration certificat e shall be required to communicate to the
Agency any change in the data concerni ng the registration of a trademark or an
appellation of origin.
(2) The Agency shall enter in the Register and publish any amendment within three
months of the date on whic h it was communicated to it.
Chapter III
EXPLOITATION
OF TRADEMARKS
AND APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN. TRANSFER OF TRADEMARKS
Article 22.
Exploitation of Trademarks and Appellations of Origin
(1) The exploitation of a trademark or an appellation of origin shall mean its use
on goods for which the trademark or appellati on of origin has been registered, or on
the packaging and/or as packaging of such goods, by the owner or by a person having
acquired a right of exploitation under a li censing contract. Use of a trademark or
appellation of origin in adve rtising, in printed matter, on business paper, firms, on
signs and on articles shown at exhibitions and fairs that take place on the territory ofthe Republic of Moldova as well as the use by another person, when subject to thecontrol of its owner, shall also be deem ed to constitute exploitation. Use shall be
allowed of a trademark identifying the undertaking producing the goods or servicesalong with, but without linking it to, the trademark distinguishing the specific goods
or services in question of that undertaking.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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(2) It shall not be prevented the continued use of similar geographical
indications in connection with goods or serv ices of any natural persons or legal entity
of the Republic of Moldova or its domiciliaries who have  used that geographical
indication in a continuous manner with regard  to wines and spirits on the territory of
the Republic of Moldova for at leas t 10 years before April 15, 1994, if the
geographical indications were used in good faith.
(3) Geographical indications of products  and services for which the relevant
indication has an identical significance with  the customary dictionary term, which is
deemed as common name of those products  or services on the territory of the
Republic of Moldova or geog raphical indications of viticultural products for which
the relevant indication is identical with the customary name of a sort of grapes on the
territory of the Republic of Moldova shall not be subject to this Law.
(4) Any opposition in connection with the use or registration of a product mark,
containing a geographical indication, may be presented within 5 years after the
adverse use of the protected indication ha s became known in the Republic of Moldova
or after the date of registration trademar k in the Republic of Moldova, provided that
that the trademark has been published by that date, if such date is earlier than the dateon which the adverse use became known in the Republic of Moldova, provided that
the geographical indication is not used or registered in bad faith;
(5) Any person shall have the right to use, in he course of trad e, his name or the
name of his predecessor in business, except wh ere such name is used in such a manner
as to mislead the public.
Article 23.
Warning Notice
The owner of a trademark registration certificate may accompany the mark by a
warning notice in the form of a letter R within a circle or by wording givingnotification of the fact that the trademark is registered in the Republic of Moldova.
Article 24.
Transfer of Rights in Trademarks
(1) Rights deriving from filing a trademark application or from the registration of
the trademark may be transferred in whole or in part.
(2) Rights may be transferred under an assignment contract, exclusive or
nonexclusive license, or through successi on, legal or testamentary inheritance.
Compulsory licensing of trademarks shall not be permitted and the owner of theregistered trademark shall have the right to  assign the trademark with or without the
transfer of the business to which the trademark belongs.
(3) Rights transferred under paragraph (2) sh all also have effect for third partiesIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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and shall determine the alteration of the legal status of the trademark immediately as
the contract is registered with the Agency.
(4) No person may assign rights in a coll ective mark to third parties without the
consent of all members of the association.
(5) A licensing contract shall be required to contain a clause in accordance with
which the quality of the products of the licen see shall not be less than that of the
products of the licensor and in accordance w ith which the latter shall verify that this
condition is complied with.
(6) Any provisions containing excl usive grantback conditions, conditions
containing challenges to validity and coercive package licensing as well as any otherconditions limiting fair competition based on professional principles shall not beincluded in license contracts.
Article 25.
Liability for Unlawful Exploitation of Trademarks and Appellations of Origin
(1) The unlawful use of a registered trad emark or appellation of origin, or of a
sign similar to it, to distinguish goods or services for which the trademark or theappellation of origin has been registered, or for goods or services of the same type,
manufacture, use, importation, offering for sale, selling and any other way of
marketing or storing for such purposes shall incur civil, penal or administrativeliability laid down by the legislation in force.
