Unofficial translation  
DECISION  
approving the Regulation s on the Activity  
of the Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys  
 
No.541 of 18/07/2011  
 
Official Gazette No.118 -121/610 of 22/07/2011  
 
* * *  
For the purpose of implementing the provisions of Article 31 para (4) of the Law No.161 -
XVI of 12 July 2007  on the Protection of Industrial Designs (Official Gazette of the Republic of 
Moldova, 2007, No.136 -140, Art. 577), Art. 29 para (3) of the Law No.38-XVI of 29 February 
2008  on the Protection of Tradema rks (Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2008, 
No.99-101, Art.362), Art.87 para  (5) of the Law No.39-XVI of 29 February 2008  on the 
Protection of Plant Varieties (Official Gazette of the Republic of M oldova, 2008, A rt. 99 -101, 
Art. 364), art.86 para (5) of the Law No.50-XVI of 7 March 2008  on the Protection of Inventions 
(Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2008, No.117 -119, Art.455) and Art.15 para (3) of 
the Law No.66-XVI of 27 March 2008  on the Protection of Geographi cal Indications, 
Appellation s of Origin and Traditional Specialties Guaranteed (Official Gazette of the Republic 
of Moldova, 2008, No.134 -137, Art. 527), the Government  
 
DECIDES:  
1. The Regulation s on the A ctivity of the Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys  is 
approved (to be attached).  
2. This Decision shall enter into force one year after the date of its publication.  
PRIME MINISTER  Vladimir FILAT  
 
Countersign ed:   
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy  Valeriu Lazăr  
 
Chisinau, July 18, 2011.   
No. 541.    
Approved  
by the Government Decision  
No.541 of 18 July 2011  
   
