IP/N/6/MDA/2  
 
4 December 2013  
(13-6652)  Page: 1/20  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
 
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES ON ENFORCEMENT1 
 
UPDATED RESPONSES FROM THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 
 
Civil and administrative procedures and remedies 
(a)  Civil judicial procedures and remedies  
 
1.  Specify the courts which have jurisd iction over IPR infringement cases.  
 
 
Proceedings 
in courts 
  
Civil order   
Administrative order   
Criminal order  
 
 
1st instance   
Riscani District 
Court/Chisinau Court 
of Appeal 
   
District judges
   
District judges
 
 
Appeal 
 Court of Appeal  Court of Appeal  Court of Appeal  
 
Recourse/review 
  
Supreme Court of 
Justice 
  
Supreme Court of 
Justice  
Supreme Court of 
Justice 
 
 
2.  Which persons have standing to assert  IPRs? How may they be represented? Are 
there requirements for mandatory personal  appearances before  the court by the 
right holder?  
 
In order to achieve the right of citizen "free a ccess to justice" enshrined in the Constitution 
of RM and protected by the European Conventi on on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 
procedural legislation of the Republic of Moldova pl aces at right holders' disposal many procedural 
means to an effective defense, the persons being able to make various requests to the court. 
 The following persons shall have the right to institute proceedings against infringement of an 
exclusive right on IPO or a legitimate interest arising from the exclusive right: 
 a) the holder of IPO;  
b) any person authorized to use OPI, particularly licensees; 
 c) other natural or legal persons who represent the right holder. 
                                               
1 Document IP/C/5. IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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At the same time, Art. 55 of Law No. 139 of  02.07.2010 on Copyright and Related Rights 
stipulate who may institute infringement proceedings; 
 
(1) Any natural person or legal entity that have claims in respect of the use of an object of 
copyright, related rights or other rights protecte d by this Law shall have the right to institute 
proceedings in the competent court or shall inform  other enforcement authority for the application 
of measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this chapter. 
 (2) Proceedings for infringement of copyright, re lated rights or other rights protected by this 
Law may be initiated by the following persons or legal entities: 
 
(a) the right holders or authorities entitled to protect their rights;  
(b) other persons authorized to use such rights, in particular licensees; 
 (c) organizations for collective management of copyright or related rights; 
 
(d) professional defense organizations and other representatives of right holders and 
licensees. 
 
(3) The courts and other competent authorities shall apply the measures, procedures and 
remedies provided for in this chapter in a fair and equitable manner in a way that they are not unnecessarily complicated or costly and do not entail unnecessary time-limits or unwarranted 
delays. The application of these measures, procedures and remedies shall be effective, 
proportionate and dissuasive and shall be applied in such a manner as to avoid the creation of 
barriers to legitimate trade and to provide for safeguards against their abuse. 
 
According to Article 75 of the Code of Civil Pr ocedure of the Republic of Moldova No. 225-XV 
of 30.05.2003 (hereinafter CCP RM): 
 
(1) In the civil procedure, natural persons can defend their personal interests through a 
lawyer or trainee lawyer. Personal participation in the procedure does not make the natural person lose his right to have a lawyer. 
 
(2) Procedures of the legal persons are suppo rted in court by their management bodies, 
acting within the powers conferred by law, other regulations or their instruments of incorporation 
and by other authorized employees of the le gal person, by lawyers and trainee lawyers. 
 (3) The head of the organization confirms hi s powers by the documents submitted to the 
court certifying his function or quality of serv ice or, where appropriate, by the constitutional 
documents. In the event of dissolution or liquid ation of the legal person, its interests may be 
represented by the office administrator or liquidator, appointed under the law. 
 
(4) The procedural acts performed by the representative within his powers are binding on 
the person represented to the extent that they might be carried out by itself. The fault of the 
representative is equivalent to the fault of the party. 
 
 
3.  What authority do the judicial authorities have to order, at the request of an 
opposing party, a party to a proceeding to  produce evidence which lies within its 
control?  
 
The judicial authority that has the power to order, at the request of an opposing party, a 
party to a proceeding to produce evidence which lies within its control, are the courts established 
in item 1 of this questionnaire. 
 According to the provisions of Art.119 CCP RM 
 
(1) In a civil procedure the evidence is coll ected and presented by the parties and other 
participants in the procedure. If in the process of  gathering evidence appear difficulties, the court IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  may contribute, at the request of the parties and other participants in the procedure, to the 
gathering and presentation of evidence required. 
 (2) In the evidence claiming request must be specified the evidence and circumstances that 
could be confirmed or refuted by the evidence, the causes that prevent the acquisition of evidence, 
its location. The court (judge) may issue, if necessary, at the request of the parties or other participants in the procedure, an order to obta in the evidence. The person who has the claimed 
evidence submits it directly to the court or serves it to the person who has the order to present it 
in court. 
 (3) Persons who do not have the necessary evidence or are not able to present them within 
the time-limit established by the court are obliged to inform the court within 5 days as from the 
date of receipt of its request, indicating the reas ons for failure of evidence. In case of non-receipt 
of a notice and a declaration by the court for non-compliance with the order to present evidence as 
unfounded, the guilty persons who are not particip ants in the procedure shall be punished by a 
fine of up to 10 conventional units. Application of the fine does not exempt persons who hold the 
claimed evidence from the obligation of its adduction in court". 
 
 
4.  What means exist to identify and prot ect confidential information brought forward 
as evidence?  
 
According to the provisions of Art.1271 CCP RM "(1) Any person whose intellectual property 
rights have been violated may petition the court, until the institution of proceedings in court, as well as during the proceedings, the application of provisional measures to ensure the evidence, 
pending protection of information that constitutes a trade secret or whose confidentiality needs to 
be ensured under the legislation in force and provided that a security is filed". 
 
Article 1 of the Law on Trade Secret stipulates 
 "(1) Trade secret shall mean the information which is not state secret, pertaining to 
production, technologies, administration, financial activity and other activity carried out by the 
economic agent, the disclosure (communication, leakage) of which may prove injurious to the economic agent's interests.  
 
2. Information constituting a trade secret is the property of the entrepreneur's agent, or is in 
the possession, use or at the disposal of the latter, within the limits specified by the agent in compliance with the legislation".  
 
