Extent of invention protection by a short-term patent

Owners of short-term patents shall have the possibility to extend their exclusive rights in the invention for a period of 4 years.

The extended short-term patent shall confer on its owner an exclusive right to exploit the invention for the entire term of protection, i.e. for an additional period of 4 years. The patent shall confer on its owner, in accordance with paragraph (1), the right to prevent third parties from performing, without his authorization, on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, acts such as manufacture, offering for sale, selling, use, transporting, importing, other way of putting into circulation or storing for these purposes the product that is the subject-matter of the patent, etc.

The patent owner may file with the AGEPI a request for extension of the term of validity of a short-term patent for a period of no more than 4 years, provided that the owner shall ask AGEPI to carry out a state of the art search according to Art. 8 and draw up a search report accompanied by an opinion on patentability of the invention which forms the subject-matter of the patent and shall pay the respective extension fee, but not earlier than one year and not later than 6 months before the expiry of the term of validity of the short-term patent.

Natural or legal persons having their residence or headquarters in the Republic of Moldova shall act before the AGEPI personally or through a representative, empowered by a power of attorney.

Natural or legal persons having no residence or headquarters in the Republic of Moldova shall be represented before the AGEPI by a patent attorney and act through him, except for the filing of a patent application, the payment of fees and the filing of a previous application.

If it is revealed that, taking into account the search results, the patent and the invention which forms its subject-matter:

a) meet the requirements of this Law, the decision to extend the term of validity of the patent shall be adopted;

b) do not meet the requirements of this Law, the request to extend the term of validity of the patent shall be refused.

The decision on extension of the term of validity of a short-term patent in the original or amended with the text of the accepted claims shall be delivered to the owner; the relevant mention shall be published in BOPI and shall be entered after publication in the National Register of Short-term Patents. AGEPI shall, within 2 months after the publication in BOPI of the mention of the decision under Rule 397 of the present Regulations and the payment of the fee established according to Government Decision No. 774 of August 13, 1997, reprint and deliver to the owner a new specification of the short-term patent which will additionally include a search report.

For the issuance of a patent, the owner shall pay the patent issuance and maintenance fees, starting from the date of filing for each year, including the year in which the patent is issued. Science and innovation organizations shall be exempted from patent maintenance fees for the first 5 years. 

The maintenance fees may be paid later within 6 months from the missed time limit, with a 50% surcharge.