Legal Mechanisms

• The owner of a protected or deposed brand subsequently to a new application of registration of brand or beneficiary of a date of subsequent priority ;
• The owner of a protected or previously filed a new trademark application or benefiting from an earlier priority mark;
• Le propriétaire d’une  marque protégée ou déposée antérieurement à une nouvelle demande d’enregistrement de marque ou bénéficiant d’une date de priorité antérieure;
• The owner of an earlier week-known brand within the meaning of article 6bis of the Paris convention for protection of industrial property;
• The holder of a geographical  indication or designation of protected origin;
• The holder of an exclusive license.

1/Case of an application for registration of a national brand:

- Two months after the publication of the application for registration in question.

2/ Case of an international brand:

- Two months from the first day of the month following receipt of the bulletin of   international brands by the OMPIC.

• Opposition to present with the OMPIC using a downloadable form M7  on the website, together with attachments (power of attorney and elements of awareness where necessary); justification for the payment of fees "960 DH TTC per class of product/ service" and any document to support the arguments of the opponent).
• Opposition must contain a presentation of the grounds argued, presented in three parts :
  - Comparison of products and services;
  - Comparaison of signs;
  - Where necessary, awareness.

The opposition is dealt with according to the following procedure:

1- The opposition is notified without delay to the holder of a the application for registration or his agent where necessary.

2- Where the applicant has not presented replies within two months, the OMPIC   rules on the opposition.

3- In case the applicant has presented responses within the aforementioned period, the opponent has a period of one month from the date of notification of the response of the other party to present its observations, and the applicant has a delay of one month from the date of notification of these observations for a further response.

4- The OMPIC notifies, without delay, the other party of any response or observation made by one of the parties.

5- The OMPIC rules on the opposition by reasoned decision within a period not exceeding six months following the expiration of a period of 2 months mentioned above.

However, an extension of this delay can be considered for an additional period of three months, on a reasoned request of one of the parties, accepted by that body.

The initial period of six months referred to in paragraph 5 above is suspended:

• When the opposition is based on an application for registration of brand;
• In case of commitment to a nullity action, forfeiture or claim of ownership;
• On the joint application presented once by the parties to the OMPIC without that the period of suspension can exceed the current six months from the filing date of the aforementioned request.

The opposition proceedings are closed by decision of the OMPIC:

• When the opponent has withdrawn his opposition or has lost the capacity to act;
• When the opposition has become purposeless as a result of a mutual agreement between the parties ;
• When the application for registration against which the opposition was formed is withdrawn or dismissed ;
• When the effects of the previous duties have ceased.

• Comparison of products and services: exam if identical products/services, identical by category or similar, taking into consideration the principle of specialty.
• Comparison of signs: review of the identity or similarity of signs (visual, phonetic and intellectual aspects).
• Review of the awareness, where necessary.

• The OMPIC prepares a draft decision in view of the opposition and the observations in reply. 
• The decision draft is notified by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to the parties to eventually challenge the merits letter.

Period of the contestation: 15 days.

• Possibility to appeal to the Court of Appeal of Commerce Casablanca.

Add back later a link referring to the publisher of opposition decisions.

Sign adopted for violation of prior rights

Only the holder of the prior right can engage the nullity action.
Sign likely to create confusion with a well-known mark within the meaning of Article 6 bis of the Paris convention

The owner of the well-known mark to the right of the nullity of a brand within 5 years from the date of the registration, under penalty of inadmissibility his action cause of the limitation period

Three causes for forfeiture of the brand

• non-use of the brand (art.163);
• Brand becoming the common name in the trade (art.164.a);
• deceptive character of the brand (art.164,b).

Forfeiture can be made to the court by anyone interested (person having the intention to use the brand).

Main effect of forfeiture: extinguishment of the right on the brand. other effects can be also identified:

• forfaiture is enforceable to all.
• Disqualification must be registered in the National Register of Trademarks.

•  « If a registration has been made either in fraud of the rights to a third party, or in violation of a statutory or contractual obligation, the person who considers having a brand right can claim his ownership to justice... » (Article 142 al.1 of  law 17/97).
• The action for claim is considered as a nullity action for fraud.
•  The decision for claiming grants the ownership over the brand to the one who has the right.

• Civil action: can be initiated by the brand owner or the holder of an exclusive license (except contrary contractual provisions).
• Law enforcement : Penalties for the infringer " imprisonment from 2 to 6 months and a fine of 50.000 to 500.000 dirhams" or" one of these penalties "

Any act of competition contrary to honest practices in industrial and commercial matters:

• Creating a risk of confusion in the public mind, by any means;
• False allegations : describe the products or services of the enterprise;
• Competitor of lower- quality and non-compliance with standards...;
• Parasitism: illegal exploitation of the reputation of the competitor enterprise;
• Misleading indications or allegations : mislead the public into error damage;