Morocco – Memorandum of Understanding with the European Patent Office of the Cooperative Patent Classification
Following a meeting between the Director-General of the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC) and the President of European Patent Office (EPO), on 22 September 2021, the two offices signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC).
In terms of the MoU concluded, OMPIC has agreed to classify patent technical documents using the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC). With OMPIC’s adoption of the CPC, the EPO reports that there are now 31 intellectual property offices that have adopted and currently use the classification. The CPC is revered for its detailed classification which facilitates and simplifies searches for existing inventions and access to patent documentation.
The MoU between the two offices is seen as a continuation of their well-established cooperation. In addition to the MoU on the CPC, OMPIC and EPO concluded the EPO validation agreement in 2015, which allows for the validation of European patents in Morocco, through a simplified and co-effective process, in terms of the relevant Moroccan legislation.
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