REGULATION S 
on the Activity of the Authorized Intellectual Property  Attorneys  
 
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS  1. The Regulation s on the Activity of the Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys 
(hereinafter referred to as “the Regulation s”) regulates the professional activity of the authorized 
intellectual property attorneys  (hereinafter referred to as “the authorized attorneys ), in 
accordance with the legislation on the protection of intellectual property and other normative 
acts, and with the provisions of the international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a 
party.  
2. The provisions of th e present  Regulation s shall  extend to:  
1) authorized attorney s; 
2) applicants to obtain certificates of authorized attorney ; 
3) the Commission for Attestation and Discipline of Authorized Intellectual Property 
Attorneys (hereinafter referred to as “the Attestation Commission ”), established within the State 
Agency on Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as “AGEPI ”). 
[Item 2 amended  by Gov. Dec . No.1157 of 18 /10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]  
3. For the purposes of th e present  Regulation s, the principal terms used shall mean the 
following:  
attestation  – the procedure for assessing the level and quality of professional training in 
the field of intellectual property, through which the AGEPI officially recognizes the competence 
of the candidate;  
certificate  – authoriza tion issued by AGEPI confirming the capacity of the person to act 
as an authorized attorney  for all or some of the intellectual property objects;  
authorized attorney  – a natural person attested  and registered in the National Register of 
Authorized Intellec tual Property Attorneys  (hereinafter referred to as “the Register ”), 
representing the interests of natural and legal persons and providing them with the necessary 
assistance in the field of the protection of intellectual property.  
4. The authorized attorneys ’ activity consists in the representation of the natural and legal 
persons under the terms of the mandate contract or of another contract with analogous content 
(hereinafter referred to as “the contract ”) and/or the power of representation  (herein after referred 
to as “ the power of attorney” ) and the provision thereof with the necessary assistance in the field 
of intellectual property (trademarks, inventions, industrial designs, plant varieties, topographies 
of integrated circuit s, appellation s of o rigin, geographical indications, traditional specialties 
guaranteed).  
II. ACQUISITION OF THE CAPACITY OF  AUTHORIZED ATTORNEY  
5. A person who fulfills the following conditions may acquire the capacity  of authorized 
attorney : 
1) is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova;  
2) has permanent domicile  in the Republic of Moldova;  
3) has a  higher education bachelor’ s degree; in the case of a person applying for the 
capacity  of authorized attorney for the category specified in item 7 sub-item 1) of this 
Regulation s, technical studies are required , and for the category specified in sub -item 6) in the 
same item – biological or agricultural studies;  
4) has a practice of at least 3 years in the field of intellectual property or has higher 
education in this field or of couns elor in  intellectual property;  5) is not an employee of AGEPI at the time of requesting the capacity  of authorized 
attorney ; 
6) knows the state language;  
7) has full exercise capacity;  
8) has passed the examination  in front of the Attestation Commission  of AGEPI . 
[Item 5 amended  by Gov. Dec . No.1157 of 18 /10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]  
6. Intellectual property specialists who have activ ated as AGEPI employees for at least 3 
years and the teach ing staff  who have taught the subject of intellectual property protection in 
higher education institutions for at least 3 years may acquire the capacity  of authorized attorney  
without passing the examination  for the field of the intellectual property in which they have 
activated, and without payi ng the attestation fee, for the registration and issuance of the 
certificate.  
[Item 6 amended by Gov. Dec. No.1157 of 18/10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]  
7. The capacity  of authorized attorney  may be acquired for the following intellectual 
property  objects : 
1) inventions;  
2) trade marks;  
(3) geographical indications, appellation s of origin and traditional specialties guaranteed;  
4) industrial designs;  
5) topographies of integrated circuits;  
6) plant varieties.  
8. In order to be admitted to the certificate obtaining and attestation examination , the 
applicant shall file with the  AGEPI the application made on a standard form approved by 
AGEPI, with the annexation of the following documents:  
1) the standard questionnaire approved by AGEPI;  
2) the co py of the identity card; 
3) a copy of the diploma on the respective studies;  
4) a copy of the service record  or other documents justifying the length of service;  
5) a copy of the payment order for payment of the attestation, certificate registration and 
issuance fee. 
9. In the event of occurrence of any uncertainty or doubt as to the truthfulness of the 
information submitted in accordance with the copies of the acts specified in item 8 of th e present  
Regulation s, the secretary of the Attestation Commission may request the presentation of these 
documents in their original form.  
III. ATTE STATION PROCESS  
10. Attestation of applicants to obtain certificates of authorized attorney  is carried out  by 
the Attestation Commission, which is formed of at least 5 persons  and whose composition is 
approved by the order of the AGEPI Director General. The Attestation Commission is made up 
of the chairman, members (high qualified specialists in intellectual property working in the 
AGEPI for at least 3 years), secretary, and a representative of the professional association of 
authorized attorneys  with the largest number of members. The members of the Attestation 
Commission are appointed indefinitely.  The attributions of the chairman of the Attestation Commission are exercised by  the 
Director General or by the Deputy Director General of AGEPI.  
[Item 10 amended by Gov. Dec. No.1157 of 18/10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]   
11. The Attestation Commission has the following tasks:  
1) examin es the documents submitted according to the provisions of item 8 of the present 
Regulation s and decides the admission of the applicants for the attestation examination  in order 
to obtain the certificate;  
2) decides on attributing  the capacity  of authorized  attorney  without taking  the attestation 
examination  to the persons referred to  in item 6 of this Regulation s; 
3) elaborates the subjects for the attestation examination ; 
4) check s the identity of the candidates according to the identity card; 
5) analyzes and re gister s in the minutes any referral regarding the organization and 
conduct of the attestation examination ; 
6) check s and evaluate s the results of the attestation examination ; 
7) decides on granting (not granting) the certificates;  