(2) A person found guilty shall be sentence d to a fine and required to pay the
injured party compensatory monetary sum for violating his rights, including lost of
profit and the expenses which incl ude appropriate attorney’s fees.
(3) Any product, including its packaging, shall be deemed as counterfeit, if it
bears, without authorization, a product mark  identical with the registered product
mark which is valid for the products in que stion or which may not be distinguished in
its essential characteristics from the register ed product mark and therefore violates the
rights of the owner of the registered trademark under the legislation in force.
(4) Products on hand under a counterfeit trad emark or appellation of origin that
infringe owner’s rights shall be, without co mpensation of any sort, disposed of outside
the channels of commerce so as to avoid an y prejudices of the owner’s rights, and the
trademarks and appellations of origin illegally used shall be removed from theproducts in question, even if this may cause the destruction of these products.
(5) The infringed side may request that materials and implements the
predominant use of which has been in the creation of the infringing goods be, without
compensation of any sort, disposed of outsi de the channels of commerce in such a
manner as to minimize the risks of further infringements. In considering suchrequests, the need for proportionality between  the seriousness of the infringement and
the remedies ordered as well as the interests of third parties shall be taken intoIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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account.
(6) In regard to counterfeit trademark goods, the simple removal of the
trademark unlawfully affixed shall not be suffi cient, other than in exceptional cases, to
permit release of the goods into the channels of commerce.
(7) The injured party shall be entitled to  have the judicial decision published at
the cost of the guilty party in order to restore his business reputation.
(8) Actions of public authorities and officials in respect of the administration
of any law pertaining to the protection of or enforcement of intellectual property rights
shall not constitute infringement of intellectual property rights, where such actionsare taken or intended in good faith in the course of the adminis tration of that law.
Chapter IV
TERMINATION OF LEGAL PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS
AND APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN
Article 26.
Cancellation of Registration
(1) The registration of a trademark or ap pellation of origin may be cancelled in
whole or in part anytime during its term of validity, provided that:
a) it has been effected in infringement of this Law;b) its use is misleading as to the origin of the goods;c) the conditions creating the specific nature of the geographical area concerned
have disappeared;
d) the product no longer possesses the special properties specified in the
Register;
e) other well-grounded reasons arised.(2) On request, the registration may be can celled after an uninterrupted period of at
least five years of non-use, unless valid re asons based on the existence of obstacles to
such use are shown by the trademark owne r. Circumstances arising independently of
the will of the owner of the trademark which constitute an obstacle to the use of thetrademark, such as import restrictions or  other government requirements for goods or
services protected by the trademark, shall be  recognized as valid reasons for non-use.
(3) Any person may submit to the Appeals Board of the Agency a request for
cancellation of a registration.
(4) A request for cancellation of a registra tion shall be prosecuted within three
months of its date of rece ipt and shall be notified to the holder of the registrationIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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within 10 days of that date.
(5) The decision of the Appeals Board of the Agency may be appealed from to the
courts.
(6) If a collective mark is used for products which do not possess common
characteristics, whether qualitative or other, the effects of its registration may beterminated prematurely, in whole or in part, by decision of an arbitration body.
Article 27.
Removal from the Register
(1) The Agency shall remove from the Register a trademark or an appellation of
origin in the following cases:
a) the term of validity under Article 20 has lapsed;
b) the owner of the registration certificat e has filed with the Agency a request to
that effect;
c) the registration has been  invalidated under Article 26;
d) the legal person that is the holder of the registration certificate has ceased to
exist.
(2) The Agency shall publish a notice of re moval of the registration in the Official
Bulletin.
Chapter V
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 28.
Hearing Litigation in Relation to this Law
Litigation related to the application of this Law that concerns
a) the issue of a registration certificate for a trademark or an appellation of origin,b) the infringement of exclusive rights in a trademark,c) premature termination of the effects of a registration or invalidation of a
registration;
d) the conclusion and implementa tion of a contract assigning rights in a trademark
or a licensing contract;
e) the non-use of a trademark within 5 year s of the date of registration with the
Agency;IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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f) the abusive use of an appellation of or igin shall be heard by the competent
judicial organ or arbitration body in accordance with the provisions established by thelaw.
