MA - Morocco
Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)

Materials for the European Qualifying Examination (EQE)
Special edition as of 31 October 2023, prepared for EQE candidates

Useful information

The PCT Applicant’s Guide is updated almost every week with information received by the International Bureau.
In case of question, please contact the Office or the International Bureau (pct.guide@wipo.int).
List of abbreviations used in this document:
Office: Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)
Law: Law No 17-97 on the Protection of Industrial Property (as modified and completed by Law No 31-05 in 2006 and Law No 23-13 in 2014)
Decree: Decree No 2-14-316 amending and supplementing Decree No 2-00-368 implementing Law No 17-97 on the Protection of Industrial Property (as modified and completed by Law No 31-05 in 2006 and Law No 23-13 in 2014)
List of currencies used in this document:
CHF (Swiss franc), MAD (Moroccan dirham)
Countries and Offices information:
The list of acronyms used for Offices is no longer shown as it has been integrated in the mouseover functionality for each ST.3 code shown in this document.
Refer to List of WIPO Standards, Recommendations and Guidelines formerly Annex K, List of country names and two-letter codes. It includes a list of short names and two-letter codes accepted for use in indicating States, other entities and intergovernmental organizations and their Offices in documents relating to international applications under the PCT. The list is as set out in WIPO Standard ST.3.
Also refer to PCT Contracting States formerly Annex A.
Office profile
For more technical information about the Office, refer to ePCT Office profile.
PCT Reservations, Declarations, Notifications and Incompatibilities
The Office does not have any reservations, declarations, notifications or incompatibilities.
Refer to the full list.
Office Closed dates
The Office is closed weekly on Saturday and Sunday
Additional closed dates can be consulted on the Office Closed dates page

International Phase

Annex B - Information on Contracting States or Intergovernmental Organization

Contracting State:
Morocco
Two-letter code:
MA
Morocco - Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)
Name of Office:
Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)
Location:
Route de Nouasser
R.S. 114
Km 9,5-Sidi Maarouf
Casablanca
Morocco
Mailing address:
B.P. 8072
Casablanca Oasis
Casablanca
Morocco
Telephone:
(212-522) 58 64 00/10
E-mail:
For enquiries concerning PCT applications:
pct@ompic.ma
Website:
Facsimile:
(212-522) 33 54 80
Does the Office accept the filing of documents by facsimile or the like means (PCT Rule 92.4)?
No
Would the Office accept evidence of mailing a document, in case of loss or delay, where a delivery service other than the postal authorities is used (PCT Rule 82.1)?
No
Is the Office prepared to allow applicants to make applications available to the WIPO Digital Access Service for Priority Documents (DAS) (PCT Rule 17.1(b-bis)?
Yes, the Office is prepared to allow applicants to make international and national applications available to the WIPO DAS
Competent receiving Office(s) for international applications filed by nationals or residents of this State:
IB
International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - International Bureau of WIPO
, 
MA
Morocco - Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)
Does national legislation restrict the filing of international applications with foreign Offices?
Refer to the Office
Competent designated (or elected) Office(s) for this State:
Refer to corresponding National Phase.
MA
Morocco - Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC)
Types of protection available via the PCT:
National:
Patents
European:
Validation of European patents
Availability under the national law for an international-type search (PCT Article 15):
None
Provisional protection after international publication:
The applicant enjoys the rights defined in Law No. 17-97 on the Protection of Industrial Property (as modified and completed by Law No. 31-05 in 2006 and Law No. 23-13 in 2014 (refer to articles 16, 44 and 51) as from the date of publication of the international application under PCT Article 21
Information of interest if this Contracting State is designated (or elected)
Time when the name and address of the inventor must be given:
If the data concerning the inventor are not in the request, they must be furnished within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
Are there special provisions concerning the deposit of microorganisms and other biological material?
Yes, refer to Annex L.

