May 28, 2020 (Newsletter Issue 8/20)
Accession to Banjul Protocol on Marks
On May 15, 2020, the Government of the Republic of Mozambique deposited its Instrument of Accession to the Banjul Protocol on Marks with the Director General of ARIPO. In accordance with the provisions of the Protocol, the latter will enter into force, with respect to the Republic Mozambique, on August 15, 2020.
Pursuant to the above, with effect from August 15, 2020, Mozambique will be eligible for designation.
It is worth noting that Mozambique had already enacted provisions in its Intellectual Property Code (Decree Nr. 47/2015 of 31 December 2015) that would allow the immediate implementation of the Banjul Protocol if it became party to the Protocol (domestication of the Protocol).
The accession to the Banjul Protocol by the Republic of Mozambique brings the number of Member States party to the Protocol to Eleven.
Source: www.aripo.org
Oct 24, 2017 (Newsletter Issue 18/17)
Close to Join the Banjul Protocol and Vienna Agreement
On September 19, 2017, the Council of Ministers of Mozambique approved a resolution for Mozambique to accede to the Banjul Protocol. The Banjul Protocol on Trade Marks provides for the filing of a single trade mark application at the ARIPO Office (African Regional Industrial Property Organization), which will cover any member state designated by the applicant.
The next step is the deposit of the instruments of accession with the Director General of ARIPO. Currently there is no prevision of when such will happen. After the instruments are deposited, the Protocol will come into force within 3 months.
In the same session, the Council of Ministers of Mozambique also approved the resolution ratifying the country’s accession to the Vienna Convention for Trademark Classification. Vienna’s Classification is an international classification regarding trademarks’ figurative elements that was adopted through the Vienna Agreement of 1973.
Source: www.adamsadams.com
Nov 22, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 21/16)DIU to Local Office Required for IR Designating MZ The Office of Mozambique has informed WIPO that the holder of a mark must submit a further declaration of intention to use the mark directly to the Office of Mozambique by using the prescribed form in Portuguese and paying the required fee. Such declaration must be:
- submitted by the holder’s authorized representative, who must be domiciled in Mozambique;
- presented within five years from the date the Office of Mozambique is notified of the international registration or the subsequent designation.
For further information, please see here
Source: www.wipo.int Nov 09, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 20/16)
Refiling of Refused Trademarks Allowed
On September 2, 2016, the Industrial Property Institute (IPI) of Mozambique issued an official letter allowing applicants to refile trademark applications which were previously refused by the IPI. Until then it had been the practice of the Office to prohibit the refiling of such trade marks. This posed a serious obstacle to trade mark applicants who wished to refile their applications in Mozambique for strategic reasons.
The new Mozambique Industrial Property Code, published under Decree no. 47/2015, which came into force on March 31, 2016, contains no provisions prohibiting an applicant from filing an application for the registration of a trade mark that has been previously (and finally) refused by the IPI.
It is important to note that refiled applications will be subject to the same requirements and examination process as the former application.
Source: ENSafrica, South Africa
Mar 02, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 4/16)New Industrial Property Code Approved The new Mozambique Industrial Property Code (New IP Code) was approved by the Council of Ministers of Mozambique by Decree no 47 of 2015, on December 31, 2015. The New IP Code will come into force on March 31, 2016 and will replace the 2006 Industrial Property Code (the "2006 IP Code").
Differences between the 2006 IP Code and the New IP Code relate mainly to revised time periods, re-wording and clarification of certain sections, administrative and format revisions. A limited number of substantive legal changes have been made. The New IP Code was not published for comment and concerns pertaining to issues such as delays in handing down decisions by the Administrative Courts have not been addressed. Short, unextendable deadlines for responding to official actions and provisional refusals have been retained.
With regards to trademarks, the following amendments can be reported:
- The New IP Code extends comparison of marks upon examination to “related” or similar goods and services.
- Opposition period will be thirty days of the advertisement with a further extension for another sixty days
- It is no longer essential to show that the declaration of intent to use a mark should relate to all goods or services included in the registration.
Further, the industrial property bulletin will soon be published monthly instead every two months.
A summary of the most important changes concerning can be seen here
Source: Spoor & Fisher, South Africa Nov 11, 2015 (Newsletter Issue 17/15)
Declaration of Intention to Use when Designating Mozambique
Mozambique has notified WIPO that it requires a declaration of intention to use the mark when designating Mozambique under the Madrid Protocol concerning the international registration.
Amendments to the footnote of the official forms will be modified to indicate that the applicant or holder declares that he has the intention that the mark will be used by him or with his consent in Mozambique in connection with the goods and services identified in the international application or subsequent designation concerned.
The notification made by Mozambique entered into force three months after its receipt by the Director General of WIPO, namely on November 5, 2015.
Source: www.wipo.int
Oct 28, 2014 (Newsletter Issue 16/14)Clarification on Declaration of Intention to UseThe Trademarks Registry has issued a notification in the Industrial Property Gazette on 15 August 2014 to clarify the issues raised within the scope of the declaration of intention to use (DIU) regarding to trademarks and in order to standardize the terms for the filing thereof the following is made aware:
1) The provision of no.1 of article 127 of the Mozambique Industrial Property Code (CPIM) Enacted by the Decree no.4 / 2006 of April 12, shall be constructed in the sense that for national trademarks, the calculation of the 5 years period for the filing of the first DIU commences from the registration date thereof. For the purposes of this notice, the registration date is regarded as the filing date of the trademark at IPI.
