International Programme for the Protection of Art and Culture Consumers

This Regulation contains the official conditions under which the right to grant Certificates of Authenticity for original works of art is granted. These conditions are contained in this Regulation and are established in accordance with the customary regime for granting the ProQ Hologram Security Mark to any registered trademarks.

These conditions apply to all applicants and beneficiaries of the right to use the ProQ Hologram Security Mark on original works of art and establish a series of rights and obligations for them – the eligibility rules for receiving the right to use certificates of authenticity bearing the ProQ Hologram Security Mark, which must be respected by all applicants and beneficiaries.

An absolute and necessary condition for granting the right to use the ProQ Hologram Security Mark is that all applicants and beneficiaries must undertake to comply with all the conditions and terms of this Regulation.

REGULATIONS FOR GRANTING CERTIFICATES OF AUTHENTICITY FOR WORKS OF ART BEARING THE PROQ HOLOGRAM SECURITY MARKING

Chapter I – General provisions

Art. 1

1. This Regulation establishes the criteria, responsibilities and mechanism for granting Certificates of Authenticity for original works of art
2. The Regulation has been drawn up on the basis of the Statutes – Regulation of the National Programme for the Protection of Art and Cultural Consumers

Art. 2

1. Certificates of authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q

Hologram Security Mark shall be granted to artists by InfoCons only under the conditions of compliance with the provisions of this Regulation

1. The use of these certificates of authenticity by the beneficiary shall be made only in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation, and only for the works for which the right of use attested by the Certificate of Authenticity has been

Art. 3

All the operations necessary for the granting of certificates of authenticity with the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark, including those for the conclusion of the documents and correspondence between InfoCons and the artists who wish to obtain the certificates of authenticity will be carried out through the Department of the National Programme for the Protection of Art and Cultural Consumers.

Art. 4

1. The granting of certificates of authenticity means the granting by InfoCons of the identity of the artist and of the artwork for a period and under the conditions stipulated in these Rules.
2. The terms used in these regulations have the following meanings:

• Applicant – a person who wishes to obtain the Certificate of Authenticity of works of art with the Hologram Pro Q Security Mark;
• Rules of evaluation – are the rules established for granting the Certificate of Authenticity to works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark;
• Classes and category – represent the categories for the classification of works of art, being defined by assigning the corresponding serial numbers, according to Chapter II, which is an integral part of this
• National Register of Evidence – is the register in which the identification data of applicants who wish to obtain certificates of authenticity are mentioned.
• Registration fee in the National Register of Evidence – is the fee for registration in the National Register of Evidence based on the application for registration made by the The amount of this fee is provided in Chapter V.
• Certificate fee – is the fee paid by the applicant in order to obtain the certificate of authenticity of the artwork with the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark;

The amount of this fee is provided for in Chapter V and will be paid when the certificate of authenticity is obtained.

• The application for registration in the National Register of InfoCons – is presented in APPENDIX 1 which is an integral part of this Regulation.
• Declaration on own responsibility – is presented in ANNEX 2 which is an integral part of this Regulation
• Certificate – is the document that certifies the right of authenticity of the work of A model of the certificate is presented in ANNEX 3 which is an integral part of these Rules.

Chapter III

Organisational and operational structure of the Programme for the granting of CERTIFICATES OF AUTHENTICITY FOR WORKS OF ART bearing the PROQ HOLOGRAM SECURITY MARK

Art.6

In order to grant certificates of authenticity, a National Register of Records shall be set up in which the identification data of applicants shall be entered and kept up to date, as well as all operations carried out in connection with obtaining certificates of authenticity, the evaluation of documents, fees paid and/or outstanding, referrals or complaints received, infringements of rules, disputes and their settlement.

Art. 7

1. Committees will be established and function within the Programme, with tasks and responsibilities deriving from the requirements of the application of the InfoCons statute-regulations, as well as from the requirement of a good management of this Programme.
2. The committees, as well as the other organisational components, will fully respect the accuracy of the data and information on the basis of which the right to grant certificates of authenticity is granted.

Art. 8

1. For the purpose of carrying out evaluations for the purposes of these regulations, an Evaluation Commission is established by decision of the InfoCons Board of Directors under the following conditions:
2. The Evaluation Commission shall be headed by a chairman appointed by decision of the InfoCons Board of He will organise and be responsible for the functioning of the commission and will use in the interest of the Programme, only certified institutes agreed by the InfoCons Management, when appropriate, at the express request of the InfoCons Board of Directors.
3. For the purpose of their application, the evaluation rules will be confirmed by experts and endorsed by the specialised Commissions, when appropriate, at the express request of the InfoCons Board of Directors.

Art. 9

1. Disagreements or disputes arising between the various working bodies of the National

Programme for the Protection of Arts and Culture Consumers or between them, on the one hand, and applicants and third organisations with which they cooperate, on the other hand, will be submitted to the Disciplinary Commission for analysis and resolution.

1. The Disciplinary Committee will operate according to its own rules, which will be drawn up and submitted to the InfoCons Board of Directors for

Art. 10

For the solution of more difficult cases, an investigation commission is established and functions. Following the investigations carried out, this committee shall formulate its own conclusions which it shall forward to the Disciplinary Committee for the purpose of clarifying the cases in dispute.

