Employee-created intellectual property objects in Moldova

Within this framework, copyright for works created by an employee in the performance of their duties outlined in the individual labour agreement belongs to the author, unless that agreement or another agreement provides otherwise. This rule is reversed for computer programs, where the copyright belongs to the employer.

The employer holds the rights to inventions created by an employee when the employee performs an inventive task as outlined in their individual labour agreement or engages in study or research explicitly assigned to them. Additionally, the employer may benefit from the rights granted by the patent protecting the invention if it is created by the employee while performing their duties, within the scope of the employer's activities, or using the employer's specific techniques, resources or data, or with material assistance from the employer.

Lastly, the right to the industrial design and to the plant variety created or developed by an employee in the performance of their duties or a task assigned to them by the employer in writing belongs to the employer, unless otherwise specified in the agreement concluded between them.

While the rules on the rights to intellectual property objects created by employees are generally clear, the amount of remuneration for such rights may be disputed. Under Moldovan law, the rules for determining remuneration depend on the specific intellectual property object. Therefore, clear intellectual property clauses are a must in the individual labour agreements and other agreements concluded with employees.

author: Andrian Guzun