Mauritius has published a new draft of its Industrial Property (“IP”) law in the 2016 Bill (“the Bill”). The Bill was open to commentary until 31 January 2017.
Some noteworthy aspects related to the draft Bill include:
• Registration of a trade mark based on honest concurrent use is permitted.
• A remedy for unregistered marks is provided – similar to provisions available in South Africa.
• Definition of a trade mark has been extended to also cover collective and certification marks.
• Grounds for refusal of a trade mark have expanded.
• The Applicant is provided with a two-month period to correct a filing deficiency. The filing date then becomes the date of correction of the deficiency.
• The Bill also provides for the division of an application into two or more applications, each newly divided application retaining the original filing date.
• The Bill further states that the right to obtain the registration of a trade mark shall be exhausted once the product is put on the market by the registered proprietor or with his consent in Mauritius or any other country in the world.
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