Protecting your intellectual property in Morocco

It’s essential to protect your brand in Morocco, as it contributes to your start-up’s image and identity.

Protecting your Moroccan brand means receiving exclusive rights to use it. As such, you have absolute ownership rights. Registering a trademark prevents third parties from using it without your start-up’s consent. You can also bring an action for infringement. Ownership of a trademark in Morocco is obtained by registering it with the Office Marocain de la Propriété Industrielle et Commerciale (OMPIC). How to register your trademark with OMPIC? What is the cost and duration of trademark protection? How can you protect your brand internationally? Discover our training courses to protect your intellectual property in Morocco.

How to register your trademark with OMPIC?

What are the steps prior to filing?

Determine precisely, according to the ” Nice Classification “, the classes in which you will register your products and/or services.
→ example: a company in the automotive industry will register its trademark in class 12 “vehicles, land locomotion devices”, and any other appropriate class.
Also check that the trademark is available, by performing a trademark search in the
OMPIC database
. It must not reproduce a sign benefiting from a prior right, for products or services similar to yours.

Where to register your trademark?

You can register your trademark with OMPIC:

• at the head office ;
• at one of our regional offices;
• or at the dedicated areas of the Casablanca Chamber of Commerce and the French Chamber of Commerce in Casablanca.

Or register your trademark online in Morocco (fees are lower).

Who can take these steps?

Don’t hesitate to appoint an agent, who will carry out the filing formalities on your behalf (depositor). The trademark applicant may be a legal entity (the start-up), or an individual not resident in Morocco. Or simply an individual resident in Morocco who wishes to be represented.

Your agent must be domiciled in Morocco, and is usually a professional (such as a lawyer). The agent may also be any other person with power of representation on behalf of the depositor (an employee, for example).

What documents do I need to submit?

The application must contain :

• the M1 deposit form completed by the depositor ;
• two black and white reproductions of the brand;
• two color reproductions of the brand;
• payment of duties due ;
• power of attorney.

Registering your Moroccan trademark: what’s the procedure?

There are several stages in the registration process:

1. Examination of your file

Once your application is complete, the Moroccan Industrial and Commercial Property Office will issue you with a receipt. OMPIC then carries out a formal examination of all the documents provided. He also carries out a substantive examination to ensure that your trademark is distinctive and complies with public policy.

From the date of filing, the applicant or his representative has 3 months to regularize the file. If you fail to do so, your application will be considered withdrawn. If you regularize your file within the allotted time, it will retain its original date.

2. Brand publication

Your trademark is then published in the official trademark catalog, so that third parties can be made aware of it. This publication starts the opposition period. For 2 months from this date, a third party may oppose your application for registration.
→ example: the owner of a prior right opposes the registration of your trademark, because he believes it infringes his rights.

3. Trademark registration

If no opposition is filed, OMPIC will register your trademark and issue you with a registration certificate. The protection of your trademark in Morocco is then effective. Its registration allows you to :

• exclusive ownership of the trademark for the designated goods and/or services;
• and prevent third parties from using it without your start-up’s authorization, for a period of 10 years.

Protecting your trademark in Morocco: what are the conditions?

Trademark registration fees at OMPIC

How much does it cost to protect your brand? OMPIC applies two different rates:

• Tariff 1 applicable to SMEs, VSEs, individuals (auto-entrepreneurs, craftsmen, etc.), universities, etc. … ;

Source: OMPIC website as of May 3, 2022.

• Tariff 2 applicable to all users and customers other than those covered by Tariff 1.

Source: OMPIC website as of May 3, 2022.

Duration of trademark protection

Your trademark registration is effective from the date of filing, for a period of 10 years. How can you protect your trademark in Morocco beyond this deadline? This period of trademark protection in Morocco is indefinitely renewable. You can renew your registration every 10 years, within 6 months of the expiry date.

Renewal begins at the end of the registration validity period. It can only relate to the trademark as it appears in its latest status in the national trademark register. For any modification of the sign, or extension of the list of designated products/services, you will need to file a new application.

Protecting your brand internationally: how do you go about it?

What steps need to be taken?

In addition to protecting your trademark in Morocco, your start-up can also register it in other countries. How? Thanks to the ” Madrid System “, whose signatory states are grouped together within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Here are the steps to follow:

• step 1: register your trademark in Morocco. First, apply for registration at the national level, i.e. in Morocco, with OMPIC;
• step 2: choose the foreign countries in which your start-up wishes to register its trademark. Check that these countries are members of WIPO;
• step 3: submission of the request to OMPIC. Finally, you must file your international registration application with OMPIC.

You can also register your trademark in “regions”:

• within the European Union, with the European Union Intellectual Property Office(EUIPO);
• in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, with the African Intellectual Property Organization(OAPI).

When should you register your trademark internationally, and at what cost?

You can register your trademark internationally at any time. However, it is advisable to do so within 6 months (priority period) of the national trademark filing date. In this way, the effects of trademark protection will begin from the date of initial filing.

How much does it cost to protect a brand internationally? Registration fees vary according to the country chosen, and the number of classes. WIPO has created an online fee simulator to help you calculate your fees.