Annex C - Receiving Office

Competent receiving Office for nationals and residents of:
Morocco
Language in which international applications may be filed:
If the language in which the international application is filed is not accepted by the International Searching Authority (refer to Annex D), the applicant will have to furnish a translation (PCT Rule 12.3).
French
Language accepted for language-dependent free text in the sequence listing:
Same as above
Language in which the request may be filed:
French
Number of copies required by the receiving Office if application filed on paper:
1
Does the receiving Office accept the filing of international applications in electronic form?
Yes, the Office accepts electronic filing via ePCT-Filing
For the relevant notification by the Office, refer to the Official Notices (PCT Gazette) dated 6 April 2017, pages 63 et seq. and 10 November 2022, page 300.
Where the international application is filed in electronic form in accordance with and to the extent provided for in Part 7 and Annex F of the Administrative Instructions, the total amount of the international filing fee is reduced (refer to “Fees payable to the receiving Office”).
Where the international application contains a sequence listing as a separate part of the description, this must be furnished in accordance with Annex C of the Administrative Instructions, that is, in compliance with WIPO Standard ST.26 XML format; no fees are due for sequence listings filed in this format.
Does the receiving Office accept requests for restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 26bis.3)?
Yes, please refer to the Office for the applicable criteria for such requests
Competent International Searching Authority:
AT
Austria - Austrian Patent Office
, 
EP
European Patent Organisation - European Patent Office (EPO)
, 
RU
Russian Federation - Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) (Russian Federation)
, 
SE
Sweden - Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV)
Competent International Preliminary Examining Authority:
AT
Austria - Austrian Patent Office
, 
EP
European Patent Organisation - European Patent Office (EPO)
1, 
RU
Russian Federation - Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) (Russian Federation)
, 
SE
Sweden - Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV)
Fees payable to the receiving Office:
Transmittal fee:
None
International filing fee:
1,330 CHF
This fee is reduced by 90% if certain conditions apply (refer to Annex C(IB)).
Fee per sheet in excess of 30:
15 CHF
Reductions (under Schedule of Fees, item 4):
Electronic filing (the request in character coded format):
200 CHF
Electronic filing (the request, description, claims and abstract in character coded format):
300 CHF
Search fee:
Refer to
Annex D(AT)
Annex D(EP)
Annex D(RU)
Annex D(SE)
Fee for priority document (PCT Rule 17.1(b)):
None
Fee for requesting restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 26bis.3(d)):
None
Is an agent required by the receiving Office?
Yes, if the applicant is a legal person, or a natural person not resident in Morocco
Who can act as agent?
Any natural or legal person resident in Morocco
Waiver of power of attorney:
Has the Office waived the requirement that a separate power of attorney be submitted?
Refer to the Office
Has the Office waived the requirement that a copy of a general power of attorney be submitted?
Refer to the Office

Annex L - Deposits of Microorganisms and Other Biological Material

Requirements of designated and elected Offices
Only Offices whose applicable national law contains provisions concerning the deposits of microorganisms and other biological material are listed in Annex L. Unless otherwise indicated, deposits may be made for the purposes of patent procedure before these Offices with any depositary institution having acquired the status of international depositary authority under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure.
For a list of these institutions refer to:
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/registration/budapest/pdf/idalist.pdf
Notifications related thereto may be consulted under:
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/registration/budapest/
Further information concerning the requirements of international depository authorities under the Budapest Treaty is available at:
http://www.wipo.int/budapest/en/guide/index.html
Time (if any) earlier than 16 months from priority date by which applicant must furnish:
— the indications prescribed in Rule 13bis.3(a)(i) to (iii):
At the time of filing (must be in the description)
— any additional indications:
At the time of filing
Additional indications (if any) which must be given besides those prescribed in Rule 13bis.3(a)(i) to (iii) pursuant to notifications from the Office:
To the extent available to the applicant, relevant information on the characteristics of the microorganism
Additional information
Deposits of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure before the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC) must be made before the filing date of the international application with any depositary institution having acquired the status of international depositary authority under the Budapest Treaty on the Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (Art. 34 of Law No. 17-97 on the Protection of Industrial Property as amended by Law Nos. 23-13 and 31-05).