8) monitors the act ivity of authorized intellectual property  attorneys , including examin es 
the information accumulated in the AGEPI databases on the activity of authorized attorneys ; 
9) decides to establish the limits of the activity of authorized attorneys  on the basis of t he 
statistical information held by the AGEPI according to item 35 of this Regulation s; 
10) perform s other duties in accordance with the law.  
[Item 11 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]   
12. Chairman of the Attestation Commission:  
1) approves the list of candidates admitted to the attestation examination ; 
2) ensures that all sets of grid tests for the attestation examination  are prepared and 
maintained;  
3) organize s the conduct of the attesta tion examination ; 
4) chair s the meetings of the Attestation Commission;  
5) explains how to encode works;  
6) organizes the verification  of the works and the evaluation of the results of the 
attestation examination ; 
7) signs the standard forms  for answers ; 
8) submits to the AGEPI Director General the certificate for signing .  
13. Secretary of the Attestation Commission:  
1) receives the applications submitted in support of the attestation examination  and for 
obtaining the certificate;  
2) check s and inform s the applicant about the completeness and the compliance of 
documents submitted with the requirements of this Regulation s; 
3) draws up the list of candidates admitted to the attestation examination ; 
4) draws up the personal file for each candidate;  
5) distrib utes and collects the examination  grids and standard forms for answers;  
6) draws up the minutes of the meeting s of the Attestation Commission;  
7) ensures the keeping  of the Registry of records of minutes on the results of the 
attestation examination s; 
8) ensures the drawing up  of the certificates and verifies their accuracy;  
9) hand s over the qualification certificates;  10) transmit s at the end of the year the minutes of the meetings of the Attestation 
Commission to the AGEPI archive;  
11) is responsible  for ensuring the full record of the documents related to the 
attestation/monitoring of the activity of the authorized attorneys , as well as for their transmission 
to the AGEPI archive.  
14. The Attestation Commission is responsible for the preventi on of fraudulent practices 
of the a ttestation examination , provided and sanctioned in accordance with item 21 of the present 
Regulation s. 
[Item 14 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]  
15. The quorum required to hold meetings o f the Attestation Commission shall be at least 
2/3 of its members.  
The decisions of the Attestation Commission shall be adopted by a majority of the votes 
of the total number of members of the Attestation Commission.  
16. Meetings of the Attestation Commiss ion shall be convened on the basis of the 
applications submitted for the obtaining of the capacity  of authorized attorney , the notifications 
regarding the activity of the authorized attorneys , as well as for the evaluation of their activity, 
according to statistical information held by AGEPI pursuant to item 35 of th e present  
Regulation s. 
[Item 16 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]  
17. To the a ttestation examination shall be admi tted the  applicants who have presented all 
the necessary documents and meet the requirements set out in this Regulation s. In case of 
subsequent detection of non -authentic data in the documents submitted for attestation or of 
presen tation of false documents, the Attestation Commission will cancel the decision on the 
results of the attestation.  
18. The conditions for organizing, promoting and evaluating the attestation examination  
are set out in instructions approved by the order of the Director General of AGEPI.  
19. Attestation examination s are taken  in writing. The subjects for the examination  are 
elaborated by the members of the Attestation Commission and approved by the order of the 
General Director of AGEPI. The subjects  for the attestation examination  are placed on the 
AGEPI website ( www.agepi.gov.md ), at least 30 days before the attestation  date.  
[Item 19 amended by Gov. Dec. No.1157 of 18/10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]  
20. For the purpose of legitimation, the candidate  must present  an identity card. Persons 
without an identity card or who are late shall be  considered absent and transferred to the list for 
the subsequent examination . 
21. The fraud attestation examination  practices shall be  found by any member of the 
Attestation Commission and shall be  sanctioned by the Chair man of the Attestation Commission 
by excluding the candidate from the examination . These frauds consist in the  copying, the use of 
electronic devices capable of mediatin g the communication or consultation of data, substitution 
of the person or the work, as well as the commission of other actions in order to obtain the 
unwarranted promotion of the examination . If the committed actions exceed the competence of 
the Attestati on Commission, it has the obligation to notify the competent bodies.  22. The verification of the works is performed  only after the attestation examination  has 
been completed by the members of the Attestation Commission.  
23. The results of the attestation examination  shall be announced within 3 working days 
from the date of its conduct . 
[Item 23 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]   
24. The candidate may appeal the decision of the Attestation Commission by submitting 
the respective requests  within 7 working days of the announcement of the results. Appeals must  
be argued.  
  [Item 24 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from  27/07/2018]  
25. The r equests for appeals shall be registered  by the secretary of the Attestation 
Commission in the  Registry of records of minutes on the results of the attestation examinations . 
26. The r equests for appeals shall be examin ed by the Attestation Commission within 7 
working days from the date of  expiry of the deadline for submission of appeals. The Attestation 
Commission re checks  and notes the appealed  evidence. The amendment of the appealed  grade  
shall  only be admissible if t he grade given  after the examination  of the appeal  is higher than the 
one initia lly obtained, otherwise the initially obtained grade is maintained, it being  final.  
[Item 26 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]   
27. The e xamination  of appeal s shall be re gistered  in separate minutes, signed by the 
members of the Attestation Commission.  
28. In the case of unsatisfactory results of the attestation examination , the attestation fee 
shall not be refunded. The r epeated taking of the examination  will be carried out  after pay ment 
of fee. 
29. The repeated taking of the attestation examination , in case of non -accumulation of the 
minimum points, shall be admitted in one of the following meeting s of the Attestation 
Commission.  
If the attestation examination  has not been taken  twice consecutively, the candidate may 
apply for admission to the attestation examination  only after the expiry of the 1 year period.  
 