Article 13 of the same Law stipulates that:  
(1) In the process of judicial debate of variou s disputes initiation of the court, arbitration 
and third parties in trade secret objects shall only be allowed to the extent that it relates directly 
to the essence of the dispute, in which the economic agent is presented as complainant or defendant. Upon presentation of evidence shall be taken into account the legitimate interests of 
the parties relating to the protection of their industrial and trade secrets. 
  
5.  Describe the remedies that may be orde red by the judicial au thorities and criteria, 
legislative or jurisprudential, for their use:  
 
- Injunctions;  
- damages, including recovery of profit s, and expenses, including attorney's 
fees;  
- destruction or other withdrawal from  commercial channels of infringing 
goods and materials/implemen ts for their production;  
- any other remedies.  
 
National legislation provides remedies ordered by the court where it is found the 
infringement of IPO. 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  Thus, according to Article 69 of Law No. 38-XVI/2008 on the Protection of Trademarks 
(hereafter Law No. 38/2008):  
 (1) Having established that an infringement of rights has taken place, a court may, at the 
applicant's request, order measures to be taken in relation to the goods infringing the rights in a 
trademark and, in appropriate cases, in relation to the materials and equipment which were used in creating and manufacturing these goods. Such measures shall include in particular: 
 
(a) temporary removal of goods from commercial circulation;  (b) final removal of goods from commercial circulation; or 
 
(c) destruction of goods – where a trademark cannot be removed from an item without the 
item being destroyed, and also where the removal of a trademark is insufficient for the purposes of 
excluding the infringement of rights.  
 (2) The measures specified in paragraph (1) shall be carried out at the defendant's expense, 
apart from in cases where there are substantial grounds preventing this. 
 (3) When examining a request for the application of remedial measures, a court shall be 
governed by the principle of fairness, proporti onality to the seriousness of the infringement 
committed and the prescribed means of protection, and shall also take into account the interests 
of third parties. 
 
Art. 81 of Law No. 50-XVI/2008 on the Protection of Inventions (hereafter Law 
No. 50/2008):  
 
(1) The court shall have the authority, where an infringement is stated, to order, upon 
request of the plaintiff, taking of measures in respect of the goods found to be infringing the rights conferred by a patent application or a patent  and, where appropriate, the materials and 
implements used for the creation and manufacture of such goods. Such measures may include, in 
particular: 
 a) provisional disposal of the infringing goods outside the channels of commerce; 
 
b) final disposal of the infringing good s outside the channels of commerce; or 
 
c) destruction of goods infringing the rights conferred by a patent application or a patent. 
 (2) The measures mentioned in paragraph (1) above shall be performed at the infringer's 
expense, unless this would be contrary to existing substantiated reasons. 
 
(3) When examining a request for the application of remedial measures, a court shall be 
governed by the principle of fairness, proporti onality to the seriousness of the infringement 
committed and the prescribed means of protection, and shall also take into account the interests 
of third parties. 
 
Art. 65 of Law No. 161/2007 on the Protection  of Industrial Designs (hereinafter Law 
No. 161/2007):  
 (1) Having established that an infringement of rights has taken place, a court may, at the 
request of the plaintiff, order measures to be taken with regard to goods that infringe rights in an 
industrial design and, in appropriate cases, to materials and equipment used to create and manufacture these goods. These measures shall include: 
 
(a) temporary removal of the goods from commercial trading;  
(b) permanent removal of the goods from commercial trading; or 
 (c) destruction – in cases where the industrial design cannot be removed from the article 
without the destruction of the article, and in cases where the removal of the industrial design 
would be inadequate to rectify the infringement of rights. IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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(2) The measures laid down in paragraph (1) shall be applied at the expense of the 
respondent, except in cases where there are serious grounds preventing this. 
 
(3) In considering a request for the application of remedial measures, a court shall be 
guided by the principle of justice and shall en sure that the means of defense employed are 
proportionate to the seriousness of the infringements committed; it shall also take into account the 
interests of third parties. 
 Art. 60 of Law No. 139 of 02.07.2010 on Copyright and Related Rights stipulates that:  
(1) Without prejudice to any damages due to the right holder by reason of the infringement, 
and without compensation of any sort, the competent judicial authorities may order, at the request of the applicant, that appropriate measures be take n with regard to goods that they have found to 
be infringing copyright, related rights or other rights protected by this Law and, in appropriate 
cases, with regard to materials and implements principally used in the creation or manufacture of those goods. Such measures shall include: 
 
(a) recall from the channels of commerce;  (b) definitive removal from th e channels of commerce; or 
 
(c) seizure and destruction.  
(2) The judicial authorities shall order that the measures mentioned in paragraph (1) of this 
article be carried out at the expense of the infrin ger, unless particular reasons are invoked for not 
doing so. 
 
(3) In considering a request for remedial measures, 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 into account. 
 
 
6.  In what circumstances, if any, do judi cial authorities have the authority to order 
the infringer to inform the right holder of the identity of third persons involved in 
the production and distribution of the good s or services found to be infringing and 
of their channels of distribution?  
 
In item 3 of this questionnaire are referre d cases when judicial authorities have the 
authority to order the infringer to inform the right ho lder of the identity of third parties involved in 
the production and distribution of goods or services  found to be infringing and of their channels of 
distribution. 
  
7.  Describe provisions relating to the indemnification of defendants wrongfully 
enjoined. To what extent are public author ities and/or officials liable in such a 
situation and what "remedial meas ures" are applicable to them?  
 
Cases concerning the indemnification of defendants wrongly enjoined are the following 
public authorities and/or officials liable in such a situation and "remedial measures" are applicable 
to them:  
According to the provisions of Art.119 CCP RM: 
 
(1) In a civil procedure the evidence is coll ected and presented by the parties and other 
participants in the procedure. If in the process of  gathering evidence appear difficulties, the court 
may contribute, at the request of the parties and other participants in the procedure, to the gathering and presentation of evidence required. 
 
(2) In the evidence claiming request must be specified the evidence and circumstances that 
could be confirmed or refuted by the evidence, the causes that prevent the acquisition of evidence, IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  its location. The court (judge) may issue, if necessary, at the request of the parties or other 
participants in the procedure, an order to obta in the evidence. The person who has the claimed 
evidence submits it directly to the court or serves it to the person who has the order to present it in court. 
 
