The 24th meeting on cooperation, the 33rd meeting on trademarks and the 25th meeting on industrial designs, an event organized by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) took place from 31 March to 2 April 2025, in Alicante, Spain.
These meetings were attended by experts from the intellectual property offices of the EU Member States, candidate countries and representatives of international organizations in the field. The Republic of Moldova was represented by Victoria Pulbere, Deputy Head of the Trademarks and Industrial Design Directorate, and Victoria Severin, Head of the International Relations and European Integration Division of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).
Key topics on the future of European cooperation in intellectual property, including the implementation of the EUIPO Strategic Plan 2030 were discussed During the meeting on cooperation, held on 31 March. Topics such as support for SMEs, the use of artificial intelligence in examination and the expansion of digital cooperation platforms were also addressed. On the same day, AGEPI representatives participated in a working session of the CEFTA Project, dedicated to the Western Balkan countries and Moldova, which provides support according to the priorities identified in the field of intellectual property.
Trends in trademark registrations at European level, as well as the impact of convergence projects on the harmonization of examination practices were analyzed on 1 April, during the meeting dedicated to trademarks. The ongoing Common Practices (CP) projects were discussed, such as CP16 “Signs Describing the Subject Matter of Goods and Services”, CP17 “Distinctive Character of Slogans”, including the new project for 2025, CP18 “Descriptive Character of Marks Designating the Geographical Origin”.
The last day of the event, 2 April, was dedicated to industrial design, where the main topics focused on the modernization of European legislation in the field, new regulations and the challenges of their implementation. At the same time, the proposed changes in the Guide for Industrial Designs, 2025 edition, which is due to enter into force on 1 May 2025 were presented.
The participation of AGEPI representatives in these meetings provided the opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, to exchange best practices and to align with European standards in the field of intellectual property, thus facilitating the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European system of protection of intellectual property rights.
