Patent registration in Morocco. Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the Northwesternmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Morocco’s economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand. During the beginning of the 21st century, the Government of Morocco has conducted many sharp reforms which turned the Moroccan economy to become much more robust compared to the old days. In addition, tourism is also one of the most important sectors in the Moroccan economy. It is well developed with a strong tourist industry focused on the country’s coast, culture, and history. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Morocco.
Patent in Morocco
According to Morocco Law, a patent in Morocco is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Morocco, an invention must satisfy the new, nonobvious, inventive, and industrially applicable requirements.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
The novelty grace period in Morocco is 12 months. This means that within 12 months from the public disclosure of the invention, the patent application with the invention as the subject will still be considered valid if filed.
On the other hand, the unpatentable subjects in Morocco are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Morocco
The necessary documents for patent registration in Morocco include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The official language of patent registration in Morocco is French. However, the submission of the patent application in another language is still possible provided that the applicant submits the necessary translation within 3 months.
If the applicant wants to claim priority, they must submit the priority document within 12 months from the priority date. The restoration of this term is not possible.
The procedure of patent registration in Morocco
To obtain a patent in Morocco, the applicant needs to submit the patent application to the IP Office of Morocco.
After the formal examination, if there is no reason for rejection by the IP Office, the patent application will be published publicly within 18 months from the filing date.
If the preliminary search report is established, it is published with the application, otherwise, they are published separately.
There are no opposition regulations in Morocco. Instead, third parties who feel like their rights are violated may file observations on the patentability of the invention.
These observations must be made within two months after the publishing of the patent application. The IP Office will notify the applicant about the observation and the applicant has a period of 2 months to provide a reply if he/she wants as it is not mandatory.
The substantive examination should be requested simultaneously with the filing of the Moroccan patent application by the applicant.
Once granted, the patentee needs to pay the annual maintenance fees each year on the anniversary date of the filing date or priority date.
The payment cannot be made more than 12 months before the due date. Therefore, a one-time payment for all 20 years is not possible. If the patentee misses the deadline, he/she can pay it within the grace period of 6 months after the due date with a surcharge.
You can see a list of Morocco IP firms here.