VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCH #0140/01 0581359
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271359Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7693

UNCLAS CHISINAU 000140 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/IPE, EUR/UMB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR MD
SUBJECT: MOLDOVA 2009 SPECIAL 301 REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 8410 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Republic of Moldova continues to 
introduce legislation to harmonize its intellectual property 
rights (IPR) with EU and WTO standards.  Moldova has an 
adequate legal framework for the protection of IPR, but 
struggles with implementation.  According to the Business 
Software Alliance (BSA), software piracy rankings for 2007, 
Moldova had the fourth highest rate of illegal software use in 
the world with 92 percent.  The Moldovan market remains small 
and relatively obscure.  END SUMMARY. 
 
MOLDOVAN IPR LEGISLATION 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) The Government of Moldova created the State Agency on 
Intellectual Property (AGEPI) on September 13, 2004.  AGEPI is 
the main government agency in Moldova responsible for the 
coordination of IPR enforcement.  AGEPI, the Ministry of 
Internal Affairs and the Customs Service collaborate to enforce 
IPR.  Moldova has been a member of the World Intellectual 
Property Organization since 1991, and is a party to 25 
international treaties on the protection of IPR.  Moldova 
joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and, as part 
of the accession process, committed itself to amend domestic 
legislation to comply with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related 
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). 
 
¶3. (SBU) In order to harmonize domestic legislation with EU 
norms, in 2007 AGEPI drafted a new Law on Copyright and Related 
Rights, the framework law for IPR protection in Moldova.  The 
draft law is currently awaiting discussion by Parliament.  The 
EU's interest in Moldovan compliance with IPR legislation has 
increased with the granting of trade preferences.  In 2008, 
Moldova adopted five new laws regulating the protection of 
industrial property objects and ensuring compliance with the EU 
legislation on the enforcement of IPR.  Although Moldova 
continues to enact legislation to harmonize its laws with the 
EU, implementation of the law and understanding of the negative 
impact of IPR violation are often left behind. 
 
IPR ENFORCEMENT 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (U) AGEPI has been the lead agency on inter-governmental 
coordination and has signed agreements with all relevant 
Moldovan agencies involved in IPR enforcement.  AGEPI has five 
inspectors who may conduct inspections on their own initiative 
or at the request of IPR holders on copyright and related 
rights enforcement.  In 2008, AGEPI inspectors conducted 222 
inspections (the vast majority on their own initiative).  In 94 
cases, inspectors found an IPR infringement and over 3,000 
products, mostly DVDs and CDs, were seized.  AGEPI also 
provides judiciary and law enforcement authorities with expert 
testimony on IPR investigations.  In 2008, in response to 
judicial requests, AGEPI specialists conducted 138 forensic 
investigations on seized audio-visual media.  IPR enforcement 
in the Customs Code fully complies with the requirements of the 
WTO as outlined in the TRIPs agreement. 
 
BUSINESS SOFTWARE ALLIANCE IN MOLDOVA 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In 2006 BSA started operating in Moldova in 
cooperation with AGEPI and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to 
raise the standards for IPR protection in Moldova.  BSA 
Representative Daniel Martin cited Moldova's high level of 
unlicensed software (92 percent), which BSA estimates cost the 
industry about USD 43 million in 2007.  In 2006 BSA estimated 
the losses at USD 56 million.  BSA will release the results for 
2008 in April 2009.  In 2008 BSA continued its legalization and 
anti-piracy public education campaigns and in 2009 will hold 
joint training sessions with AGEPI and Moldovan police in 
collaboration with Romanian IPR enforcement agencies.  In 2009 
BSA plans training for the recently created Information Crimes 
Section of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  Martin cited the 
creation of this new section as an expansion of governmental 
efforts to enforce IPR. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Republic of Moldova was not listed in the 2008 
Special 301 Report.  The 2009 Special 301 website received no 
private sector comments on Moldova.  Moldova maintains adequate 
IPR legislation and we have no information that Moldovan 
authorities have denied fair and equitable market access to any 
U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protections. 
The Republic of Moldova continues to take steps to harmonize 
its IPR legislation with EU standards.  However, simply 
"cutting and pasting" EU standards does not improve the 
relative quality of Moldova's IPR enforcement.  Moldova is 
still transitioning from a command economy to a market economy 
and society lacks the legal traditions and a culture of IPR 
enforcement.  The growth of a market economy and foreign 
investors is leading to an increase in IPR cases.  The presence 
of BSA encouraged Microsoft and Autodesk to establish 
representational offices in the Moldovan market and increase 
the presence of companies concerned with IPR enforcement.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
KEIDERLING