(3) Persons who do not have the necessary evidence or are not able to present them within 
the time-limit established by the court are obliged to inform the court within 5 days as from the 
date of receipt of its request, indicating the reas ons for failure of evidence. In case of non-receipt 
of a notice and a declaration by the court for non-compliance with the order to present evidence as unfounded, the guilty persons who are not particip ants in the procedure shall be punished by a 
fine of up to 10 conventional units. Application of the fine does not exempt persons who hold the 
claimed evidence from the obligation of its adduction in court". 
  
8.  Describe provisions governing the le ngth and cost of proceedings. Provide any 
available data on the actual durati on of proceedings and their cost.  
 
Article 85 CCP RM sets the exemptions from state duty  
 
(1) The following shall be exempted from state duty for examination of civil cases:  
a) complainants in actions: 
 - arising from copyright and related rights, the right to inventions, industrial designs, plant 
varieties, topographies of integrated circuits and other intellectual property rights; 
 
j) State Agency on Intellectual Property - if challenging its decrees and decisions on the 
procedure for registration of intellectual property objects. 
 
As to the provisions governing the length of judicial proceedings, we can mention that the 
national legal framework, i.e. CCP RM in Art. 4 "Tasks of civil legal consists in fair judgment and in 
the due time of civil cases on defense of violated  or contested rights, of freedoms and legitimate 
interests of natural persons and legal entities and their associations, of public authorities and other persons who are subjects of legal civil, family, labor and other legal relations, as well as the interests of state and society, strengthening th e legacy and the rule of law and preventing 
violations of the law. 
 Article 192 entitled "Terms of judging civil causes" states that civil cases are judged in the 
first instance in reasonable time. 
 However, from the practice of AGEPI (in actions in which it participates) the medium term of 
examination of causes in the field of IPO by the national courts is 1.5-3 years. 
  (b) Administrative procedures and remedies 
 
9.  Reply to the above questions in relation  to any administrative procedures on the 
merits and remedies that may re sult from these procedures.  
 
 
Provisional measures  
(a)  Judicial measures  
 
10.  Describe the types of provisional measur es that judicial authorities may order, and 
the legal basis for such authority.   
 
The procedure for implementing the provided  measures to secure evidence shall be 
conducted by the court or other competent authorit ies in accordance with the relevant provisions 
of the Code of Civil Procedure. Measures to secure evidence will be carried out with the IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  participation of a court bailiff, who will be assisted by a representative of AGEPI and a police 
officer. 
 Thus Article 127
1 of the CCP provides "Securing of evidence in the case of intellectual 
property objects 
 (1) Any person whose intellectual property rights have been infringed may request from the 
court, until an action is bought before the court,  and during the proceedings, the application of 
provisional measures for securing of evidence, subject to the protection of information that 
constitutes a trade secret or whose confidentiality needs to be provided according to the provisions 
of the legislation in force and provided that a security is lodged. 
 
Also, in the context of Art. 68 of Law No. 38/ 2008, Art. 64 of Law No. 161/2007, Art. 80 of 
Law No. 50/2008, measures are set out to ensure the proceedings for infringement of rights. Thus, 
having established the actual or imminently threatening infringement of the rights in the IPO, the 
court may, at the request of the right owner, inst itute certain measures to ensure the proceedings 
for infringement of rights against the defe ndant and/or intermediaries, such as to: 
 
(a) take a decision to temporarily prohibit the particular activities constituting the 
infringement of the rights in a trademark, or to allow such activities, subject to the provision of a 
security which is sufficient to provide compensation for the harm done to the right owner; 
 
(b) seize the property suspected of infringing th e rights in a trademark, industrial design in 
order to prevent it from being introduced into the channel of commerce; 
 
(c) seize any property of the infringer, including blocking bank accounts, supplying bank, 
finance or commercial documentation, if the infringement occurs in the commercial sphere and a 
risk of non-compensation for harm exists. 
 (2) Measures to guarantee rights may be established in accordance with Article 64 of Law 
No. 38/2008, Art. 60 of Law No. 161/2007 and Art. 75 of Law No. 50/2008 without hearing a 
defendant, where any delay is likely to cause irreparable harm to the right holder, or where there 
is a demonstrable risk of evidence to be de stroyed. The decision of the court shall be 
communicated immediately to the party affected. 
 
Art. 127
3 Cancellation of measur es to secure evidence 
 
(1) Measures to secure evidence shall be considered void if the complainant fails within 20 
working days to bring before the court an action for infringement of rights. 
 (2) Measures to secure evidence shall be canceled, on request: 
 
a) as a result of any prejudicial action or inaction of the applicant;  
b) if it is found that there is no violation or attempted violation of a right to intellectual 
property objects; 
 
c) under a judgment; 
 d) in other cases provided by law.  
(3) The period referred to in paragraph (1) is a limitation period and can not be restored". 
  
11.  In what circumstances ma y such measures be ordered inaudita altera parte ?  
 According to Article 177(2) CCP, measures to secure evidence may be established without 
the defendant to be heard where any delay is likely to cause irreparable harm to the right holder, 
or where there is a demonstrable risk of evidence to be destroyed. The decision of the court shall 
be communicated immediately to the party affected. 
   
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  12.  Describe the main procedures for the in itiation, ordering and maintenance in force 
of provisional measures, in particular relevant time-limits and safeguards to 
protect the legitimate interests of the defendant.  
 
The main procedures for the initiation, ordering and maintenance in force of provisional 
measures are stipulated in item10 of this questionnaire. 
 Regarding the relevant time-limits and safeguards to protect the legitimate interests of the 
defendant these are stipulated in the CCP RM. 
  
13.  Describe provisions governing the le ngth and cost of proceedings. Provide any 
available data on the actual durati on of proceedings and their cost.  
 
The provisions governing the length and cost of proceedings are mentioned in item 8 of this 
questionnaire. 
  (b) Administrative measures  
 
14.  Reply to the above questions in rela tion to any administrative provisional 
measures.  
 
 
Special requirements rela ted to border measures 
15.  Indicate for which goods it is possible to apply for the suspension by the customs 
authorities of the release into free circ ulation, in particular whether these 
procedures are available also in respect of goods which involve infringements of 
intellectual property rights other than co unterfeit trademark or pirated copyright 
goods as defined in the TRIPS Agreemen t (footnote to Article 51). Specify, 
together with relevant criteria, any import s excluded from the application of such 
procedures (such as goods from anothe r member of a customs union, goods in 
transit or de minimis  imports). Do the procedures apply to imports of goods put on 
the market in another country by or with the consent of the right holder and to 
goods destined for exportation?  
 