Chapter IV

Procedures for Granting the Right to Use the Programme Mark

 Art. 11

1. The applicant shall fill in the form – Application for registration in the National Register of InfoCons, according to ANNEX 1 to which he shall attach a copy of the document certifying the payment of the registration
2. The data to be submitted must be in full conformity with reality.
3. The application for registration shall be submitted to InfoCons in original format;
4. The applicant will submit to the InfoCons office, the Declaration on own responsibility authenticated by a notary

e.) The applicant shall submit the following documents signed by the applicant to InfoCons in original:

• copy of identity card or other identification document;
• CV;
• the work on electronic media at a minimum resolution of 115 mpx (3306×4676 px)
• Description of work

f) The applicant will submit with the application and the agreement on the use of the work to be posted on the website of the National Program for the Protection of Art and Culture Consumers

g.) the documents can also be sent by e-mail to arta@infcons.ro

Art. 12

Within a maximum of 15 days from the date of submission of the application for registration and payment of the registration fee, InfoCons will send the applicant a communication concerning his registration in the National Register of InfoCons and the proforma invoice issued for the amount representing the registration fee in the National Register of InfoCons.

Art.13 

After receiving the notification that the application has been registered in the National Register of InfoCons, the applicant shall submit within 15 days to the Association – to the Evaluation Committee, the documents mentioned in points d),

1. e) and f).

Art.14

The result of the evaluation will be communicated to the applicant within 30 days of receipt of all documents, together with the final invoice for the evaluation fee. In case of a favourable evaluation, the proforma invoice for the certificate fee will be attached.

Art.15

1. The certificate of authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark will be issued by InfoCons, through the General Secretariat, on the basis of confirmation of payment of the mark The certificate will be accompanied by the final invoice for the certificate fee.
2. Certificates of authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark will become the property of the applicant.

Art.16

1. If the Evaluation Commission finds that the artwork does not meet the minimum requirements of the evaluation rules, it will not be able to grant the applicant the Certificate of Authenticity for artworks bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security The applicant will be notified in writing of this fact, stating the reason why the Certificate cannot be granted.
2. The applicant has the possibility to submit to the Association a request for a new assessment with the reasons for this request. The application completed by the applicant and the necessary documentation shall be forwarded to the Association or the Evaluation Committee. The deadline within which a request for reassessment can be made is 90 days from the date of the communication of the negative result of the assessment.
3. The re-evaluation can only be carried out after the applicant has paid the re-evaluation fee.

Art.17

If the applicant is dissatisfied with the result of the assessment, he/she has the right to refer the matter to the InfoCons Disciplinary Committee, which will inform the applicant of the procedures to be followed within 15 days.

Art.18

All documents submitted to the Association, including the application for registration in the National Register of Records, – the documents forming the content of the file submitted to the Evaluation Commission, the documents involved in the evaluation operations, as well as any other documents related to the granting of the right to use the Certificates of Authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark shall be part of the InfoCons Archive. The applicant will not be able to claim the return of the original.

Art.19

The documents handed in by the applicant for evaluation are not returnable. The applicant shall not be entitled to make any claim for their return or for their value

Art.20

All fees paid by the applicant are non-refundable, regardless of the result of the evaluation communicated to the applicant, and regardless of whether during one of the procedures of registration, evaluation, re-evaluation, granting of the right to grant Certificates of Authenticity for works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark, the applicant wishes to waive the continuation of the procedures.

Art.21

The right to use the Certificate of Authenticity for works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark will be withdrawn if:

Following complaints received about irregularities in the use of the Certificate of Authenticity for works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark, the applicant shall be notified of the complaints by means of an address and an Investigation Committee shall be set up. If the applicant does not agree with the data presented in the letter, the Artwork may be re-evaluated at the expense of InfoCons, on the proposal of the Investigation Committee. If the irregularities contained in the referral are confirmed by the new evaluation, the applicant is obliged to pay for the evaluation according to the invoice issued by InfoCons and loses the right to use the Certificate of Authenticity for artworks bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark.

Art.22

The right to use the Certificate of Authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark may not be transferred.

Art.23

The fees related to the granting of the Certificate of Authenticity for artworks bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark shall be paid by the applicant or beneficiary to the account of the Association.

Chapter V

Financial Obligations of the Applicant for the Right to Grant a Certificate of Authenticity for Works of Art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark

Art.24

Registration fee in the National Register of Evidence – is the fee for registration. The amount of this fee is 45 lei for Romanian applicants and 10 euro for foreign applicants, to be deposited by the applicant in the Association’s account, within 5 days from the moment of registration.

Art.25

Certificate fee – is the fee charged for the evaluation by the Evaluation Committee of the works of art for each Class/Category. The amount of the evaluation fee is 45 ron for each certificate.

Chapter VI Final provisions

Art. 26

In order to ensure the credibility of artists in the eyes of art and culture consumers, it is absolutely necessary to respect the rules contained in this Regulation.

Art. 27

The unlawful use of the Certificate of Authenticity of works of art bearing the Pro Q Hologram Security Mark shall entail the institution of legal proceedings to remedy this situation and to repair the damage caused by it. In the event that the applicant violates the provisions contained in the present Regulation, thus causing damages, InfoCons reserves the right to take legal action to recover such damages.

Regulation endorsed by the InfoCons Management Board