2nd Inventors’ Open Day Protecting your assets in Mauritius

By

Anishah Aujayeb

IP & Patent Team

Juristconsult Chambers

17th September 2012

JURISTCONSULT www.juristconsult.com

JURISTCONSULT www.juristconsult.com

Juristconsult Chambers Level 6, Newton Tower

Sir William Newton Street Port Louis

Pioneer Law Firm in Mauritius

Dedicated IP & Patent Team

Understand the needs of the Mauritian Society

Strong links with IP Sector in Mauritius and across the world

Intellectual Property encompass the application of ideas and

information that are of commercial value

The “What”, “How” and “Why”

Concept

A) The “What”: Various forms of Intellectual Property

Trademarks

Patents

Industrial

Designs

Copyrights&

Trade Secrets

Trademarks

What do we understand by a trademark?

“Symbols needed by consumers to distinguish between competing products and services”

Levis for Jeans; Mercedes for Cars; Panasonic for Televisions

Effect created: Difference between origin and good value or quality.

What to do with a trademark?

The Use of a Trade Mark

The concept of ‘use of a mark’ differs across the globe

Dependant of the local legislation

Use of a trademark- Loose term of the word

Production

Direct

Sales Third

Party Sales Franchises

Patents

What do we understand by a patent?

“Granted in respect of an invention, i.e., technological improvements, great and small, which provides the solution to a specific problem in the field of technology”

Considered as the most basic, the most valuable and to competitors, the most

dangerous of IP categories.

Effect created: Used to prevent all others from including any form of the

invention in their product and services

Patents

Not freely available for all industrial improvements

Has to be qualified as “patentable invention”

Rights conferred by patent

Use of the patent: Exploitation

Licensing to third parties

Industrial Designs

“ Any composition of lines or colours or any three dimensional form, or any material, whether or not associated with lines or colours, is deemed to be an industrial design, provided that such composition, form or material- 1) gives a special appearance to a product of industry or handicraft; 2)can serve as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft; and 3)appeals to and is judged by the eye.”

Has to be new!

Clear regulations to establish a clear demarcation

Subject to IPR only for a limited period

Copyrights

All original works of authorship automatically have a copyright simply

by being created.

Copyright Law protects the published and the unpublished

Only protects the form in which something is laid out

Copyrights

Protection

of works

Protection

of ideas

JURISTCONSULT www.juristconsult.com

Mixed legal system

Best of both worlds…

Intellectual Property Office & The Police Force

Our Intellectual Property & Patent Legislation

Based on the

effective

Singaporean

Model

In Accordance

with

International

Standards

Locarno

Classification Nice

Classification

12

The Patents, Industrial Design and Trademark Act 2002

Copyrights Act 1997

Protection against Unfair Practices (Industrial Property Rights) Act 2002

Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits Act 2002

The Geographical Indications Act 2002

Strong links with the World Intellectual Property Organisation

Set up in 2003 under the 2002 Act

Main objectives: “A modern and well-enforced intellectual property system to be recognised as an important commercial asset and driving force as well as a crucial factor for national socio-economic and technological development.”

Mission: “To ascertain that effective protection of Industrial Property Rights creates a conducive environment for innovative and inventive activity as well as for an orderly exchange on goods and services in the market place”

Provides a full-on assistance to the general public

If you use someone else’s Intellectual Property without their permission, you may be

infringing their IP Rights…

Trademarks….

Patents….

Designs….

Copyrights….

Counterfeiting & Piracy

Passing Off

Registration, Licensing & Franchising Agreements between owners and third party

users

Complaints to the Intellectual Property Office

Mauritius Society of Authors

Copyrights Desk, via the Ministry of Arts & Culture

Anti-Piracy Unit of the Police Force & The Customs

Mediation- out of court settlements

Intellectual Property Tribunal

Under the jurisdiction of Mauritius in regards to applications and objections

Precedents have provided remedies such as:

Injunctions to restrain further infringement;

Destruction of infringing items

Delivery up of infringing articles

Damages

Account of profits

Border Control

There is an urgency for a better system for the protection of IP Rights

More awareness of the use of IP- a bigger economical impact

The need to understand the importance of guaranteeing IP Protection to foreign

investors

Ignorance is not an excuse for neither infringers nor for owners!

We are lagging behind when compared to other sectors

Index Global Rank (Mauritius)

Africa Rank (Mauritius)

International Property Rights Index 2012 65 out of 130 6 out of 24

The “Why?”

Our responsibility to understand and implement Intellectual Property under

all its forms in our society…

The legislations and the institutions have been set up…

Remedies for breaches are being catered for….

Let’s take note of the following:

“ Social progress comes from perfect protection of intellectual

property…” ~ Lawrence Lessig

THANK YOU

JURISTCONSULT www.juristconsult.com