According to Art. 301(1) of Customs Code of the RM, border measures shall apply with a 
view to protect intellectual property to goods liable of infringing an intellectual property right, which: 
 
a) are brought into or out of the customs territory of the Republic of Moldova;  
b) are declared to customs authorities to be placed under a definitive or suspensive customs 
procedure; 
 
c) are under customs supervision in any other situations; 
 d) are found during customs checks on goods entering or leaving the country not having 
been declared; 
 
e) are entered into state ownership by co nfiscation or abandonment to the State's 
advantage. 
 
Intellectual property border protection measures shall not apply to:  
 goods which are the object of a protected intellectual property right and which have 
been manufactured with the consent of the right holder, but without his consent are in one of the situations referred to in paragraph (1). – A ccording to Art. 301(2) Customs 
Code of the RM;  IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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 goods covered by paragraph (2), manufactured or protected by another intellectual 
property right, in other terms than th ose agreed with the right owner.) – A ccording to 
Art. 301(3) Customs Code of the RM;  
 goods intended for personal use, moved acro ss the customs border of the Republic of 
Moldova by natural persons. ). – A ccording to Art. 301(4) Customs Code of the RM . 
  
16.  Provide a description of the main elem ents of the procedures relating to the 
suspension of the release of goods by customs authorities, in particular the 
competent authorities (Article 51), the requ irements for an application (Article 52) 
and various requirements related to the du ration of suspension (Article 55). How 
have Articles 53 (security or equivalent assurance), 56 (indemnification of the 
importer and of the owner of the good s) and 57 (right of inspection and 
information) been implemented?  
 
The current mechanism for applying border prot ection measures in respect of intellectual 
property objects consist of the following steps: 
 
A. Initiation of the procedure – by submission to the Customs Service, by the right holder, of 
the application for customs action and its examination – According to Art. 3021 Customs Code of 
the RM ; 
 
B. Acceptance of the application for customs action and setting of the action period. – 
According to Art. 3021 Customs Code of the RM; 
 
On the basis of accepted applications for customs action, the Customs Service manages the 
"Register of Intellectual Property Objects". Regi ster of Intellectual Property Objects to which 
border protection is applicable can be found on the website of the Customs Service 
(http://www.customs.gov. md/index.php?id=653 ).  
 
C. Application of protection measures (ex-officio procedure) through the detention of goods 
suspected of infringing intellectual property rights  and/or suspension of customs clearance with the 
notification of right holder and the declarant/consignee of the goods in order to initiate proceedings in the courts. These measures can be a pplied at the initiative of the customs authority 
if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the goods infringe the intellectual property rights. If 
the right holder does not sue within the establis hed time-limit, the customs authority shall order 
the release of goods and/or the grant of customs release, provided that the other statutory provisions are met. - According to Art. 302 Customs Code of the RM ; 
 
D. Application of protection measures (on the basis of the application for action) through the 
detention of goods suspected of infringing intellec tual property rights and/or suspension of the 
customs clearance with the notification of the right holder and the declarant/consignee of the 
goods in order to initiate proceedings in the courts . These measures can be implemented at the initiative of the customs authority if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the goods infringe the intellectual property rights. If the right holder does not sue within the time-limit, the 
customs authority shall order the release of goods and/or the grant of customs release, provided 
that the other statutory provisions are met. – According to Art. 304 Customs Code of the RM ; 
 
E. Application of measures to goods found to  infringe an intellectual property right: 
  destruction, in accordance with the legal provisions; 
 which have the effect of depriving the persons concerned of the actual economic 
benefits of the transaction, except for cases when simply removing the marks applied on counterfeit goods is not considered as that would effectively deprive the persons concerned of the economic benefits of the transaction; 
 free delivery to public institutions, including from the social protection system, public 
associations or humanitarian foundations, sports associations or clubs, state IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  educational institutions, natural persons who have suffered from natural disasters, if 
there is written consent of the owner of the intellectual property right and if goods are fit for consumption or use by the natural persons under the condition of not being marketed. 
 
 
 
 
According to Art. 302
1 Customs Code of the RM, the application for action by the customs 
authority shall be lodged to the Customs Service by the right holder in writing on paper or in electronic form, according to the form established by the Customs Service. 
 
The application must contain the following mandatory information:  
a) data identifying the right holder; 
 Suspicions  
Application for action 
Art. 304 Ex officio 
Art. 302 
10 working days + 10 working 
days  
3 working days (perishable 
products)  
3 working days  
Counterfeit products  
Original product  Free circulation 
Application for action 
 
Counterfeit Goods 
Art. 305 
Destroyed 
Donated  IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  b) an accurate and detailed technical description of the original goods, data about the place 
where they were produced, about their manufac turer and data about other right holders; 
 c) any specific information the right holder may have concerning the way of infringement of 
his right; 
 d) the name and address of the contact person appointed by the right holder. 
 
The right holder will provide, in so far as it is known to him, any other information, such as: 
 a) the pre-tax value of the original goods; 
 
b) the location of the goods or their destination;  
c) particulars identifying the consignment or packages; 
 d) the date of arrival or departure of the goods; 
 
e) the means of transport used;  f) the country or countries of production and the routes used; 
 
g) the technical differences between the original goods and those suspected of infringing an 
intellectual property right; 
 
h) the name and premises of the legal entities  authorized to import, export or distribute 
goods. 
 
