With regards to the terms of a notice published on the official ARIPO website on 17th May, 2020, Mozambique has acceded to the (ARIPO) Banjul Protocol on trademarks.
The notice states that, “the Government of the Republic of Mozambique deposited its Instrument of Accession to the Banjul Protocol on Marks with the Director General of ARIPO on 15 May 2020. In accordance with the provisions of the Protocol, the latter will enter into force, with respect to the Republic Mozambique, on 15 August, 2020. Pursuant to the above, with effect from 15 August 2020, Mozambique will be eligible for designation“.
In order to give effect to the above-mentioned accession, Mozambique has already enacted provisions on its Intellectual Property Code (Decree Nr. 47/2015 of 31 December 2015) to domesticate the Banjul Protocol on Trademarks, so as it can be immediately implemented when Mozambique becomes party to the protocol.
What does the Intellectual Property Code (Decree Nr. 47/2015 of 31 December 2015 provide for Regional Applications?
Regional registration
Section II of the IP Code deals with such registrations in Articles 142 – 153. With the exception of Article 153, the relevant articles do not specifically provide for registrations via ARIPO, but rather for “ …. regional treaties relating to the protection of intellectual property and to which Mozambique is a Contracting Party ….” in accordance with the Instruments of Accession (Article 142). However, as Article 153 specifically refers to ARIPO, hence it can be implied that the legislation was aimed at accession to the ARIPO regional system when drafted and published in 2015.
Declaration of Intention to Use (DIU)
Article 151 states that the provisions of the IP Code shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to regional registrations. Since it is mandatory requirement to file DIU, in Mozambique then it becomes clear that it will be essential to lodge Declarations of Intent to Use (“DIUs”) in Mozambique for the ARIPO registrations designating Mozambique, and to comply with all other formal requirements of the IP Code.
However, under Article 153, the time to lodge the DIU will be calculated from the date Mozambique registry is notified by ARIPO and not the date of application in ARIPO. Probably, this “date of notification” will be published in either the Mozambique IP Bulletin or relevant ARIPO notifications or registers.
Application language
According to Article 12(1) of the IP Code, all national applications under the Code must be submitted in Portuguese, however, Article 12(2) states that: “Regional and international applications shall be submitted in the official languages established by their respective implementing legal instruments or in the languages elected by Mozambique in the Act of Accession.”
The accession to the Banjul Protocol by the Republic of Mozambique brings the number of Member States party to the Protocol to eleven (11). Despite that, current applications through ARIPO will only designate 10 countries, and Mozambique designation in ARIPO trademark applications will only be valid from 15th August, 2020.
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