– Industrial Property Law No. 17-97 (Dahir of 15/2/2000), in force since December 18, 2004, amended by Act 31-05 of February 20, 2006.
– Decree of June 7, 2004, published June 17, 2004.
– Law No. 10-12 approving the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, published in the Official Bulletin No. 6140 dated April 4, 2013.
– Law No. 49-12 approving the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs of October 8, 1968, as amended on September 28, 1979, published in the Official Bulletin No. 6166 of July 4, 2013.
– Industrial Property Law No. 23-13 (Dahir of 21/11/2014), in force since December 18, 2014.
– Regulations for implementing Law No. 23-13, in force since January 15, 2015.

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since July 27, 1971.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Stockholm Act since October 13, 1999, and Geneva Act since July 22, 2022.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since August 14, 2016.
– Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, since July 22, 2022.

Protection: the property of a design or model belongs to the author, the first applicant being regarded as the author until the contrary is proved.

Resident representative: applicants not living in Morocco must appoint a resident industrial property attorney registered by OMPIC.

Territory covered: IP protection covers the whole Moroccan territory.

Kinds of designs and models: any new design, new shape or industrial object, differing from similar ones either by a distinct and recognizable configuration giving the character of novelty, or by a single (or several) outward aspect giving a distinctive and new appearance.

Novelty: required.

Series applications: possible. One deposit may include up to one hundred designs or models belonging to the same Locarno class, numbered from first to last.

Examination: formal and substantive examination. 

Divisions: possible at any time before registration. Divisional applications benefit from the same filing date (or priority date, if any) as the original application. 

Publication: within six months. Possibility of deferment of the publication for a maximum period of eighteen months.

Delivery of document: the registration certificate is issued in electronic format.

Duration: five years from the filing date.

Renewals: possible for four consecutive five-year periods to be requested within six months before the end of the validity period. Grace period: six months.

Claiming of priority: priority must be claimed at the time of filing (priority documents to be submitted within four months).

Cancellation: must be instituted before a court.

Assignment – license: should be recorded in order to be effective against third parties.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. 3 samples of a graphic reproduction or photographs.

Grace period for filing missing documents: three months.  

Note: a power of attorney is no longer required for filing an application.

Electronic filing: available.