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Romania Intellectual Property: What’s Registrable, What’s Not, and Due Diligence
Introduction
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA - Romania’s Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) is responsible for the registration and management of various intellectual property rights. While patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and domain names are registrable, copyrights, trade secrets, ideas, and concepts are not.
What’s Registrable
Patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and domain names can be registered with OSIM. These registrations provide legal protection and ownership over the respective intellectual property rights.
What’s Not
Copyrights, trade secrets, ideas, and concepts are not registrable, but they still hold value and are protected by law or through contractual agreements. For example, copyrights are protected by law, while trade secrets are safeguarded through confidentiality measures and contracts.
Due Diligence
Due diligence is an essential process in Romania’s intellectual property landscape. In the case of inventions, researchers verify the novelty or inventive step of the invention, starting from the state of the art at the priority date of the patent application. For trademarks, research focuses on availability and distinctive character, reviewing registration certificates and examining potential infringement cases.
For non-registrable intellectual property rights, due diligence typically involves:
- Reviewing license agreements
- Evaluating risks of misappropriation or unauthorized use
Liens and Security Interests
Romania allows liens or security interests to be granted on intellectual property or technology assets. These are typically created through mortgages to secure various obligations. Lenders conduct due diligence on these security interests, emphasizing transferability and market value.
Employee-Created Intellectual Property
When it comes to employee-created intellectual property, common elements of due diligence include:
- Reviewing employment agreements for IP ownership provisions
- Identifying IP assets created by employees and reviewing documentation
- Ensuring compliance with Romanian and EU IP laws
- Assessing the existence and effectiveness of confidentiality and non-compete agreements
- Evaluating intellectual property policies and procedures
Software Due Diligence
In Romania, software due diligence typically involves:
- Title verifications to ensure the target owns the software
- Code scans to assess compliance with relevant licenses and terms of use for third-party or open-source code
- Identifying potential legal issues, such as infringement or violation of license terms
Other matters assessed during software due diligence include:
- Software development processes
- Codebase architecture
- Documentation
- Intellectual property rights
- Security measures
Emerging Technologies
When it comes to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and speech recognition, unique legal considerations arise in Romania. Due diligence involves:
- IP rights ownership and protection
- Assessment of AI training for potential third-party IP infringement risks
- Data protection and privacy reviews
These emerging technologies require specialized attention to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
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