To the application shall be obligatorily attached the following documents:  a) the declaration of the right holder, of a prescribed form, through which he assumes his 
responsibility if goods are found not to infringe an intellectual property right and the obligation to 
bear all costs incurred under this chapter; 
 
b) the proof that he is the owner of the intellectual property. 
 The Customs Service shall notify the owner in writing of the acceptance or rejection of the 
application or the fact that it is subject to examin ations or of the need for presentation of further 
information within 30 days of its receipt. 
 The right holder shall not be charged royalties/fees to cover the administrative costs 
occasioned by the processing of the application for action. 
 Against the decision to reject the application for action by the customs authority the right 
holder may lodge a complaint with the competent court. 
 According to Article 304 of the Customs Code of RM, on the basis of the application for 
action accepted, the customs authority shall issue a decision to detain goods suspected of infringing an intellectual property right and/or suspend the customs clearance, notifying in writing 
about it, according to the form established by the Government, both the right holder and the declarant/consignee of the goods. The customs authority shall immediately inform the Customs 
Service about the measures taken. 
 Where customs authorities have detained and/or suspended the release of goods suspected 
of infringing an intellectual property right, the goods may be destroyed without following the 
procedure laid down in paragraph (7) of Article 304 of the Customs Code of RM, if the following conditions are met: 
 
a) the right holder informs the customs authorities in writing within 10 working days, or 
three working days in the case of perishable goods,  of receipt of the notification provided above, 
that detained goods infringe an intellectual property right; 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  b) the right holder submits to the customs au thority, within the period referred to in 
subparagraph a), the written agreement of the de clarant/consignee of the goods to abandon the 
goods for destruction; this agreement may be subm itted directly to the customs authority by the 
declarant/ consignee of the goods, the condition in question shall be deemed to be fulfilled when 
the declarant/consignee of the goods has not oppo sed in writing the detention and/or suspension 
of the customs clearance or destruction of the goods within the expressly prescribed period; 
 
c) the customs authority obligatorily takes samp les of the goods to be destroyed, according 
to customs regulations, for keeping in such conditio ns that they constitute evidence in court, as 
appropriate; 
 
d) the destruction is carried out, unless otherwise specified in national legislation, at the 
expense and under the responsibility of the right holder. 
 
Where the declarant/consignee of the goods contests the measures for detention of goods 
and/or for suspension of customs clearance or objects to the destruction of the goods, the 
procedure laid down in paragraph (7) of Article 304 of the Customs Code of RM shall apply. 
 
With a view to establishing whether an intellectual property right has been infringed, the 
customs authority shall inform the right holder, at his written request and if known, of the names and addresses of the declarant/consignee of the g oods and the country of origin and shipment of 
goods suspected of infringing an intellectual property right. 
 The holder of the intellectual property right who receives the information pursuant to 
paragraph (4) of Article 304 of the Customs Code RM can only use it for the purposes of applying 
the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 304 of the Customs Code RM. Use of such information for 
purposes other than those expressly provided attracts the liability of the right holder and the 
cancellation of the customs authority's action.  
 The customs authority may allow the parties to inspect the goods detained or whose 
clearance has been suspended, and to take sample s to determine, through analysis or testing, 
whether goods infringe intellectual property rights. If the samples are not destroyed as a result of 
the analysis, the right holder shall return them as much as possible before the release of the 
goods and/or the grant of the release into free circulation. Costs and liabilities relating to the 
analysis of these samples shall be borne by the right holder. 
 If, within 10 working days of receipt of the notification of suspension of release or of 
detention, the right holder does not institute proceedings against the declarant/consignee of the 
goods and if the provisions of par. (2) and (3 ) of Art. 304 of the Customs Code RM are not 
applicable, customs authority shall order the release of goods and/or the grant of the release into free circulation, provided that the other statutory provisions are met. 
 
In duly justified cases, at the written request of the right holder, the Customs Service may 
extend by a maximum of 10 working days the period provided in par. (7), and in the cases of 
perishable goods the period of 3 working days, referred to in paragraph (10) of Article 304 of the 
Customs Code RM, may not be extended. 
 
If suing the declarant/consignee of the goods, the holder of the intellectual property right 
shall immediately inform the customs authority of the measures adopted and the customs authority shall detain the goods until the date on which judgment remains final and irrevocable. 
 
The holder of the intellectual property right shall, within 15 days of the termination of the 
protection of intellectual property right, and in the case of other related changes that occur in the 
Republic of Moldova, be obliged to inform the Customs Service about it. Otherwise, the holder will 
bear all the consequences to be derived from his inaction, being liable to the persons involved. 
 Customs destinations destruction and abandonmen t for the benefit of the state are governed 
by the Customs Code of the RM, the Regulation on customs destination "destruction" approved by 
the Customs Service Order No. 230-A of 28.06.2 007, and by the Regulation implementing the 
customs destinations provided by the Customs Code of RM, approved by Government Decision No. 1140 of 02.11.2005. 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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17.  Describe provisions governing the le ngth and cost of proceedings. Provide any 
available data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost. How long is the 
validity of decisions by the competent auth orities for the suspension of the release 
of goods into free circulation?  
 
According to Art.307(3) of the Customs Code RM, the burden of costs for storage and 
manipulation of goods under customs supervision and the costs for destruction or other related or 
similar costs is imposed on the holder of the intellectual property right or the person importing 
them. 
 
 
18.  Are competent authorities required to ac t upon their own initiative and, if so, in 
what circumstances? Are there any specia l provisions applicable to ex officio 
action?  
 
Article 302 of the Customs Code RM. Measures prior to the lodging of an application for 
action by the customs authority 
 
(1) Where the customs authority, in the course of  action in one of the situations referred to 
in Article 301 and before an application has been lodged by a right holder or accepted, has sufficient grounds for suspecting that goods infringe an intellectual property right, it may suspend 
the release of the goods or detain them for a period of three working days. The customs authority 
shall inform the right holder and the declarant/cons ignee of the goods, if the latter are known, of 
the measure taken, according to a model established by the Customs Service. The 3-day period 
begins to run from the date of receipt of notification by the right holder. 
 (2) If, within the period specified in par. (1), the right holder does not apply for action, the 
customs authority shall suspend the measure for detention of goods and/or shall perform their 
clearance, provided that the other legal requirements are met. 
 (3) In the case referred to in par (1), the cu stoms authority may, before informing the right 
holder of the possible infringement of an intellectu al property right, ask the right holder to provide 
it with any information on the protected right. 
 
 
19.  Describe the remedies that the compet ent authorities have the authority to order 
and any criteria regulating their use.  
 
The respective provisions are set forth in item 5 of this questionnaire. 
 
However, Art. 307 of the Customs Code of RM prescribe the liability of customs authorities 
and right holder. 
 