IV. REGISTRATION OF AUTHORIZED ATTORNEY S 
30. The data on the status attributed to authorized attorneys  following the attestation shall 
be entered in the Register and published in the Official Bulletin of Intellectual Property of the 
Republic of Moldova.  
[Item 30 amended by Gov. Dec. No.1157 of 18/10/2016 , in force from 25/ 10/2016]   
31. AGEPI shall keep the Registry in accordance with the legislation  and normative acts  
on registry management.  
32. An authorized attorney,  entered  in the Register , shall be issued a certificate in 
accordance with the model established by AGEPI, signed by the Chairman of the Attestation 
Commission and the Director General of AGEPI. The data on the status of the authorized 
attorney shall be registered in the certifica te, according to the latest information entered in the 
Register.  33. If the certificate has been lost, destroyed or its data have been substantially modified , 
a duplicate with the payment of the prescribed fee, including the payment for the publication of 
the notice  in this respect shall be issued at the request of the authorized attorney.  
34. The authorized attorney is obliged to notify AGEPI of any change in his/her personal 
data entered in the Register.  
V. MONITORING THE ACTIVITY OF THE AUTHORIZED  
ATTORNEYS BY AGEPI  
35. The monitoring of the activity of the authorized attorneys  shall be carried out through 
the statistical record of the information held by AGEPI on the number of applications for the 
registration of intellectual property objects, incl uding those related to the management of 
intellectual property rights, made through the authorized attorneys . This information will include 
the applications  filed both on behalf of foreign and national persons and will not include data 
that are not related  to AGEPI ’s activity.  
36. Authorized attorneys,  interested in placing the information regarding their activity on 
the AGEPI website, under the heading “Authorized Attorneys” , are entitled, upon request and 
against payment, to request the placement of a ban ner, developed by AGEPI according to the 
parameters of its website, with reference to the information provided to the public (electronic 
address, web page and /or photo, name and surname of the attorney  (name of the legal entity), 
legal address, contact details, other relevant information that will not exceed the format of an A4 
sheet ). 
[Item 36 amended by Gov. Dec. No.1157 of 18/10/2016 , in force from 25/10/2016]   
37. The information on newly attested  authorized atto rneys  will be placed on the AGEPI 
website for a period of 3 years  of activity . After the expiry of this period, the monitoring of the 
activity of the authorized attorneys  shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of item 
35 of th e present  Regu lation s. 
[Items  38-41 abrogated by Gov. Dec . No.714 of 18.07.2018 , in force from  27/07/2018]  
VI. ACTIVITY OF THE AUTHORIZED ATTORNEYS  
42. The authorized attorney  shall exercise his/her activity within the limits of the 
intellectual property objects specified in item 7 of th e present  Regulation s, in respect of which 
he/she has passed the attestation examination . An authorized attorney  who partially holds th is 
capac ity under the certificate will be able to extend his/her activity to another/ intellectual 
property object/objects provided he/she takes the attestation examination . 
[Item 42 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18.07.2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]   
43. The authorized attorney  may carry out his /her professional activity as an individual 
entrepreneur , without being considered a legal person or being considered a legal person for the 
provision of services in the field of intellectual property, and as an employee of an institution, 
organization or enterprise with any form of legal organization.  
44. The authorized attorney  having  the status of an individual entrepreneurial shall carry 
out his /her activity on the basis of the contracts for provision o f intellectual property service s concluded with the customer s and/or on the basis of the power of attorney  granted by the 
customer s. 
An authorized attorney  who has engaged himself/herself to  an enterprise , profiled on the 
provision of intellectual property  services , shall activate on the basis of the contracts concluded 
by the enterprise and/or the powers of attorney granted by the customer s. 
An authorized attorney  who has engaged himself/herself as a permanent or temporary 
worker to institutions, organizations or enterprises with other profiles shall act in accordance 
with his /her service obligations provided  in the employment contract.  
441. Authorized attorney s have the right to form professional associations or to join such 
associa tions.  
In the case of registration of a professional association of authorized attorneys , within 10 
days from registration, the management of the association will inform AGEPI about such fact , 
with the presentation of data on the name, the headquarters of the management body and the 
number of the members of the association.  
In order to record and update the information on professional associations of authorized 
attorneys , the management of the association will quarterly submit to the AGEPI the information 
on the continuation of its activity and the number of its members.  
The professional association of authorized attorneys  with the largest number of members 
will participate in the professional training of authorized attorneys , in their attestation  and 
sanction in common with the Attestation Commission.  
[Item 441 introduced by Gov. Dec . No.1157 of 18 /10/2016 , in force  from  25/10/2016]   
45. The authorized attorney s shall exercise their duties in compliance with the Code of 
Ethics and Conduct of Authorized Intellectual Property A ttorneys , in accordance with the Annex 
to the present Regulations . 
In court s, in order to defend the rights and interests of the customer , the authorized 
attorney  may avail himself/herself , in accordance with his /her mandate , of a lawyer or legal 
advisor.  
[Item 45 amended by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18.07.2018 , in force from 27/07/2018]  
451. The authorized attorney  who has breached the obligations laid down in the contract 
or the norm s of the Code of Ethics and Conduct of Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys 
shall be  liable under the law.  
[Item 451 introduced by Gov. Dec. No.714 of 18.07.2018 , in force from 27 /07/2018]  
46. Attestation, registration in the Register, issuance of the certificate or duplicate, 
operation of the changes in the Register and advanced training  of the authorized attorneys  shall 
be performed for payment in accordance with the legislation in the field of protection of 
intellectual property.  
 
