Mikhailyuk, Sorokolat & Partners

Patent and Trademark Attorneys
Trademark in Moldova

TRADEMARK IN MOLDOVA

Mikhailyuk, Sorokolat & Partners offers the full range of legal services related to trademarks in Moldova including trademark search, trademark registration, trademark renewal, recordal of assignment and license agreements, recordal of changes to applications and registrations, as well as representing clients in courts. We do our best to represent our clients' interests in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.


Requirements for trademark registration

According to the legislation of Moldova, designations that are similar with or identical to the trademarks previously registered or applied for registration in respect of similar goods and/or services cannot be registered.

In order to determine whether there are any similar or identical registered trademarks or filed trademark applications that may be opposed to your mark at the examination stage, please use the online trademark search tool which is available on our website or contact us to order professional trademark search.

The online trademark search in Moldova

Information and documents needed for filing

  • Name and address of the applicant;
  • Prints of the trademark;
  • List of goods and/or services in accordance with the Nice Classification;
  • Certified copies of priority documents, if priority is to be claimed (may be filed to the Moldavian Trademark Office within three months from the filing date);
  • Signed Power of Attorney (the signatory should be a top managing position, otherwise the document must be notarized). May be filed to the Moldavian Trademark Office within two months from the filing date).

Trademark registration procedure

Within 3-4 months after the completion of filing, the formal examination is conducted and the application is published for a 3 months opposition period. After expiry of opposition period, in case there are no oppositions filed, the trademark passes to substantive examination which usually takes about 6 months. On condition that the trademark meets the requirements of protectability, the grant decision is issued. If official registration fee is paid in due course, the trademark is registered and the certificate of registration is issued within approximately 2-3 months. In case the examination finds any obstacles for registration a provisional refusal in trademark registration is issued, which may be appealed within further 2 months.

The smooth trademark registration procedure takes approximately 12-14 months in Moldova.

Foreign applicants must be represented by a registered Moldavian patent attorney


Possible oppositions and cancellation requests

Any interested party may file opposition against registration of applied designation within three months from the date of publication of the application data in the Official Bulletin.

Interested parties may also file cancellation requests after trademark registration, namely:

  • cancellation based on relative grounds may be filed to Court within the entire period of validity of the trademark;
  • cancellation based on absolute grounds may be filed to Court within the entire period of validity of the trademark;
  • cancellation based on non-use may be filed to Court. The grace period is 5 years from registration.

Trademark validity and renewal

A trademark in Moldova is valid for 10 years from the date of filing and can be further renewed every 10 years. It is possible to apply for a trademark renewal within 6 months expiry of validity term. There is also a 6-month grace period which allows applying for a renewal after the deadline upon payment of a stipulated fine.

Required documents: signed and stamped Power of Attorney.


Frequently asked questions

  • Can I file a trademark application to Moldova by myself?
    According to the Moldavian legislation, only legal bodies and private entities of Moldova may file trademark applications by themselves, foreign applicants should obligatory be represented by trademark attorneys.
  • What are the grounds for refusal in trademark registration in Moldova?
    A trademark is usually refused in registration if it is similar with or identical to earlier filed or registered trademarks in respect of the same or similar goods/services, as well as in case of lack of distinctiveness or misleading character of a mark.
  • How can I conduct a trademark search prior to filing an application?
    You may order a service of a professional search or use our free online trademark search tool, where you can conduct a search by entering mark name and class number. Please consider the following information when checking the mark name:
    — different variants of spelling of the word should be checked (HERMES — ERMES, HERMEZ, etc);
    — parts of the mark should be checked together and separately (MAXINORM — MAX, NORM);
    — spelling of the word should be checked both in Latin and Cyrillic (Poker - Покер);
    — meaning of the word should be checked in other languages (Dream — Мечта in Russian);
    — synonyms and semantically similar words should also be checked (Big father — Big dad).
  • Can a multi class trademark application be filed in Moldova?
    Yes, according to the legislation of Moldova you may file trademark applications with indication of any desired number of classes of the Nice Classification. Still please note that the amount of official fees depends on the quantity of classes.
  • What is the cost of a trademark registration?
    The cost of a trademark registration in Moldova depends on the number of classes in which the registration is required. Please contact us for more detailed information.
  • Can a trademark registration procedure be accelerated in Moldova?
    Yes, the procedure may be accelerated at any stage of trademark registration by ordering corresponding service in the Trademark Office. Thus, the Trademark Office will conduct formal or substantive examination of the application (or both) in a short time frame. In case of positive decision of substantive examination, the official registration fee is to be paid, after which the mark is registered and the certificate is issued.
  • What is a non-use cancellation?
    According to the legislation of Moldova, a third party may file a request for cancellation of a mark that has not been used by the holder for any period of five consecutive years after registration.
  • How many times can a trademark be renewed in Moldova?
    Trademarks in Moldova may be renewed every 10 years as many times as needed upon payment of corresponding fee.

Please contact us for more information about trademark registration or quotation for filing and prosecution of a trademark application in Moldova.


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Chisinau

6, Renasterii Nationale blvd. , Off. 8
Chisinau, MD-2024
Moldova

Email: office@msp.md