2) Regarding to an international trademark which at the registration date at the international bureau of WIPO, Mozambique was designated as one of the countries where protection must be extended to and that registration was granted in Mozambique, the no. 2 and 3 of the article 137 read in conjunction with no. 1 and 2 of article 127 of aforementioned law, shall be constructed in the sense that the first DIU shall be filed 5 years after the registration thereof at the international bureau of WIPO.
3) According to the provision of no. 3 of article 137. For an international trademark which the extension thereof to Mozambique is subsequent to its international registration and that registration was granted in Mozambique, the first DIU shall be filed after the completion of 5 years of the subsequent extension in Mozambique ("date de designation posterieure"/"date of subsequent designation") as set out by the international bureau of WIPO.
4) For the purposes of numbers 2 and 3 of this notice, and in order to standardize the different dates of the international trademarks, the IPI communicates that it will take as a base date for the calculation of the term for the filing DIUs of international trademarks, the date of notification of the application for registration in Mozambique ("date de notification/date of notification").
5) For the international trademarks, the calculation of the term for the filing of the second and subsequent DIUs commence from the renewal date which follows the extension.
6) In situations that the filing of the DIU is prior the renewal, it is mandatory to file it, but if the filing of the DIU is subsequent the renewal, the DIU shall be filed five years after the renewal date.
7) When the DIU overlaps with the renewal, there is no need to file the DIU.
The aforementioned provisions are to be in force immediately.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar
Jul 16, 2013 (Newsletter Issue 11/13)Change of PracticeThe Trademarks Registry has issued a notification that Art. 10 of the IP Code for verification of applications will be taken seriously. Applications, renewals and so forth shall be submitted simultaneously with the Power of Attorney from now onwards in order to avoid constraints.
Article 10 of the IP Code, which is in force in Mozambique states:
1. When an application is filed, the officers in charge of receiving the documents shall verify that the applications are correctly addressed, that they are duly signed, that the correct amount of fees is being paid and that all documents referred to in the application are attached thereto.
2. Notification shall be given of any omissions found subsequently.
3. The applicant shall have 15 days from the date of the notification within which to supply the missing or incorrect information.
4. If the provision of the preceding paragraph is not observed, the applicant will be considered to have surrendered the application.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar Jul 17, 2012 (Newsletter Issue 11/12)
10th Edition of Nice Classification
The Industrial Property Institute of Mozambique announced that Mozambique has adopted the 10th edition of the Nice Classification.
Source: Braz & Associates, Mozambique
May 02, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 7/11)
Surcharges for Late Renewal of TMs
The fee for late renewal may be paid within a maximum period of six months after the end of the validity of the registration, subject to a fifty percent surcharge.
The Industrial Property Institute (IPI) in Mozambique has announced that the surcharge penalty for late renewals will become operational with immediate effect. The surcharge payments are to be made within 15 days. Otherwise the registration will be considered to be withdrawn. Notices have been sent to IP agents requesting payment of the surcharge for recently filed renewal applications.
However, a request of revalidation of certificates of registration that have lapsed due to the failure to pay fees on time will be possible.
Source: Braz & Associates, Mozambique
Legal basis is the Industrial Property Code enacted by Decree No. 47/2015 of December 31 and entered into force on March 30, 2016.
Mozambique is a member of:
Paris Convention (International Union) 1883-1967 (member with effect from July 9, 1998); Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Union) 1891-1967, with invocation of Art. 3 bis (member with effect from October 7, 1998); Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO Convention) 1967 (member with effect from December 23, 1996); Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol) 1989 (member with effect from October 7, 1998) and ARIPO. Trademark protection is obtained by registration. It can also be acquired by sufficient public recognition.
Nice classification, 11th edition
Article 1 i) of the Industrial Property Code sets out that a mark is a distinctive, clearly visible, audible or olfactory sign, capable of being represented graphically and of distinguishing the goods or services of a particular entity from the goods and services of another entity, and consisting, in particular, of words, including personal names, designs, letters, numbers, the shape of the product or of its packaging.
Combinations of colours may be registered, while single colours may be registered only if they are combined with graphics, wording or other elements in a peculiar and distinctive manner.
The following marks are registrable: trademarks, service marks, collective marks and certification marks.
The Industrial Property Code defines a collective mark as a mark which is capable of distinguishing the origin or any other common characteristic, including the quality of goods or services, of companies, members of an association, group or entity. A certification mark is defined as a mark that identifies goods and services which, although used by different entities under the supervision of the owner, guarantees the particular characteristics or qualities of the goods or services on which it is used.
The application is filed at the Industrial Property Institute (IPI) in Maputo.
A separate application has to be filed for each class.
Foreign applicants need a local agent.
A power of attorney, duly signed by the legal representatives of the applicant, translated to Portuguese, certified by a Notary Public, and legalised by the Mozambican consulate is necessary.
The application process includes a formal examination, an examination of distinctiveness and a search for prior trademarks.
The processing time from first filing to registration or first office action is approximately 6 months.
The decision of the trademark registration is published in the monthly “Boletim da Propriedade Industrial”.
National:The opposition period is 30 days from publication date of the trademark application. Said term may be extended for the period of one month.
Details regarding the
Opposition Period against designation of IR Mark are available in our publication on this topic
here
A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from date of application.
The registration is renewable for periods of 10 years.
Practical details on grace periods for trademark renewals are available in our publication
herePractical details on trademark use requirements are available in our publication
hereThe official fee for filing a trademark application is MZN 3,037.50 per class. The fee for the issuance of the certificate of registration is MZN 850.
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Practical details on trademark licensing are available in our publication
hereOnline you can see a limited part of information about this country.
More in-depth details are available for the following aspects:
General Trademark Regulations
Trademark Use Requirements
Grace Period for Trademark Renewal
Trademark Licensing
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Jun 28, 2023
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