Annex  
to the Regulations on  
the Activity of the Authorized  
Intellectual Property Attorneys  
 [Annex introduced by Gov. Dec.  No.714 of 18/07/2018 , in force from  27/07/2018]  
 CODE  
of Ethics and Conduct for Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys  
 
Chapter I  
GENERAL PROVISION S 
1. The Code of Ethics and Conduct for Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys 
(hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) regulates the fundamental principles and rules of 
professional conduct mandatory for the  authorized intellectual property attorney (here inafter 
referred to as “the authorized attorney”) both in relations with customers, with national and 
international authorities, with non -governmental organizations, and with other authorized 
attorneys.  
2. The authorized attorney is the natural person attested by the Commission for 
Attestation and Discipline of Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys of the State Agency on 
Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as “AGEPI”) and registered in the N ational Register 
of Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys, who represents the interests of natural and legal 
persons and provides them with the necessary assistance in the field of protection of intellectual 
property objects.  
3. The norms of this Code  are intended to secure the fulfilment of the professional 
commitment of an authorized attorney. Failure by the authorized attorney to comply with these 
norms shall entail liability under the law.  
4. The authorized attorney must know and strictly abide by this Code, being also 
responsible for the observance and application of the principles of this Code by its employees 
and collaborators.  
5. In the exercise of his/her profession, the authorized attorney has the duty to protect 
his/her customers against situ ations in which their rights are not respected and to provide them 
with the necessary assistance in the process of understanding the legal provisions, avoiding 
conflicts and resolving them.  
 
