RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/337/Add.1
18 February 2002
(02-0817)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
for Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from Moldova to questions posed by Canada and Switzerland
Addendum
By means of communications from the Permanent Mission of Moldova, dated 12 and
15 February 2002, the Secretariat has received additional responses to questions posed by Canada and
Switzerland, as circulated in documents IP/C/W/333 and 334, respectively.  These responsessupplement those circulated in document IP/C/W/337.
_______________
CANADA
2. What protection does your copyright legislation afford to "foreign works"?
The enforcement obligations of the Republic of Moldova under Articles 41-61 of the TRIPS
Agreement are reflected in the enclosed document:  "Compliance of the legislation of the Republic of
Moldova in the field of intellectual property protection with the requirements of the TRIPS
Agreement, Articles 41-61".
"Foreign works are protected in the Republic of Moldova according to the Law on Copyright
and Neighbouring Rights (as amended by the Law No. 29-XIV of 28 May 1998 and Law No. 1207-
XIV of 28 July 2000).  In conformity with the provisions of Article 5(1) of the above Law, the
copyright protection shall extend to:
(a) works, irrespective of place of first publication, of which the copyright holder is a
natural or legal person of the Republic of Moldova;
(b) works published for the first time in the Republic of Moldova whatever the
nationality of the holder of the copyright in such works;
(c) other works, in accordance with the international treaties to which the Republic of
Moldova is party.
A work shall be deemed published for the first time in the Republic of Moldova if it has been
published in the country within 30 days of the date of  its first publication abroad.
According to Article 26(7) of the Law of the Republic of Moldova on Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights, neighbouring rights of foreign natural and legal persons shall be protected in
accordance with the international agreements to which the Republic of Moldova is party.IP/C/W/337/Add.1
Page 2
Copyright and neighbouring rights of foreign natural and legal persons are protected in the
Republic of Moldova both according to the provisions of Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works, Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers, of
Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations and other international treaties in the field of intellectualproperty.  At the same time, Parliamentary Decision No. 294–XIII of 23 November 1994 contains
provisions related to the protection of pre-existing works and sound recordings and provides for
retroactivity protection.
In conformity with Article 17(12) of the above Law, if the term of protection for a work by a
foreign author that is used in the Republic of Moldova is greater, under the laws of the country of the
author, than the term set out in this Article, the term of protection laid down by this Law shall apply;if it is lesser, the term of protection laid down by the laws of the country of the author shall apply.
Moreover, the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring provides that in case where an
international treaty to which the Republic of Moldova is party contains rules different from those
specified in the Law, the provisions of the international treaty shall apply."
SWITZERLAND
C. E
NFORCEMENT
7. Please describe any new initiatives that are planned to improve enforcement of intellectual
property rights in your country, particularly initiatives related to criminal enforcement.
The Republic of Moldova is undertaking every possible measure to enforce the rights of the
owners of intellectual property rights.  All laws in force on the protection of intellectual property
objects have articles stipulating the sanctions for infringement of the rights of intellectual propertyowners.  The Criminal Code currently in force contains provisions on the violation of inventors rights
(Article 141), on the violation of copyright (Artic le 141(1) and on the violation of the right of an
owner of a warrant of protection of the objects of i ndustrial property (Article 142(2)).  Prosecution of
offenders has taken place under the Criminal, Civil and Administrative Codes.
At the same time, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has for examination
amendments to the Criminal Code that contain significantly higher penalties for the infringement ofintellectual property rights.  The new draft of the Civil Code of the Republic of Moldova has passed in
the Parliament its second reading and the new draft of the Criminal Code has passed its first reading.
The Draft Law on amending the Copyright and Related Rights Law, No. 293-XIII of
23 November 1994, which is fully harmonized with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement and
WIPO Internet Treaties is under consideration in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
A number of measures were adopted in order to ensure the protection of intellectual property
rights at the borders. According to Chapter XII of the Customs Code, in cases when the right holder
has suspicion of some goods being carried across the border that will infringe his rights, he is entitled
to request assistance from the customs authorities presenting a written request.  National BureauSECI/ RILO was established within the Customs Department of the Republic of Moldova on the base
of the Governmental Decision No. 815 of 13 August 2001 in order to provide boarder protection of
intellectual property rights and to fulfill the rele vant provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.  For the
time being, 75 objects of industrial property are offered customs protection at the borders of the
Republic of Moldova.IP/C/W/337/Add.1
Page 3
The system of legal protection of the rights of owners of intellectual property is becoming
stronger in our country.  The judicial practice s hows that the mechanisms of examination of patent
disputes and appeals filed by applicants, patent owners and third parties is in the stage of development
and the legislation in force often satisfies the requests of owners of titles of protection when speaking
about disagreements and guarantees.  At present, the Republic of Moldova has a complete andefficient legislative base, which includes necessary rules and procedures for ensuring appropriate
protection of intellectual property rights.
__________