model

As an artist, you may wish to register the design or model of your creation in any type of sector: design, fashion, art, etc. The deposit of a design provides you with additional protection from that of the right to author, and allows you to take action against any competitor who may have infringed your design, thereby causing you harm. But its registration is justified above all to protect an exceptional creation or one promised to a lasting success or one of its elements. Its counterfeit will still be difficult to spot, as the market abounds with an endless number of styles.

Creators therefore rely a lot on the names under which their creations are sold, because these are mentioned directly on their products and often protected by trademark law. In addition to making it easier to detect reproductions, they also have the advantage of orienting the consumer.

The conditions of protection

These designs must be new, visible, and have their own character, in order to claim legal protection.
It must be new, i.e. a design must not be identical to a design and / or model disclosed to the public, prior to the filing date of the application for registration or the priority date claimed. So in order to be new, a design must differ in not insignificant details.

Who can deposit?

Any natural or legal person, having a domicile or an industrial or commercial establishment in Morocco, can file an application for registration of an industrial design. People who do not meet this condition can elect domicile with an agent domiciled or having its registered office in Morocco.

Where to drop off?

• At OMPIC headquarters in Casablanca.
• From one of the regional branches spread over the national territory.
• At the level of dedicated service areas with the Casablanca Chamber of Commerce or the French Chamber of Commerce in Casablanca.

When to drop off?

The acquisition of the right to an industrial design is conditional on its registration. However, the filing must precede any public disclosure or exploitation. The owner can thus protect himself against counterfeiting and assert his rights before third parties.

Publication of the registration request:

The registration of an industrial design is effective for 5 years from the date of filing. It can be renewed for four new consecutive 5-year periods. Protection is embodied by the issuance of a registration certificate. But the process doesn’t end there. The holder must ensure that his rights are maintained and all information concerning his designs is updated in the national register. The design has its own character when the overall visual impression which it gives to the informed observer differs from that produced by any design disclosed before the date of filing of the application for registration or before the date. priority claimed. The judges have a sovereign appreciation of this criterion, taking into account the creative freedom of the author in the elaboration of the design.

Our intellectual property advice may prove to be essential to make your design filings at national, community and / or international level, In fact, we will first study all the prior art so that you hold a title. valid industrial property and that your creations are protected.

By Fatim Zahra TAHIRI