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The average time frame for the registration approval is 10 months, if no objections or oppositions arise.
No. The mark will be protected only in the territory of Morocco.
Yes. Applicants are required to submit a power of attorney.
No. There is no benefit from pre-filing use of the mark. Rights are established only through registration.
Yes. If the registered mark does not meet the requirements with regards to usage, it will be vulnerable to revocation of rights.
Marks that can be recreated or replicated graphically and signs that can help the public distinguish a good or service from its counterparts is allowed for registration.
- slogan
- word
- name
- colors
- shapes (3-dimensional)
- devices
- geographical names
- letters
- seals
- numbers
- hologram
- acronym
- smell
- trade dress
- sound
The order of trademark application in Morocco is as follows:
-
Examination – All applications are examined according to:
- Compliance to requirements
- Classification of goods/services
- Descriptiveness
- Capability of the mark to be represented graphically
- Deceptiveness
- Conflict with earlier registrations
-
Publication – Information about the trademark application will be posted online and will be published in the Trademark Gazette. This will allow the public to oppose if needed.
- Mark
- Applicant’s name
- Application number
- Application date
- Goods/services
- Registration – Once the examiners approved the mark and there are no oppositions after the publication or the oppositions are dismissed, the trademark office will grant the registration certificate
The trademark law of Morocco does not accept the following marks for registration:
- Marks that are against public order or oppose moral standards
- Generic words or common terms
- Names/flags/symbols of nations/states/regions and international organizations
- Marks that lack distinctive qualities
- Marks that mislead the consumers as to the good’s origin of place or quality
Yes. Nice Classification is applicable in Morocco.
The home application filing date can be acknowledged as the Morocco filing date if:
- Home country is a Paris Convention signatory
- Home filing date is within 6 months from the date of filing in Morocco
- International registration can be based in Morocco
To satisfy the requirement, the owner must use the mark on a business scale and within this jurisdiction. There should be no 5-year gap between each use.
Registered marks in Morocco are valid for 10 years starting from the date of application.
The first renewal date is done on the 10th year after the filing of application date.
Yes. Unregistered marks are legally allowed to be used for goods and services.
Morocco law requires registration of trademark in order for the owner to secure rights.
Morocco’s trademark office is available online. Visit the website at: http://www.ompic.org.ma/
No. Applicants are not required to actually use the mark or to have intention to use the mark before applying for registration.
Here are the grounds for an application to be opposed:
- Proprietary rights
- Breach of copyright
- Generic marks
- Issues against morality and public policy
- Conflict with a personal name
- Conflict with a registered design
- Conflict with a trade name
- Registration under agent’s name
- Use of protected flags, state emblems and armorial bearings
- Functional marks
- Misleading/disparaging/deceptive marks
- Not distinctive marks
- Descriptive marks
- Use of a geographical indication
- Conflict with a notorious or famous mark
Owners and licensees of an earlier right can oppose the application.
Registrations can be cancelled on these grounds:
- Proprietary rights
- Descriptive marks
- Not distinctive marks
- Misleading, deceptive or disparaging marks
- Functional marks
- Breach of copyright
- Conflict with a well-known mark
- Use of protected armorial bearings, state emblems and flags
- Conflict with trade names that might confuse the public mind
- Conflict with a registered design
- Conflict with popular personal names
- Generic marks or commonly used
- Use of geographical indications
- Issues against morality or public order
- Use of name, picture, or reputation of a person of authority
- Use of name of style of a company
Yes. Registration of a trademark helps the owner secure these rights:
- Exclusive rights to use the mark
- Right to challenge applications that are in conflict with the mark
- Right to demand for the cancellation of registrations that are in conflict with the mark
- Right to take a legal action against third parties that are infringing the mark
- Right to demand for damages from third parties that infringed the mark
- Right to license and authorize third parties to use the mark
- Right to appeal from customs authorities for the seizure of imported counterfeit goods that bear the mark
The opposition period will officially start on the date when the application was printed in the Trademark Gazette, and it will end 60 days later.
Yes. Morocco is a party to international treaties: Madrid Protocol and Madrid Agreement.
No. Period statement of use or any other similar filing that sets forth the use of the mark is not necessary.
Registered trademarks in Morocco are renewed every 10 years to maintain their validity.
The first renewal date is done on the 10th year after the filing of application date.
Renewing a trademark registration requires a power of attorney which must be printed on the applicants’ letterhead.
Late renewal of trademark is possible since the trademark office can extend the renewal period for up to 6 months.