Strengthening intellectual property rights in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to support EU accession

EU4IP, a new EU-funded cooperation project on intellectual property (IP) matters, was launched by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in partnership with the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti), the State Agency on Intellectual Property of Moldova (AGEPI) and the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO) on 25 March.

The EU4IP project will support Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to strengthen their national IP landscapes and to facilitate the alignment of their IP legal and administrative frameworks to the EU systems as they work towards EU accession.

The EUIPO will sign the biennial Work Plan 2024-2025 with AGEPI, as well as Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, the Tbilisi State University and the Georgian Technical University, the first universities from outside the EU and the European Patent Convention (EPC) to collaborate with the EUIPO, on 26 March.

On 25-26 March an EU delegation led by João Negrão, Executive Director (ED) of the EUIPO, visits Chișinău, Moldova. The first day marked the launch of the EU4IP, a cooperation project between the EUIPO and the national IP offices Sakpatenti, AGEPI and UANIPIO 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 Popusoi, as well as with other senior government officials of the Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian government. On 26 March, meetings will also take place with the Moldovan Parliament and the management of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova in the framework of the Pan-European Seal (PES) programme.

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 Gherasimov, 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.

“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.

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.”

“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.

“Moldova has an extraordinary promotion potential in the EU Member States and other international markets, of absolutely authentic products that are not available in any other country. Today, the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights is crucial to a country’s ability to stimulate innovation and compete in the global economy. In this context, I firmly believe that the launch of this new EU project will boost the development of the country, but on the other hand – it will provide the necessary support to Moldova in its EU accession aspirations by aligning its legislation with the EU acquis, including in the field of intellectual property rights”, stated Jānis Mažeiks, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova.

”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.

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 Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The goal is that the three countries adopt European and international best practices and adhere to the commitments outlined in their respective Association Agreements as well as the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (AA/DCFTA) to support the opening of negotiations for their EU accession.

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.