The winners of the Contest in the Field of Intellectual Property for Young People, organized by the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks of Romania (OSIM) ) and the Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA) were announced on December 28.

Reaching its 5th edition, the Contest was traditionally launched on April 26, on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, whose motto proclaimed by the World Intellectual Property Organization for 2021 was “Intellectual Property and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market”. Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, the contest enjoyed a growing interest from young people, registering a number of 49 participants from all regions of the country.

According to the Regulations, 6 participants, who passed the final stage of the Contest, prepared a communication in the field of intellectual property which they presented in a more interactive way to the Organizing Committee meeting on December 28 this year. After the online presentation of the works, the jury members decided on the winners of the Contest in the Field of Intellectual Property for Young People. It should be noted that the three competitors that took the first places chose to address the topic “The Role of Trademark in Strengthening the Reputation, Promoting Products and Services and Customer Loyalty”, proposing completely different approaches.

Thus, the first prize went to Alina Mustovici, a pupil at the Theoretical Lyceum “Onisifor Ghibu” from Orhei. In the final stage, Alina impressed the jury with a video presentation on how to create a trademark, how to strengthen the company’s reputation and how the trademark helps customer loyalty, using the example of two local brands in Orhei.

Second ranked Anna Berjan, a 10th grade pupil at the Center of Excellence in Horticulture and Agricultural Technologies in the village of Taul. She presented a study conducted among colleagues and residents of the northern districts of the country, on a sample of over 150 people. One of the conclusions of the study conducted by Anna is that in the process of purchasing a product, young people aged 14-18 are 84 percent influenced by the trademark.

Third ranked Ariadna Dron, a ninth grade student at the Theoretical Lyceum “Mihai Eminescu” from the village of Sudarca. In the final stage, Ariadna gave a presentation of a case study, using the example of the famous company PepsiCo. Ariadna made an analysis of how rebrending has over time influenced the turnover of the American giant, and also the consumers of its products.

Alexandra Batrincea, a pupil at the Academic Lyceum of Fine Arts “Igor Vieru” from Chisinau ranked fourth. Fifth ranked Ion Golovco, an 11th grade pupil at the Theoretical Lyceum “Magdacesti” from the village of Magdacesti, and sixth ranked Vlada Lachi, a 12th grade pupil at the Theoretical Lyceum “Alexei Mateevici” from Soldanesti.

Traditionally, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova came up with cash prizes for all participants in the final stage of the Contest.

Competitors also received awards, participation diplomas and promotional materials from AGEPI.

The Director General of AGEPI, Eugeniu Rusu, thanked all the participants for their involvement. “I want to congratulate you on your ingenuity and creativity. The potential of pupils from the Republic of Moldova is very high, which is also confirmed by the works presented today during the final stage of the Contest. The State Agency on Intellectual Property has invested and will continue to invest in education, because the greatest wealth that the Republic of Moldova has is people. This contest has already taken root and I hope that we will reach the next editions. We are in the winter holidays and I wish you many years of health and full of beautiful achievements. Happy Holidays!” mentioned Eugeniu Rusu.

Angela Prisacaru, main consultant of the General Education Department of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, also addressed words of encouragement to the participants, wishing all the participants in the Contest much success in the future.

The aim of the Contest is to promote the intellectual property system, raise awareness among young people on counterfeiting and piracy, develop young people’s knowledge and skills in IP, as well as their skills and competitive spirit, create a communication environment among young people passionate about intellectual property and favor the exchange of views and experience.