National Phase

Summary of requirements for entry into the national phase

Time limits applicable for entry into the national phase:
Under PCT Article 22(3): 31 months from the priority date
Under PCT Article 39(1)(b): 31 months from the priority date
Translation of international application required into (one of) the following language(s):
Must be furnished or paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
Arabic, 
French
Required contents of the translation for entry into the national phase:
Must be furnished or paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
Under PCT Article 22: Description, claims (if amended, as originally filed and as amended, together with any statement under PCT Article 19), any text matter of drawings, abstract
Under PCT Article 39(1): Description, claims, any text matter of drawings, abstract (if any of those parts has been amended, both as originally filed and as amended by the annexes to the international preliminary examination report)
Is a copy of the international application required in particular circumstances?
The applicant should only send a copy of the international application if he/she has not received Form PCT/IB/308 and the Office has not received a copy of the international application from the International Bureau under PCT Article 20. This may be the case where the applicant expressly requests an earlier start of the national phase under PCT Article 23(2).
National fees:
The complete list of the Office’s national fees is available at:
http://www.ompic.ma/en/content/patent/tariffs
Fees are subject to value added tax (VAT) of 20%
The amount in parentheses is applicable to applications filed online. For further information on the online filing of patent applications with the Office, please contact the Office at: pct@ompic.ma
Filing fee
1,000 MAD
(750 MAD)
500 MAD 2
(250 MAD) 2
Must be furnished or paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
Publication fee
1,000 MAD
(750 MAD)
500 MAD 2
(250 MAD) 2
Must be furnished or paid within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1).
Additional fee for publication of claims in excess of 10
per claim 400 MAD
per claim 160 MAD 2
Fee for establishment of the search report with opinion on patentability
8,000 MAD
(6,000 MAD)
4,000 MAD 2
(2,000 MAD) 2
Exemptions, reductions or refunds of fees:
Refer to Summary and Annex MA.I
Special requirements of the Office (PCT Rule 51bis):
If not already complied with within the time limit applicable under PCT Article 22 or 39(1), the Office will invite the applicant to comply with the requirement within a time limit fixed in the invitation.
Appointment of an agent if the applicant is not resident in Morocco
Instrument of assignment of the international application if the applicant has changed after the international filing date
Document evidencing a change of name of the applicant if the change occurred after the international filing date and has not been reflected in a notification from the International Bureau (Form PCT/IB/306)
Who can act as agent?
Any natural or legal person resident in Morocco
Does the Office accept requests for restoration of the right of priority (PCT Rule 49ter.2)?
Yes, please refer to the Office for the applicable criteria and/or any fee payable for such requests

