MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sameer K Tegally, Sonia Xavier and Ashvan Luckraz, Venture Law
7.2 Trade Marks A mark is a distinctive sign that differentiates particular goods and services provided by one entity from those of its competitors. In practice, any sign that helps distinguish one’s goods or services from another may amount to a mark. This includes words, letters, numerals, drawings, pictures, audible signs, three-dimensional signs and olfactory marks as well as a combination of colours, the shape of goods or parts of the goods, or the packaging or other conditioning of goods. The length of statutory protection granted to registered marks is ten years, starting from the filing date of the application and subject to the payment of an annual fee. Applications for registration of marks must 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 of MUR6,000 for the first class and MUR2,000 for each additional class. The application for registration of a mark must include: • the name, address, nationality and place of registration of the applicant, and where the applicant is represented by an agent, the name and address of the agent; • where applicable, a statement indicating the type of mark and any specific requirements applicable to that type of mark; • a representation of the mark; and • a list of the goods or services for which registration of the mark is sought, grouped in accordance with the applicable class or classes of the International Classification. The application shall also specify the goods and/ or services in respect of which the registration
• the name, address and nationality of the applicant; • the name and address of the inventor; • the name and address of the agent of the applicant (if any); and the signature of the applicant or their agent (if any), or a common representative where it is a joint application; • the title, a description of the invention and the claims, including any drawing and an abstract; • where the applicant is not the inventor, a statement justifying the applicant’s right to the patent; and • where the applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Mauri - tius, an address within Mauritius for service of any document. Mauritius has acceded to the Patent Coopera - tion Treaty (PCT) since 15 March 2023. Appli - cants and inventors in Mauritius can now file patent applications under the PCT to secure pat - ent protection in PCT contracting states. Simi - larly, foreign innovators and companies can now use the PCT System to obtain patent protection for their inventions in Mauritius. The Customs Act 1988 was amended to pro - vide that any owner or authorised user of a pat - ent may apply in writing to the Director General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority to suspend the clearance of any goods imported or being exported and detain any goods on the local market on the grounds that his patent, industrial design, collective mark, mark, copyright, utility model, lay-out design, breeder’s right, trade name, or geographical indication is being or is likely to be infringed. For enforcement, please see 7.3 Industrial Design .
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