Thus, acceptance of an application for action by the customs authority does not entitle the 
right holder to request the customs authority a compensation or any damage, in the event where 
the goods referred to in Article 301 of the Customs Code of RM were not detected by the customs 
authority. 
 Detention of goods suspected of infringing an intellectual property right and/or suspension of 
customs clearance shall not attract liability of customs authority to persons who can claim a right 
in the goods referred to in Article 301 of the Custom s Code of RM to repair any damage caused by 
them as a result of customs action. 
 
The burden of costs for storage and manipulation of goods under customs supervision and 
the costs for destruction or other related or similar costs is imposed on the holder of the 
intellectual property right or the person importing them. 
 In the case of disclosure, contrary to the law,  of the information referred to in Article 304(5) 
of the Customs Code of RM, customs officers may be made disciplinarily responsible in accordance 
with the legislation in force. IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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Criminal Procedures 
20.  Specify the courts which have jurisdicti on over criminal acts of infringement of 
IPRs.  
 
Article 29 of the Criminal Procedure Code of th e Republic of Moldova (General Part) No. 122-
XV of 14.03.2003 (hereinafter CPC RM) entitled "Courts that dispense justice in criminal cases" 
prescribes that: 
 (1) In criminal cases, justice is dispensed by  the Supreme Court of Justice, the courts of 
appeal and judges according to their competence provided by this Code. 
 (2) For certain categories of criminal cases, specialized courts or colleges or panels of judges 
may be established. 
 
(3) As part of the court with judicial authority and with its own functions in a criminal 
proceeding, investigative judges shall work at the criminal investigation stage". 
 
 
21.  In respect of which infringements of wh ich intellectual property  rights are criminal 
procedures and penalties available?  
 
Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova No. 985-XV of 18.04.2002 (hereinafter CC RM) 
establishes the criminal liability for the following offenses: 
 
Art.1851. Infringement of copyright and related rights 
 1) Infringement of copyright and related rights, if it is in a large scale, committed by: 
 
a) reproduction of works or objects of related rights in the course of business activity 
tangential intellectual to the intellectual activi ty in the field of copyright and related rights, 
particularly in the field of literature, art and science, for marketing purposes or offering for sale, 
import, export, and storing, transporting of copies of works or phonograms for the purposes mentioned, or any other form of exploitation of ob jects of copyright and related rights in order to 
obtain profit without the consent of the right holder; 
 b) rental, exchange or otherwise making avai lable to third parties free of charge or for 
consideration, and storage for purposes specified or other use of copies of works or phonograms, 
in any manner and in any form, without marking and without control marks and without holding, 
at the time of inspection, author contracts concluded with right holders; 
 
c) selling or offering for sale, rental, importation or storage of technical equipment or their 
components intended to facilitate access to broadcasts of broadcasting organizations communicating by air, cable or satellite in interactive mode, including through the Internet; 
 
d) indication on the copies of works or phonograms of false information about the 
membership and the limits on the exercise of co pyright and related rights, as well as any other 
information that may mislead the beneficiary; 
 
e) improper application of control marks other than those for physical media specified in the 
annexes to the application for issuance of control marks, on copies of works or phonograms used 
without the consent of the right holder; 
 f) modification, removal from copies of works or phonograms of the symbols and signs of 
protection of copyright and related rights, indica ted by the holder of those rights; removal from 
copies of works or phonograms of the informatio n on management of copyright and related rights; 
removal from copies of works or phonograms of th e technical means of protection of copyright and 
related rights; 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  g) appropriation of paternity or co-paternity under constraint  
shall be punished with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or by unpaid community 
work from 180 to 240 hours and the legal entity shall be punished with a fine from 2000 to 4000 conventional units with the deprivation of the right to carry out certain activities for a period from 
1 to 5 years. 
 (2) Illegal marking, marketing, import, export, transport or storage of control marks, their 
forgery, which caused large damages,  
shall be punished with a fine from 2000 to 4000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours and the legal entity shall be punished with a fine from 2000 to 6000 conventional units with the deprivatio n of the right to carry out certain activities for 
a period from 1 to 5 years. 
 (3) The actions referred to in par. (1) and (2) committed: 
 
a) by two or more persons;  
b) by an organized criminal group or a criminal organization; 
 c) under physical or mental constraint;  
d) in extremely large proportions,  
shall be punished with a fine from 4000 to 500 0 conventional units or by imprisonment of 3 
to 5 years, with a fine applied to the legal en tity, in the size from 8000 to 10000 conventional 
units with the deprivation of the right to carry out certain activities for a period from 1 to 5 years 
or liquidation of the legal entity. 
 
