Facilitating your import / export procedures with Mauritius
Mauritius is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Universal Copyright Convention, and the Berne Convention. WIPO essentially aims at protecting the "creation of mind", hence providing enhanced incentives to individuals and societies to engage in innovation, invention and in creation of new ideas.
Intellectual Property (IP) is increasingly recognized as an economic asset as Mauritius moves towards a knowledge-based economy. The capacity to tap the IP assets will be a determining factor in the development of the economy during the next decade.
Given the prominent role that Intellectual Property (IP) plays on the economic front, Mauritius reinforced its Intellectual Property policy so as to mainstream IP in the economic and social development and to promote innovation and creativity. This is one of the recommendations of the Intellectual Property Development Plan (IPDP) which has been developed with the assistance of WIPO. The IPDP seeks to ensure, amongst others, that the organizations involved in IP enforcement, the potential users as well as generators of IP have the technical capacity and know-how to use IP as a tool to promote research, innovation, investment and economic growth.
Download the Intellectual Property Development Plan of Mauritius
In Mauritius, the legislative framework for the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) initially provided for the protection of copyrights, trademarks, patents, with the Patents Act 1875, the Trademarks Act 1868 and the Copyright Act 1986. The IPR enforcement mechanism took a new turn in 1995 when the TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement of the World Trade Organization came into effect. In order to conform the country's legislation to the principles and obligations laid down in the TRIPS, new pieces of legislation were adopted, namely:
The Industrial Property Bill was adopted by Parliament on 30 July 2019 and became an Act on 9 August 2019. It is a consolidated legislation encompassing all different elements of industrial property, namely, patent, trademark, industrial design, utility model, plant variety, geographical indications and layout design of integrated circuits. The objective is to have a holistic approach to the legislative framework governing IP in Mauritius and to provide for the protection of all the different components of IP.
The scope of the Industrial Property Act 2019 is larger in nature since additional intellectual property rights, such as utility model, new plant variety, geographical indication and layout-design of integrated circuits.
The Industrial Property Act 2019 entered into force on 31 January 2022.
Download the Industrial Property Act here.
In December 2022, Mauritius deposited its Instrument of Accession to the PCT with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The PCT entered into force in Mauritius, on 15 March 2023. This means that by filing one international patent application under the PCT, Mauritian applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in more than 155 PCT Contracting States.
Mauritius can make use of the PATENTSCOPE which covers more than 100 million technologies. According to WIPO, the database would benefit Mauritius within the framework of the Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) Program which provides innovators in developing countries with access to high quality technology information and related services to help them exploit their innovative potential and manage their IP rights. Such service is free of charge.
Mauritius has joined the WIPO-administered Hague and Madrid Systems on 06 February 2023. The Hague System for the international registration of industrial designs allows Mauritian businesses to register up to 100 designs in 96 countries, by filling a single international application. On the other hand, the Madrid System allows for the registration and management of trademarks worldwide. Local businesses are now able to file a single international trademark application and pay one set of fees to apply for protection in up to 130 countries. The modification, renewal or expansion of global trademark portfolios can be done through one centralized system. Both Treaties entered into force, with respect to Mauritius, on 06 May 2023.
Advantages of Mauritius acceding to the Hague Agreement relate to the fact that there would be savings in terms of costs in as much as an applicant can obtain protection for his/her designs in multiple jurisdictions with a minimum of formalities. Furthermore, the Hague Agreement provides for a streamlined mechanism for the maintenance and management of industrial design rights.
With regard to the WIPO-administered Madrid System, Mauritius joined the system, rounding up the number of countries covered by WIPO's international trademark system to 130 (as at February 2023). As from 06 May 2023, brand owners in Mauritius are able to seek protection of their trademarks in any of the other 129 countries covered by the Madrid System.
On the other hand, users of the Madrid System worldwide will be able to designate Mauritius when filing their international applications, and existing holders of international registrations will be able to expand the geographical scope of protection of their registrations to include Mauritius, using the online platform eMadrid.
With a view to nurture creativity at various levels, namely primary levels, extending to secondary schools, and universities and ultimately culminating in the workplace and civil society, WIPO has published some comics books that explain in layman's terms what are Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. They are designed to foster the creativity and inventiveness of future generations, while at the same time raising awareness about the value of intellectual property. These can be downloaded both in English and French languages below:
Useful links:
WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) Download the practical Guide for Business and Entrepreneurs (PDF - English Version) WTO - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
