Government and private sector entities have met to review the new industrial property framework of Mauritius.
Representatives of the Economic Development Board, the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, as well as other institutions and associations from the private sector were part of the session.
The Industrial Property Act, adopted in August 2019, extends protection to industrial property rights currently covered under existing laws, namely, patents, trademarks and industrial designs. The law also protects new industrial property rights such as utility models, plant breeders’ rights, geographical indications and layout designs of integrated circuits.
The law also provides for the establishment of an empowered Industrial Property Office of Mauritius as well as an Intellectual Property Council so as to coordinate all matters relating to intellectual property at national level.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alan Ganoo announced that Mauritius has secured technical and financial assistance from the European Union (EU) to implement the main recommendations of the National Intellectual Property Development Plan, of which one of the main recommendations relates to the implementation of the new industrial property law.
In November 2021, a team of four intellectual property experts appointed by the EU was in Mauritius to build the capacity of local stakeholders. However, the training sessions had to be postponed due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country as well as the travel restrictions related to the pandemic.
The experts are expected back soon and will pursue the training from 31 January 2022 to 04 March 2022.
Mauritius has been selected as one of the six countries in Sub Saharan Africa to participate in the initial phase of the WIPO’s project entitled ‘Improvement of Intellectual Property and Innovation Ecosystems in Sub Saharan Africa’.
