Intellectual property in Romania

Intellectual property law in Romania has developed significantly in the period since the Romanian Revolution of 1989 because of the need to enforce various regional and international treaties and agreements, such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the European Directives on Biotechnological Inventions, on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, and on Supplementary protection certificates, the Trademark Law Treaty, the Patent Law Treaty, and the European Union regulation on the Community Trademark, and the need to harmonize domestic patent law with the European Patent Convention (EPC) and with the European Union.

The changes since 1989 cover virtually every aspect of IP law in Romania, including copyright and industrial property, including such relatively new considerations as integrated circuit topographies. The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks protects industrial property, and the Romanian Copyright Office protects copyright and related rights.

History

The first patent granted to a Romanian was in France in 1827 and the first Romanian patent was granted by a royal decree in 1864, during the period when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia, uniting the two by a dynastic union. In 1879, the first trademark law was promulgated, making Romania the seventh country to enact such a law. In 1906, the first patent law was promulgated and the Romanian...
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