Chapter II  
PRINCIPLES OF CONDUCT  
 
Section 1  
Independence  
6. The a uthorized attorney must enjoy professional independence in his/her activity in 
such a way as to avoid any dependence which may prejudice the interests of his/her customer.  
7. The authorized attorney must be free of any influence that might result from his/ her 
own interests or those of third parties in relation to the commitment undertaken.  
8. The professional probity shall be inclusively secured by ignoring any requests from the 
customer that are likely to prejudice the commitment of the authorized attorney  and the rules for 
its realization.  
9. The authorized attorney cannot accept a commitment when, due to other obligations, it 
is impossible to fulfil this commitment promptly or to consult the customer correctly.  
 
Section 2  
Moral Integrity and Trust  10. The authorized attorney must demonstrate honesty, probity, fairness, correctness, 
sincerity and confidentiality in the relationship with his/her customer, characteristics that 
motivate the customer’s decision to engage him/her.  
11. Moral integrity consists in  the behavior of the authorized attorney in such a way as 
not to prejudice the characteristics referred to in item 10 both in the exercise of the profession 
and outside of it.  
12. The authorized attorney is required to abstain from assisting and consulting  a 
customer in criminal activities.  
 
Section 3  
Professional Secret. Confidentiality  
13. The authorized attorney is bound to keep the confidentiality of any data, including 
personal data, and information that becomes known to him/her directly or indirectly from his/her 
customer, whether directly linked to or not by the assumed commitment. He/ she cannot disclose 
this information both during the commitment and after its termination, except with the express 
consent of his/her customer.  
14. The right and obligation to maintain confidentiality apply to all information acquired 
during the exercise o f the profession and will have to be respected even after the settlement of 
the commitment, except in cases expressly provided for by law.  
15. The authorized attorney cannot pass on to any third party any document received 
from his/her customer, such as do cuments, printed or electronic files, samples and models, 
without the consent of the customer.  
16. The obligation of confidentiality implies an active role of the authorized attorney in 
ensuring that such confidentiality is preserved, including by the pers ons he or she employs in 
order to fulfil a particular commitment or to carry out his/her professional activity in general.  
17. Among the customers represented jointly, the confidentiality rule does not apply 
unless the parties decide otherwise.  
 
Section 4  
Competence  
18. The authorized attorney carries out the activity entrusted to him/her on the basis of 
his/her professional competence.  
19. The authorized attorney is not entitled to accept a commitment if he/she is certain that 
he/she does not have the nece ssary competence to deal with the matter, unless he/she cooperates 
with another authorized attorney or other specialist with that competence.  
 
Section 5  
Conflict of Interests  
20. The authorized attorney is not entitled to participate in a particular commit ment if 
he/she has already counseled or has already represented another party in the same case with 
conflicting interests, or has been involved professionally or otherwise in this case, which could 
prejudice the customer’s interest. In this case, the autho rized attorney is obliged to notify the 
customer as soon as the circumstance becomes known to him/her.  
21. The authorized attorney will abstain from dealing with the cases of all the customers 
involved in the commitment for which he was engaged when a conf lict of interests arises, when the professional secret runs the risk of being violated or when his/her independence takes the risk 
of casting doubt on it.  
22. The authorized attorney cannot accept a case of a new customer when the secret of 
the information  entrusted by an old customer runs the risk of being violated or when the 
customer’s knowledge of the old customer’s cases favors the new customer unjustifiably.  
 
Section 6  
Incompatibilities  
23. The authorized attorney may carry out his/her professional ac tivity as an individual 
entrepreneur without being considered a legal entity or being considered a legal entity for the 
provision of intellectual property services and as an employee of an institution, organizations or 
enterprises with any form of legal or ganization.  
24. The authorized attorney may not act as such on grounds of incompatibility established 
under the law, such as the status of an employee of AGEPI or the exercise of a public function.  
 
