IP Rights

The Mozambique Industrial Property Code (IPC), which has been in force since 2016, provides six main IP rights that any entity may use to protect their distinctive signs in commerce.

The aim of this article is to analyze to what extent these six different rights are necessary and the effects they may produce on Mozambique’s IP system.

Article 1 of the IPC provides definitions of distinctive signs, including:

The International Conference Respect for IP – Growing from the Tip of Africa took place in South Africa, and brought together government ministers and policymakers, judges and senior enforcement officials, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, businesses, the legal fraternity and consumer groups, to share their ideas about how to reach an effective and balanced Intellectual Property – IP enforcement system on the continent.

Recognized has one of the major worldwide events, ICANN Meetings gather a wide range of professionals, including Government Representatives, IT Managers and Consultants, Intellectual Property Managers and Academics, among other professionals, who contribute to the continuing stable, secure and resilient operation of the Internet.

The last meeting took place in Barcelona, where we represented by our IT Manager, João Batalha.

Companies & Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) is relocating its office in Gaborone, Botswana, and it will be closed from the 28th September 2018 until 29th October 2018. During this period all CIPA’s services will be unavailable, which will prevent the completion of any procedure requiring its intervention.

The new CIPA’s office will be installed in the following address:

Block A, Plot 54358,

Prime Plaza Building,

New CBD (Former CEDA Building)

Somalia has been in an ongoing conflict due to the Civil War that has erupted in 1986. Ever since, Somali people have been living and enduring extend periods of upheaval, violence and uncertainty. The political instability is unprecedented.

Up until 1960, Somalia's geographical circumscription was dominated by England, Italy and France. The French part of the territory formed the country we now know as Djibouti and the English and Italian part formed the Republic of Somalia.

The 10th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly was reunited last March in Rwanda to sign the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).

The “Brexit” referendum took place a year and a half ago and the terms for the withdrawal began being formally discussed since March last year. Intellectual Property rights had to be - rightly so - part of the debate.

In the light of EU and UK Government’s most recent draft agreement on the country’s withdrawal from the European Union - published March 19th - provisions were made on the protection and enforcement of IP rights, to be of effect after the end of the transitional period.

An agreement was made between the European Union and the United Kingdom, regarding the Brexit and its implications on Intellectual Property.

It was established that after the Brexit’s transition period ends (December 31st of 2020), the owners of Commmunity Designs and European Union Trademarks will have their rights protected in the UK.

The owners of the above trademarks shall, “without any re-examination, become the holders of a comparable registered and enforceable in IP right in the UK”.

The new Bill has relevant changes to it, which makes it look far more like a modern trademark statute.

Three months ago, on December 2017, a new Trademark Bill was approved by the Malawi’s Parliament and sent to the President in order to assent it. This Bill was created to replace the Trade Marks Act 1957, which was yet antiquated and in need of updating.

The protection of the rights of indigenous people, including their intellectual property rights, has made a great progress in the past few years.
Not being considered in legal legislation or literature, this progress is largely due to the fact that indigenous names, images, symbols or patterns of commercial products have never been so common. Incorporating verbal and visual elements of indigenous people into brands, designs or models, has proved to be an effective way to make the products more attractive, more distinctive and therefore of more economic value.