Art 185
2. Infringement of industrial property rights 
 (1) Dissemination of information on an invention, utility model, industrial design, plant 
variety, topography of integrated circuit without the author's (creator's) consent or the consent of 
his successor in right, before the official publicatio n of data from the application for registration, by 
a person to whom such information was entrusted or became available otherwise, as well as the 
fraudulent appropriation by a third party of the authorship to an invention, utility model, industrial 
design, plant variety, topography of integrated circuit, or constraint to co-authorship, which 
caused large-scale damages  
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours. 
 (2) Use without the consent of the owner of a protected trademark or sign which, due to the 
identity or similarity with the registered trademar k and the identity or similarity of the goods or 
services covered by the sign and trademark, genera tes the risk of consumer confusion, application 
of the sign on goods or packages, as well as use of this sign as packaging in the case of three-
dimensional trademarks, offering the products under this sign for sale or selling, or their storage 
for this purpose, or, where appropriate, offering or providing services under this sign, import or 
export of goods under this sign, use of the sign for advertising purposes, reproduction, storage or sale of the designation for the above-mentioned purposes, and inciting third persons to carry out 
such actions, which caused large-scale damages,  
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 500 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity, as well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out 
certain activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 (2
1) Direct or indirect commercial use of an appellation of origin/geographical indication 
registered for products not covered by the registra tion so far as those products are comparable to 
those registered under this name or insofar this usage allows to take advantage of the reputation 
of the protected name, and usurpation, imitation or evocation of the associations related to a 
registered appellation of origin / geographical indi cation, even where the true origin of the goods is 
indicated or where the protected indication is used  in translation or accompanied by an expression 
such as "kind", "type", "style", "imitation" or other similar expressions, false or misleading 
indication to the provenience, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product listed on the 
product or on its package, in advertising, as well packaging use of a recipient likely to create a IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  wrong impression regarding the origin of product, unfolding of the practices likely to mislead the 
consumer as to the true origin of the product and inciting third parties to perform these actions, which caused large-scale damages,  
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 
(2
2) Any practice liable to mislead the consumer as to a designation of traditional specialty 
guaranteed, any imitation of a registered and reserved designation pursuant to the legislation on the protection of geographical indications, appellations of origin and traditional specialties 
guaranteed, any commercial use of the product names that could be confused with designations of 
the traditional specialties guaranteed registered with reservation of the name according to the legislation on the protection of geographical indications, appellations of origin and traditional 
specialties guaranteed, any abusive misuse or misleading usurpation of the term "Traditional 
Specialty Guaranteed" and its associated national symbol, and inciting third parties to perform such actions, which caused large-scale damages,  
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 
(2
3) Illegal use under par. (21) of an unregistered appellation of origin/geographical 
indication, protected under bilateral agreements to which Republic of Moldova is party, and inciting 
third parties to perform such actions, committed at large scale, 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 (3) Manufacture, importation, exportation, transportation, offering for sale, sale, other 
methods of commercial distribution or storage for such purposes of the product, use of processes 
that constitute inventions or utility models, or incorporate the object of a protected invention or utility model that require, according to the legislation, authorization from the right holder, 
conducted without such authorization and inciting third parties to perform such actions, which 
caused large-scale damages,  
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 
(4) Manufacture, importation, exportation, offering for sale, sale, other methods of 
commercial distribution or storage for such purposes of a product obtained by using a protected industrial design, if this product is entirely or su bstantially a copy of the protected industrial design 
that require, according to the legislation, authorization from the right holder, conducted without 
such authorization and inciting third parties to perform such actions, which caused large-scale damages, 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 
(5) Production, re-production, conditioning aimed at propagation, offering for sale, selling or 
other forms of marketing, import, export, stocking for such purposes of the plant variety material 
that require, according to the legislation, authorization from the right holder, conducted without 
such authorization and inciting third parties to perform such actions, which caused large-scale damages, 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  (6) Reproduction in the whole or a part of a to pography of integrated circuit, import, export, 
offering for sale, selling or distribution in any other form for commercial purposes of a topography of integrated circuit that require, according to th e legislation, authorization from the right holder, 
conducted without such authorization and inciting third parties to perform such actions, which 
caused large-scale damages, 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity and de privation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain 
activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 (7) Actions mentioned in paragraphs (1), (2), (2
1), (22), (23), (3), (4), (5) and (6) 
committed: 
 b) by two or more persons; 
 
c) by an organized criminal gr oup or criminal organization; 
 
d) under physical or psychical constraint; 
 e) in extremely large proportions shall be sanctioned with a fine from 3000 to 5000 conventional units or imprisonment for a 
term from 3 to 5 years, with a fine ranging from 7000 to 10 000 conventional units imposed on 
the legal entity, as well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain activities 
for a term from 1 to 5 years, or its liquidation. 
 
Article 185
3. Intentionally false statements in intellectual property registration documents 
 
Intentionally false statements, operation with intentionally false entries in intellectual 
property protection documents, as well as counterfeiting of documents needed for issuance of protection titles, drafting of intentionally false documents or intentional submission of documents that undermine the authority of the applicant of  an intellectual property protection object 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 800 to 1000 conventional units or with unpaid 
community work from 180 to 240 hours, with a fine from 3500 to 5 000 conventional units 
imposed on the legal entity, as well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out 
certain activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 Art. 246
1. Unfair competition 
 
Any act of unfair competition, including:  a) creation, by any means, of confusion with the competitor's enterprise, products or 
industrial or commercial activity; 
 b) dissemination, in the course of trade, of false statements discrediting the competitor's 
enterprise, products or business activity; 
 c) misleading the consumer as to the nature, manufacturing process, characteristics, 
usability and quantity of the competitor's goods; 
 d) use of the trade name or trademark in a manner that produces confusion with those 
lawfully used by another economic agent; 
 
e) comparison, for advertising purposes, of g oods produced or marketed by one economic 
agent with the goods of other economic agents 
shall be sanctioned with a fine ranging from  600 to 1000 conventional units or imprisonment 
for a term from 1 to 3 years, with a fine from 3500 to 5000 conventional units imposed on the legal entity, as well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain activities for 
a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  Article 2462. Forgery and counterfeiting of products 
 (1) Forging products, namely their manufacturing for marketing purposes without 
accompanying documents of provenance, quality an d compliance, as well urging third parties to 
perform such an action, committed on a large scale, 
shall with sanctioned with a fine from 1000 to 2000 conventional units or with imprisonment 
up to one year, with a fine from 3500 to 5000 conventional units imposed on the legal entity, as 
well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain activities for a term from 1 
to 5 years. 
 (2) Counterfeiting products, namely actions specified in par. (1) with reference to products 
that constitute or include a protected intellectual property object, as well urging third parties to 
perform such an action, committed on a large scale, 
shall be sanctioned with a fine from 1000 to 2000 conventional units or with imprisonment 
up to one year, with a fine from 3500 to 5000 conventional units imposed on the legal entity, as 
well as deprivation of such legal entity of the right to carry out certain activities for a term from 1 to 5 years. 
 
 
22.  Which public authorities are responsibl e for initiating criminal proceedings? Are 
they required to do this on their own init iative and/or in resp onse to complaints?  
 
Art. 253 CPC RM provides: 
 "Criminal prosecuting bodies 
 
(1) The criminal prosecution is carried out by the prosecutor and by criminal prosecuting 
bodies, constituted according to the law within the: 
 
1) Ministry of Internal Affairs; 2) Customs Service; 
3) National Anti-Corruption Center 
 (2) Criminal prosecuting bodies are represented by criminal prosecuting officers especially 
appointed by the institutions mentioned in paragr aph (1) and organizationally subordinated to the 
leader of the respective institution. 
 (3) Criminal prosecuting officers are independent, subjected only to the law and to the 
written indications of the leader of the criminal prosecuting body and of the prosecutor. 
 (4) The status of the criminal prosecuting officer is established by law." 
 