Section 7  
Advertising of the Authorized Attorney’s Activity  
25. The authorized attorney may promote his/her professional activity, subject to the 
compliance with the provisions of Section 3 of this Chapter relating to professional secret, 
providing concrete information on the exercise of his/her profession  and carrying out his/her 
activity with dignity and prudence. It is in particular allowed to mention the core activities, the 
special experience acquired in the professional environment in which he/she activates and the 
qualifications formally obtained.  
26. In all promotional and advertising actions, regardless of their material support, 
including the Internet, the authorized attorney must ensure that all the elements of identification 
of the form of exercise of the profession in which he/she activates, acc ording to the forms of 
organization of the profession established by law, are presented in a correct and complete 
manner so that the public is aware of all the details of the person or persons providing the 
respective services and there is no confusion in relation to other attorneys as well as in relation to 
other institutions or organizations.  
27. References to files and customers are only allowed if the customer has previously 
expressed expressly his/her consent in this respect, except that reference(s) i s (are) only related 
to the information available to the public.  
28. Advertising and promotion must not contain any allegations that may affect the status 
and dignity of the profession of authorized attorney or any other free profession.  
29. Regardless of the means of advertising used, all laudatory or comparative mentions 
with other authorized attorneys are forbidden.  
 
Chapter III  
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP  
 
Section 1  
Commitment and Acceptance of Commitment  
30. The authorized attorney is free to accept or not a  particular commitment offered by 
the customer. This commitment must be in written form.  31. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, this commitment may be in the form of an 
exchange of messages, whether written or electronic. From this communication must 
unequivocally result the understanding of the terms of the commitment by the customer and 
acceptance of the commitment by the authorized attorney.  
32. The authorized attorney and the customer agree on the content of the commitment, in 
particular on the extent of the obligation of assistance to be borne by the authorized attorney, the 
fee he will receive, the necessary conditions of payment and other reasonable and necessary 
expenses.  
 
Section 2  
Fixing the Honorarium  
33. The authorized attorney and the customer are fully free to establish the honorarium to 
be paid.  
34. The authorized attorney infor ms the customer of the honorarium/honoraria and 
its/their structure, and the total amount of honoraria must be fair and justified.  
35. The authorized attorney shall provide the customer, upon request, with details of the 
actions undertaken or to be underta ken in relation to the fixed honorarium.  
36. When the customer fails to pay the debts related to the honoraria and expenses, the 
authorized attorney has the right to renounce the commitment and to withdraw, respecting a 
reasonable possibility of the custom er to independently deal with his/her own case.  
37. The authorized attorney may not offset the debts he/she claims from the customer at 
the expense of the funds entrusted to him to discharge the specific commitment, except with the 
agreement of his/her cus tomer.  
 
Section 3  
Interaction with the Customer  
38. The authorized attorney acts only when he/she is empowered by his/her customer, 
based on the commitment made by the customer and accepted by the attorney. Relationship with 
the customer must be official.  
39. The authorized attorney shall consult the customer conscientiously and shall inform 
him diligently of the progress of the commitment he/she has accepted.  
40. If the authorized attorney is unable to carry out his/her duties, he/she must ensure that 
the customer in question is in a position to independently deal with his/her case or may in due 
time contract another person to provide him/her with the necessary assistance to avoid causing 
damage to the customer.  
41. Even if the customer’s interest is paramo unt, the authorized attorney will not 
subordinate his/her personal and professional integrity to his/her customer.  
42. The authorized attorney is not entitled to accept an unlawful proposal.  
43. The authorized attorney cannot guarantee a certain result of the assumed 
commitment; no matter how foreseeable it is, especially when the result depends on the decision 
of the AGEPI, the court, another public authority or a third party.  
 
