MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sameer K Tegally, Sonia Xavier and Ashvan Luckraz, Venture Law
6.3 Cartels Under the Act, “Agreement” means ”any form of agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, between enterprises which is implemented or intended to be implemented in Mauritius or in a part of Mauritius, and includes an oral agree - ment, a decision by an association of enterpris - es, and any concerted practice”. “Concerted practice” is also defined in the Act as a ”practice involving contacts or communications between competitors falling short of an actual agreement, but which nonetheless restricts competition between them”. The Act regulates various forms of agreements and practices, and prohibits collusive agree - ments and practices that have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition. This includes restrictive practices such as horizontal agreements, non-collusive horizontal agreements, bid rigging, vertical agreements involving resale price maintenance and other vertical agreements. It is not open to enterprises engaged in these practices to argue that they have no adverse effects, nor do the “off-setting benefits” provi - sions of the Act apply to such agreements to allow any argument that they have beneficial effects resulting in specific gains, which may outweigh the adverse effects caused by the said agreement or practice. Unlike the other breaches under the Act, collusive agreements and practices are the only breaches for which financial penalties can be levied by the CCM. 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position Section 46 of the Act relating to monopoly situ - ations states that the CCM will have regard to whether a monopolist’s actions “have or are likely to have an adverse effect on the effi - ciency, adaptability and competitiveness of the
economy of Mauritius, or are or are likely to be detrimental to the interests of consumers”. This clause relates only to adverse effects arising from the monopolist’s actions. Under Sections 60 and 61 of the Act, the CCM may also take action to remedy, prevent or miti - gate detrimental effects on consumers and users. Where it is necessary to consider such adverse and detrimental effects, the CCM will generally seek to protect and promote consumer interest by fostering greater competition. The CCM will not, in general, intervene to provide consumers with a better product offering or price than might reasonably be expected to arise in a competitive market. The CCM can intervene only when there is a competition problem and only to promote the interests of affected consumers and users. 7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents The Industrial Property Act 2019 (IPA) came into operation on 31 January 2022. Under the IPA, a patent will be registered if it relates to an invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and is industrially applicable. The length of statutory protection granted to registered patents is 20 years, starting from the filing date of the application, subject to the pay - ment of the annual prescribed fee. The application for a patent has to be filed with the Director of the Industrial Property Office in the form set out in the administrative procedures and accompanied by the payment of a non- refundable fee. The application has to include:
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