World Intellectual Property - IP Laws - Romania
The Business Of IP
Patent Protection:
The Treaty of Accession of Romania to the European Union signed on March 31, 2005 and which is scheduled to enter into effect either on January 2007 or 2008 will confirm the country to return to the European family of countries. Romania is one of the largest countries in the group having a market of about 23 million people and a fast-growing economy. From the point of patent protection, it is fully prepared for joining as the majority of the legal provisions are already in line with European legislation. By this treaty, the following two important developments took place: creation of specialized court and the transposition into the national law of the Enforcement Directive.
Creation of specialized court:
Presently in Romania, claims for infringement of any IP rights and invalidity claims either raised as a defence or as a counterclaim, are heard by a first instance court, on two levels of jurisdiction viz. appeal and recourse. According to the Law, all invalidity claims, infringement lawsuits and appeals against the decisions of the Board of Appeal of the Patent Office are brought in the Municipal Court of Bucharest for decision. However, recently a specialized IP division at the Municipal Court has been created which consists of judges that hear only intellectual and industrial property related matters.
Transposition into the law of Enforcement Directive:
Regarding evidence in patent/trade mark/design infringement, the Romanian judicial system is quite similar to the French one, but there are some important exceptions such as there is no procedure to facilitate the gathering of infringement evidence before the formal initiation of the proceedings is done by the claimant in the absence of a set procedure. The recently enacted Government Ordinance (2005) which incorporates almost all the provision of Director of the European Parliament and of the Council on the enforcement of IP rights has brought new provisions on the way evidence is to be collected in infringement cases as well as details on interlocutory measures to be taken against infringers. The biggest innovation comes from shifting part of the burden of proof on to the infringer himself or on any other person connected with him. The new Ordinance also details the type of documents and information that the court is entitled to request either from the alleged infringer or from any other person who was found in possession of the infringing goods or using the infringing services on a commercial scale. The information which must be supplied comprises dull details of the producers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and previous holders of the goods or services as well as details of the quantities produced, delivered, received, ordered and the price obtained.
Although the legislative framework for obtaining and enforcing patents has been improved consistently , there is stillo work to be done, such as enactment of law for utility models, coordination of various state institutions, practical aspects of enforcement directive, etc.
Romania is a country with a tradition of patent protection and a place from where many important inventions originated. Less than one year before joining the European Union, it looks good on the patent protection side.
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