Section 4  
Dossier of the Commitment Received  
44. For each commitment entrusted,  the authorized attorney must keep a dossier that 
gives a clear picture of the activity he/she has carried out.  45. The authorized attorney may keep the dossier in electronic format, provided that the 
original individual copies are not required to be kept.  The authorized attorney also has the right 
to convert in part or in total a dossier from non -electronic format into electronic format, by 
making electronic copies and by destroying the copies kept on paper, provided that the legal 
provisions do not contra dict this procedure.  
46. At the customer’s request, the authorized attorney shall provide copies or extracts 
from the commitment dossier without incurring any additional charge that exceeds his/her own 
costs/expenses.  
47. Upon completion of the commitmen t, the customer may ask the authorized attorney 
for a copy of the dossier that the attorney provides, except for those data, information, drawings, 
notes that are not directly related to the appropriate commitment or whose provision is prohibited 
by the ob ligation/obligations of the professional secret.  
 
Section 5  
Waiver of Commitment  
48. The authorized attorney may not relinquish a file unjustifiably before the deadline if 
there are no reasonable reasons for doing so. However, for reasonable reasons, the authorized 
attorney is entitled to waive his/her commitment at any time, provided tha t a reasonable period 
of notice is observed, so that the customer may independently deal with his/her own case or may 
engage another authorized attorney.  
49. In this case, the authorized attorney shall undertake any action that is urgent and 
decisive for t he case of his/her customer, without making unreasonable, in some way, this 
behavior.  
50. This obligation of maximum prudence in the event of waiving the commitment 
entrusted does not apply if the waiver is caused by the customer’s fault or if the customer  agrees 
to take all future actions on his behalf.  
 
Chapter IV  
INTERACTION WITH OTHER AUTHORIZED ATTORNEYS.  
COLLEGIALITY  
51. Collegiality requires trust -based relationships, in the customer’s interest, to avoid 
unnecessary processes and any behavior likely to affect the reputation of the profession.  
52. In no case will collegiality be the basis for the unreasonable contradictio n with the 
interests of the customers. Between them, authorized attorneys will exhibit collective and 
respectful behavior.  
53. An authorized attorney shall not refer to another authorized attorney in improper or 
offensive terms.  
54. Professional competitio n must be fair. When ordering, as well as in any other form of 
promotion, including on the Internet, the authorized attorney will abstain from making 
misleading or self -deceiving statements and/or by direct criticism or allusion to the work and 
quality of the work of other attorneys.  
55. The authorized attorney shall not exercise or favor discrimination against other 
authorized attorneys on grounds of age, gender, religion, political option, social affiliation, etc. If 
an authorized attorney intends to brin g an action against another authorized attorney in 
connection with the violation of these rules of conduct, he/she will first attempt to resolve the 
dispute through direct contact with the other attorney. In the event that no agreement can be reached, the authorized attorney will continue to hand over the case to the Commission for 
Attestation and Discipline of the Authorized Intellectual Property Attorneys. Unless such 
mediation fails, the authorized attorney may bring legal action against the other attorn ey. 
56. An authorized attorney may not enter into a direct relationship with a person in 
respect of a particular case when knowing that such person is represented or assisted by another 
authorized attorney, unless he/she has the consent of his/her colleagu e. 
 
Chapter V  
INTERACTION WITH THE AGEPI,  
THE COURTS AND OTHER AUTHORITIES  
57. The authorized attorney is required to show respectful behavior towards the AGEPI, 
the courts and any other authorities with which he/she interacts in the performance of his/her  
commitment.  
58. An authorized attorney who presents himself/herself to the courts or who participates 
in a jurisdictional -administrative procedure must comply with the rules of conduct applicable to 
these procedures.  
59. The obligation to comply with thes e rules does not limit the authorized attorneyto 
object to the actions of the authorities or to exercise other procedural rights.  
60. The authorized attorney cannot knowingly provide obviously false data and 
information to the authorities with which he/she  interacts in the discharge of his/her 
commitment.  
61. The authorized attorney is not responsible for the truthfulness of the data and 
information provided by the customer. At the same time, the authorized attorney shall be obliged 
to notify the competent authorities if such data and information are likely to prejudice the legal 
provisions.”