The procedure in the national Phase

MA.01 FORM FOR ENTERING THE NATIONAL PHASE
The Office has available a form for filing a patent application (Form B1) that can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.ompic.ma/fr/content/formulaires-brevets-invention (refer to Annex MA.II).
MA.02 MINIMUM FILE REQUIREMENTS FOR NATIONAL PHASE ENTRY
Law Art. No. 30, Law Art. No. 31, Law Art. No. 32, Law Art. No. 8 (par. 2), Decree Art. No. 4
Applicants can use the completed form for filing a patent application (Form B1) to enter the national phase before the Office. Where, at the time of entry into the national phase, one or more of the documents to be submitted together with the form are missing from the patent application file, the applicant or agent has a period of three months from the date of entry into the national phase to bring the file into conformity with the requirements. Payment of the patent filing and search fees must be made within a period of one month from the date of entry into the national phase. If one of the above-mentioned deadlines is not met, the patent application is considered to be withdrawn. In that case, the applicant or agent may file a request for continuation of proceedings within a period of two months (refer to paragraph MA.13).
MA.03. LANGUAGE OF PROCEEDINGS
Decree Art. No. 2
The language of proceedings is Arabic or French.
MA.04 TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION
Decree Art. No. 5
A translation of the description will be required if the patent application was filed in a language other than the working languages of the Office. This translation must be furnished within a period of three months from the date of entry into the national phase.
MA.05 CORRECTION OF ERRORS
Law Art. No. 39
Prior to the granting of the patent and on the basis of a substantiated request, the applicant or agent may request the correction of linguistic or transcription errors, as well as clerical errors in the documents filed. Where the request for correction relates to the description, the claims or the drawings, this correction is only admissible if it is obvious, and no other text or line could possibly have been intended by the applicant. A request for correction is filed using the form for correction of linguistic errors, transcription errors or clerical errors (Form B2), which can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.ompic.ma/fr/content/formulaires-brevets-invention (refer to Annex MA.III).
MA.06 REPRESENTATION
Law Art. No. 4
Any applicant who is a legal or natural person not resident in Morocco must be represented by an agent having their residence or place of business in Morocco. A power of attorney must be furnished, except if the agent is included in the list of patent attorneys maintained by the Office: http://www.ompic.ma/sites/default/files/NOTEINFORMATIONN52017.pdf except for operations relating to the termination or transmission of rights, which require a power of attorney.
MA.07 DEED OF ASSIGNMENT
PCT Rule 51bis.1, PCT Rule 51bis.2
Where the patent application entering the national phase is filed by an applicant other than the one who filed the international application, a deed of assignment of the international application must be furnished, or, as the case may be, a justification of the applicant’s change of name must be furnished if this change has not been reflected in a communication from the International Bureau (Form PCT/IB/306).
MA.08 INFORMATION ON EARLIER APPLICATIONS
Law Art. No. 8
Pursuant to Article No. 8 of the Law, an applicant wishing to claim a priority must include on Form B1, at the time of filing of the patent application, the information relating to the priority by indicating: i) the earlier filing date, ii) the number of the earlier application and iii) the country of origin of this filing.
MA.09 EXAMINATION
Law Art. No. 43
If the formal requirements to be fulfilled by a patent application are met, the Office establishes a preliminary search report, together with an opinion on the patentability of said application, based on the claims and taking into account the description and drawings, if any, in order to determine whether the invention meets the requirements of patentability. The report is then communicated to the applicant or agent, who has a period of three months from the date of communication to respond, if necessary (refer to paragraph MA.10).
Law Art. No. 44
Any patent application that has not been rejected or withdrawn is published in the publication server of the Office.
Law Art. No. 14.3
Within two months from the publication date of said patent application, third party observations may be submitted to the Office. These observations may bear on the criteria required for the patent to be valid. The Office communicates these without delay to the applicant or agent, who has a period of two months to respond, if necessary.
Law Art. No. 43.2
A final search report is established on the basis of the preliminary search report and taking into account, where applicable, the final set of claims filed (refer to paragraph MA.10 below), any observations filed by the applicant in support of the remaining claims and any third party observations.
Law Art. No. 41
Where there are no reasons for rejection under Article 41 in respect of all or some of the claims, the patent is granted for the claims in full or in part and is published under the category B1 in the publication server of the Office: http://www.patent.ompic.ma/. If this is not the case, a substantiated partial or total rejection of the patent application is issued in respect of the claims containing one of the reasons for rejection under Article 41, and the applicant or agent is informed of the rejection decision.
Law Art. No. 14.2
Within two months from the date of communication of a rejection decision taken by the Office, the applicant or agent may submit observations against this decision (Form ODR, refer to Annex MA.IV) if they have arguments that might change the examiner’s opinion. If the observations submitted are of such a nature as to change the rejection decision, a new decision is established in the light of said observations.
MA.10 AMENDMENT OF THE PATENT APPLICATION
Law Art. No. 43.1
When the preliminary search report and the opinion on patentability are established, they are promptly communicated to the applicant or agent, together with the final title and abstract of the invention. The applicant has a period of three months as of the date of communication of the preliminary search report and the opinion on patentability to amend the claims or submit observations in support of the remaining claims, as the case may be (Form B10, refer to Annex MA.V).
The claims cannot be amended in such a way that they extend the subject matter of the invention beyond the content of the application as originally filed.
MA.11 ABSENCE OF UNITY OF INVENTION
Law Art. No. 38.1, Law Art. No. 38.2
If the application does not meet the requirement of unity of invention (Article No. 38 of the Law), the applicant or agent may, on their own initiative or when invited to do so by the Office, divide or limit the originally-filed patent application if it has not been rejected, withdrawn or granted. A divisional application can only be filed for features that do not extend beyond the content of the application as originally filed.
MA.12 ANNUAL FEES
Law Art. No. 82
Renewal fees for a patent application must be paid to the Office for the years following that in which the patent has been granted. The owner of a patent who has not paid the renewal fees within the prescribed time limit may incur the loss of his rights. However, the fees may validly be paid within a further six-month period as of the date of expiry of the time limit; in this case, a surcharge is added for each month of delay in payment (refer to Annex MA.I).
If the renewal fees have not been paid by the end of the additional six-month period, the owner of a patent loses his rights, and a written and substantiated decision of the Office as to the loss of rights is communicated to the owner of the patent or the agent.
MA.13 EXCUSE OF DELAYS IN MEETING TIME LIMITS
PCT Article 48.2, PCT Rule 82bis, Law Art. No. 14.1, Decree Art. No. 3.1
Where the time limits for performing certain operations relating to entry into the national phase have not been observed, a request for the continuation of the procedure relating to said operations may be submitted by the applicant or agent to the Office within a period of two months from the date of expiry of said time limits, provided the fees are paid. When this time limit expires, if no request for the continuation of the procedure is submitted to the Office, a request for the reinstatement of rights can be envisaged, if necessary.
Law Art. No. 84, Decree Art. No. 42
The owner of a patent may, within a period of three months from the date of communication of the loss of rights decision (refer to paragraph MA.12), submit an appeal to the Office for the reinstatement of his rights, if there were legitimate grounds for the failure to pay the renewal rights for the patent.
MA.14 REVIEW UNDER PCT ARTICLE 25
PCT Article 25, PCT Rule 51
The applicable procedure is set forth in paragraphs 6.018 to 6.021 of the national phase.