Article 29.
Tasks of the Agency in the Protection of Trademarks and Appellations of Origin
The Agency shall undertake, in the fi eld of protection of trademarks and
appellations of origin, the following tasks: it shall receive the applications forregistration of trademarks a nd appellations of origin and shall examine them; it shall
effect the official registration of trademar ks and appellations of origin; it shall issue
the registration certificates; it shall carry out the examination of international marksunder the Madrid Agreement Concerning th e International Registration of Marks or
under the Protocol Related to  the Madrid Agreement; it sh all update and maintain the
national collection of tradem arks and appellations of or igin; it shall publish official
notices and shall publish the Official Bulletin; it shall maintain the Register, draw upand improve the regulatory texts; it sh all represent the Re public of Moldova in
relations with intergovernmental organizations  active in the field of industrial property
and shall participate in interna tional cooperation in that field.
Article 30.
Fees
The filing of an application for registration of a trademark or appellation of origin
and the carrying out of other legal acts rela ting to the examination of applications and
the legal protection of trademarks and appella tions of origin shall be subject to the
levying of fees. Acts whose accomplishment shall be subject to the payment of feestogether with the amounts of the fees and the time limits for paying them shall beestablished by the Government.
Article 31.
Registration of Trademarks a nd Appellations of  Origin Abroad
(1) Any natural or legal person of the Re public of Moldova sha ll be entitled to have
a trademark or an appellation of origin registered abroad.
(2) An application for registration of  a trademark abroad under the Madrid
Agreement Concerning the International Re gistration of Marks or under the Protocol
Related to the Madrid Agreement shall be filed through the intermediary of theAgency.
(3) The costs incurred in registering a trademark or an appellation of origin abroad
shall be borne by the applicant or by any other natural or legal person who has agreed
to do so.
Article 32.
Rights of Foreign and Natural Legal PersonsIP/N/1/MDA/I/1
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(1) Foreign and natural legal persons shall enjoy the rights afforded by this Law in
the same way as natural and legal persons of the Republic of Moldova in accordancewith the international treatie s to which the Republic of Moldova is party or according
to the principle of reciprocity.
(2) A trademark registered in the Republic of Moldova under the Madrid
Agreement Concerning the International Re gistration of Marks or under the Protocol
Related to the Madrid Agreement shall enjoy the same protection as a trademarkregistered under this Law.
Article 33.
International Treaties
If an international treaty to which the Re public of Moldova is party lays down rules
that differ from those set out in this Law,  the provisions of such international treaty
shall prevail.
Chapter VI
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 34
This Law shall enter into force three months after the date of its publication.
Article 35
Until the legislation has been adapted to this Law, the hitherto applicable
provisions shall continue to apply except wh ere they conflict with those of this Law.IP/N/1/MDA/I/1
Page 22
Article 36
It is hereby provided that:
– this Law shall apply to legal relationships that arise after its entry into force;– applications for the registration of tradem arks and appellations of origin that are
pending on the date of entry into force of this Law shall be prosecuted in accordancewith the procedure set up by this Law. However, those criteria for protectionstipulated by the applicable law on the date the application was filed shall be applied;
– trademark registration certificates issued by the Agency prior to the entry into
force of this Law shall be assimilated from a legal point of view to trademark registrationcertificates issued in application of this Law.
Article 37
Prior to the expiry of three months, the Government:
– shall submit to Par liament proposals to adapt the current legislation to this Law;
– shall adapt its regulatory texts to this Law;– shall have its ministries and departments revise or cancel any of their regulatory
texts that conflict with this Law;
– shall draw up and promulgate on the ba sis of this Law the regulatory texts
relating to its application.
Adopted: September 22, 1995
Entry into force: May 8, 1996.
Published in: Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, No. 8- 9 of February 8, 1996.
Amended by: the Law No. 1009-XIII on Amending and Abrogation of Various Laws
Adopted: Octomber 22, 1996
Published in: Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, No. 80 of December 12, 1996
Entry into force: December 12, 1996
Amended by: the Law No. 1079-XIV on Amending Various Laws
Adopted: June 23, 2000
Published in: Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, No. 154-156 of December 14,
2000Entry into force: December 14, 2000
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