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| Thirty courtesy of Markussipiske, Pixabay |
Mozambique’s new Industrial Property Code came into force on
March 31. Afro-Leo was busy hunting to hibernate for the winter; oh wait, that's bears... Anyway, Afro-Leo is sometimes a little behind, but that doesn't change a thing about the new IP Code for Mozambique. This law replaces both the Industrial
Property Code of 2006 and Decree no. 47/2015 on Appellations of Origin and
Geographical Indications.
Unfortunately, the law is currently only available in Portuguese, which is not one of the languages in this dilettante's collection. With the help of Google Translate and a few write-ups on the law, Little Leo was able to work out that many of the changes are procedure and deadline
changes.
General observation: when in doubt, assume the deadline is 30 days. The time period for submitting outstanding information on an application was increased to 30 days from 15 days. (Article 11.) The time for the new ability to appeal provisional refusals is 30 days. (Article 18.) -- It is now possible to receive a provisional
refusal and provide additional documentation to address the grounds for refusal
for patents, utility models, industrial designs and trademarks. (Articles 104, 70, 115 and 132, respectively.)
The trademark opposition period has been lowered to 30 days. (Articles 130, 159 and 197.) There is a new opposition period for industrial designs, which gives 30 days in which to file an opposition(Article 113.) The timeframe for filing patent oppositions, however, is still 60 days from publication in the Bulletin of Industrial Property. (Article 68.)
There is also a new appeal process, with a 30-day deadline for filing, beyond
the Industrial Property Institute itself; rejections may be contested to the
Minister of Industry and Commerce and from there to the Administrative Tribunal. (Articles 19 and 20). The IP Bulletin will now be published
monthly, which is nearly every 30 days, so it sticks with the pattern. (Article 239)
