On September 9, 2026, in Vienna, on the sidelines of the 6th session of the Moldovan-Austrian Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) and the Austrian Patent Office (APO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which strengthens and deepens the cooperation between the two institutions in the field of intellectual property.

The signing of the Memorandum represents a natural evolution of a long-standing institutional cooperation, established since the beginning of AGEPI’s activity. Austria was among the first intellectual property offices to express its willingness to support the development of the national intellectual property system in the Republic of Moldova, a commitment institutionalized by the signing of a Cooperation Agreement in 1997.

Based on the 1997 Agreement, the Austrian Patent Office committed to providing AGEPI with documentary research services on the state of the art in the field of inventions, thus contributing to the development of AGEPI’s institutional capacities in the first years of its activity. Subsequently, AGEPI gradually consolidated its own capacities and expertise, currently becoming a reference intellectual property office in the region.

The cooperation between the two institutions continued to develop over time, the Austrian Patent Office being among the offices that fully supported the Republic of Moldova’s efforts in the process of accession to the European Patent Convention.

Today, AGEPI and the Austrian Patent Office are partners not only in bilateral cooperation, but also in the European Patent Organization, of which the Republic of Moldova became a member on June 1, 2026. In this new context, the cooperation between the two offices has acquired an additional dimension aimed at using the opportunities offered by the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European patent system, as well as by the Republic of Moldova’s path towards accession to the European Union.

“For us, the Memorandum signed today has a special significance. It does not mark the beginning of our cooperation. On the contrary, it opens a new chapter in a relationship built and consolidated over many years,” said Natalia Mogol, Deputy Director of AGEPI, who signed the Memorandum on behalf of the institution of the Republic of Moldova.

“The Memorandum provides us with the necessary framework to transform this dialogue into concrete actions: exchanges of experience between experts, training activities, joint initiatives, sharing of best practices and identification of new areas in which our institutions can collaborate,” Natalia Mogol also mentioned.

At the same time, the Austrian Patent Office, through President Stefan Harasek, reconfirmed its openness to continue supporting the Republic of Moldova, including in its European integration process in the field of intellectual property.

The signing of the Memorandum thus marks a new stage in the relations between AGEPI and the Austrian Patent Office, transforming the experience accumulated over almost three decades of cooperation into a partnership oriented towards new common objectives and priorities.