Annexes

Annex MA.I - Fees
Fees are subject to a value added tax (VAT) of 20%
The complete list of the Office’s national fees is available at:
http://www.ompic.ma/en/content/patent/tariffs
The amount in parentheses is applicable to applications filed online. For further information on online filing of patent applications with the Office, please contact the Office at pct@ompic.ma
Filing fee
1,000 MAD
(750 MAD)
500 MAD 2
(250 MAD) 2
Publication fee
1,000 MAD
(750 MAD)
500 MAD 2
(250 MAD) 2
Additional fee for publication of claim(s) in excess of 10, per claim
400 MAD
160 MAD 2
Fee for establishment of the search report with opinion on patentability
8,000 MAD
(6,000 MAD)
4,000 MAD 2
(2,000 MAD) 2
Grant fee
4,000 MAD
(3,000 MAD)
2,000 MAD 2
(1,000 MAD) 2
Fee for issuing a patent of invention with the contents of the patent in paper format
4,000 MAD
plus, per page 10 MAD
(3,000 MAD)
2,000 MAD 2
(1,000 MAD) 2
Annual fees:
— from the 2nd to the 5th year
per year 1,000 MAD
per year 250 MAD 2
— for the 6th year
1,600 MAD
400 MAD 2
— for the 7th year
2,000 MAD
500 MAD 2
— for the 8th year
2,400 MAD
600 MAD 2
— for the 9th year
2,800 MAD
700 MAD 2
— for the 10th year
4,000 MAD
1,000 MAD 2
— from the 11th to the 15th year
per year 6,000 MAD
per year 1,500 MAD 2
— from the 16th to the 20th year
per year 10,000 MAD
per year 2,500 MAD 2
Fee for request for restoration or extension of the term of protection
2,000 MAD
500 MAD 2
Fee for extension of the protection period
40,000 MAD
10,000 MAD 2
Late payment fee for the payment of the fees due in respect of each year (patent annuities) per month of delay incurred
25% of the amount of the annual fee
with a minimum of 240 MAD
Fee for restoration
100% of the annual fee due in addition
to the amount of the late payment fee
Fee for request for further processing and the like
50% of the amount due for the proceedings which
are the subject of the request for further processing
How can payment of fees be effected?
The payment of fees shall be effected in Moroccan dirhams. All payments must indicate the application number (national, if already known; international, if the national application number is not yet known), the name of the applicant and the category of fee being paid
The payment of fees may be effected in cash or by check
Forms
Notes:
1 a The Office is competent only if the international search is or has been carried out by that Office, by the Austrian Patent Office or by the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV).
2 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | This amount is applicable to very small enterprises, small or medium enterprises (in accordance with the criteria of the SME charter), natural persons, self-entrepreneurs, craftsmen, universities, educational establishments and institutions with a research or development mission (public establishments, foundations, research centers and associations), whether national or foreign.
Special edition as of 31 October 2023, prepared for EQE candidates printed on 31 Oct 2024
2.0 #62 - 2024-08-16T14:11:11.727+02:00