The start of the criminal prosecution is made only on the basis of the preliminary complaint 
of the plaintiff (Art.276 CPC RM), is an except ion to the formality of criminal prosecution. 
 
In the case of committed crime provided for in Art. 246
1 CC RM (Unfair competition) the 
start or stop of the criminal prosecution depe nds on the will of the victim (damaged party) 
evidenced by the filling of a complaint, withdrawal of the complaint or reconciliation with the 
suspect (the accused). 
 The start of the criminal prosecution under the crime provided for in Art. 185
2 (Infringement 
of industrial property rights) will be carried out in accordance with the general rule laid down in 
Art. 274 and 262 CPC RM based on the: 
 1) complaint; 
2) denunciation; 
3) self-denunciation; 4) detection of the crime directly by the criminal prosecuting body's collaborators. 
 
According to the same rule will also be started the criminal prosecution in the case of 
committed acts referred to in Art. 185
2, par. 23 (Infringement of industrial property rights – illegal IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  use of an unregistered AO, GI, protected under bilateral agreements) and Art.1853 (Intentionally 
false statements in intellectual property registration documents). 
 Notwithstanding the provisions of Art. 276(1) CPC RM, where the prosecuting body directly 
detects or is notified about the commission or preparation for the commission of offenses under 
Art.185
2, it shall notify the right holder or authorit y empowered under the law on the protection of 
geographical indications, appellations of origin and traditional specialties guaranteed about them. 
 
In these cases, the prosecution is started, if the right holder or authority empowered under 
the law on the protection of geographical indica tions, appellations of origin and traditional 
specialties guaranteed, within 15 working days as from the receipt of the notification, will lodge 
the complaint, otherwise the prosecuting body does not start the criminal prosecution. 
  
23.  Do private persons have standing to init iate criminal proceedings and, if so, who?  
 
Art. 274 CPC RM Start of the criminal prosecution 
 
(1) The criminal prosecuting body or the prosec utor notified according to the provisions of 
Articles 262 and 273 orders within 30 days the start of the criminal prosecution through resolution in case if from the contents of the notification act or of the finding acts result the constitutive 
elements of the crime and if there are no circum stances that would exclude criminal prosecution. 
 (2) If the criminal prosecuting body or the pr osecutor is notified ex officio regarding the 
start of the criminal prosecution, it draws up the minutes which constitute the start act of criminal 
prosecution. 
 (3) The resolution, or depending on the case, the minutes of the criminal prosecution start 
are issued by the criminal prosecuting body and are subjected to the confirmation of the 
prosecutor carrying out the supervision over the criminal prosecution activity within 24 hours from the date of start of the criminal prosecution, at  the same time presenting the respective file. 
Together with the confirmation of the criminal prosecution start the prosecutor establishes the 
criminal prosecution term for the respective case. 
 (3
1) In the case when from the contents of the notification or findings results the suspicion 
of commission of a crime provided for in Art.1661 of the Criminal Code, the prosecutor will decide 
on it corresponding to paragraph (1) of this Article, within a period not exceeding 15 days. 
 
(4) If from the contents of the notification act results any of the reasons which impede the 
start of criminal prosecution, the criminal pros ecuting body submits to the prosecutor the drawn 
up acts with the proposal not to start criminal prosecution. If the prosecutor finds that there are no 
circumstances that would impede criminal prosecution, he/she returns the acts with his/her 
resolution to the mentioned body in order to start criminal prosecution. 
 (5) If the prosecutor agrees with the proposal not to start criminal prosecution, he/she 
confirms this fact through the motivated resolution and announces, within a term as shorter as 
possible, but not exceeding 15 days, the person wh o has submitted the notification about this. If 
the prosecutor considers that there are no grounds to start the criminal prosecution, he annuls, by 
ordinance, the resolution of non-start of the crimin al prosecution and orders refusal of the start of 
the criminal prosecution and dismissal of criminal proceeding.      
 
(6) The resolution of non-start of the criminal prosecution may be challenged through a 
complaint filed with the court, under the conditions of Art. 313. 
 (7) If later on it is found that the circumstance which has served basis for the proposal of 
not to start criminal prosecution had not existed or has disappeared, the prosecutor annuls his/her 
resolution and orders the start of the criminal prosecution. 
 
 IP/N/6/MDA/2 
 
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  24.  Specify, by category of IPR and ty pe of infringement where necessary, the 
penalties and other remedies that may be imposed:  
 - Imprisonment;  
- monetary fines;  
- seizure, forfeiture and destruction of infringing goods and materials and 
implements for their production;  
- other.  
 
All categories of intellectual property rights and the type of infringement, where appropriate, 
sanctions and other remedies that may be imposed,  are mentioned in p.21 of this questionnaire. 
 
 
25.  Describe provisions governing the leng th and any cost of proceedings. Provide any 
available data on the actual duration of  proceedings and their cost, if any.   
 
CPC RM provides in 
 Article 259 Terms of criminal prosecution 
 
(1) The criminal prosecution has to be conducted within the limits of a reasonable term.  
(2) The reasonable term of criminal prosecution in a certain case is established by the 
prosecutor through a resolution, after having considered the criteria of establishment of the reasonable term provided for in Art. 20 par. (2). 
 
(3) The criminal prosecution term established by the prosecutor is obligatory for the criminal 
prosecuting officer and can be prolonged upon his/her request.   
 
(4) In case where the prolongation of the term is necessary, the criminal prosecuting officer 
draws up a motivated request in this respect and su bmits it to the prosecutor before the expiry of 
the term established by him/her. 
 
Article 227 Judicial expenses   
(1) Judicial expenses are the expenses that according to the law are needed for assuring the 
proper development of the criminal proceedings.  
 (2) Judicial expenses include the following amounts:  
 
1) paid or to be paid to witnesses, injured party, their representatives, experts, specialists, 
interpreters, translators and procedural assistants;  
 
2) expenses for storage, transportation and research of material evidence;   
3) to be paid for the legal aid provided by the publicly appointed attorney;  
 4) expenses for restituting the counter value of deteriorated or destroyed objects during the 
performance of the expert examination or during the reconstruction of the deed;  
 
5) other expenses related to procedural actions in the criminal case.   
(3) The judicial expenses are paid from the state budget if the law does not provide for 
other modality.  
 
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