Mauritius Intellectual Property & Trademark service

In Mauritius, the legal basis is the Trademark Law of January 1st 2003.

A trademark is a sign which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings and which is also capable of being represented graphically. They may consist of words, designs, letters, numerals or the shapes of goods. A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods/services, or to authorize another to use it in return for payment.

How to register trademark in Mauritius

1. Any application to register a trademark shall be made on the prescribed form available at the Industrial Property Office in Mauritius.
2. Carry out a search before applying to the register trademark to find out whether your trademark is already being used or has been registered as a company or domain name by someone else.
3. In the application form, we need to provide a clear reproduction of the mark in the space provided for under the heading “Representation of the mark”. Attach three additional reproductions (4 identical reproductions in all).
4. Clearly identify any figurative element and the correct title of the mark. An application consisting of a foreign word shall be accompanied by a transliteration and/or translation of such word, stating the language to which it belongs.
5. At the same time of filing the application for registration, a declaration claiming priority shall be made by the applicant. It must clearly indicate the date and number of the earlier application, the State in which the earlier application was filed. In case the earlier application is a Regional or an International application, the Office or State for which it was filed has to submit a certified copy of the earlier application within 3 months from the date of the application.
6. The goods/services shall be clearly and correctly listed under the Nice Classification for the International Registration of Goods and Services.
7. According to Section 49 of the Act, where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Mauritius, he shall be represented by a legal practitioner residing and practicing in Mauritius or an approved agent. A Power of Attorney appointing an approved Agent or Legal Practitioner shall be registered with the Registrar General, and shall be filed together with the application within 2 months from its filing date. This Power of Attorney need to be notarized or Apostilled.
8. After registration, the trademark is published in the official gazette. The opposition period is 3 months from publication of the trademark application.
9. It takes between 6 to 8 months to obtain a registration for a trademark in the normal course of action in Mauritius.

Renew of Mauritius trademark registration

• A trademark registration in Mauritius is valid for 10 years, and it can be renewable for periods of 10 years.