Algeria

Patent protection is obtainable by way of a national application, in appropriate circumstances claiming convention priority, or by way of an international application under the PCT. Certificates of addition may be obtained for improvements, and divisional patents may be obtained.

Inventions that are new, that result from inventive activity and that are capable of industrial application may be protected by a patent. An invention may involve a product or a method.

The following are not considered to be inventions:

• scientific principles, theories and discoveries as well as mathematical methods
• plans, principles or methods to perform purely intellectual or entertaining actions
• teaching, organisation, administration or managing systems and methods
• methods of treatment of humans or animals by surgery or therapy as well as diagnostic methods
• presentation of information
• creations having a purely ornamental or decorative character
• computer software. plant varieties or animal species
• biological processes for obtaining plants or animals (with the exception of microbiological processes and products obtained thereby)
• inventions detrimental to the health and life of people, animals or plants, or a threat to the environment
• inventions contrary to morality or public order.

Absolute novelty is required.  An  invention is considered new if it is not included in the state of the art. This includes all information made available to the public in any way and anywhere in the world. This means that the invention must not have been disclosed by written or oral description, use or any other means before the filing date or priority date.

An application is subjected to formal examination and limited substantive examination.. If the Patent Office refuses to accept the application, the applicant has two months to respond. An appeal against a decision by the Registrar of Patents may be made by way of a petition to a competent court.

If it is found that the application entails more than one invention, one or more divisional applications may be filed.

A patent is valid for 20 years from the date of application. Maintenance fees are payable in advance, the first fee being payable upon filing and annually thereafter as from the filing date.

The following works, if they are original, qualify for copyright protection, namely intellectual works of a literary or artistic nature, regardless of the underlying purpose of their creation or the manner of expression. These include the following:

• Literary works, including written works (such as novels, poems, research reports, computer software) and oral works (such as lectures, speeches)
• Theatre plays, drama, musical and rhythmic works
• Artistic works
• Musical works
• Cinematographic and audio-visual works
• Works of applied art (such as drawings, paintings, sculpture)
• Drawings, diagrams, geometrical models, architecture
• Charts, maps, drawings related to topography, geography, science
• Photographic works
• Translations and adaptations of original musical, literary or artistic works
• Broadcasting works
• Collections of works, collections of traditional cultural heritage, collections of databases
• Clothing innovations.

Also protected are derivative works namely:

• Translations and adaptations of works
• Collections of works, collections of traditional cultural databases.

Works of traditional cultural heritage also enjoy special protection, including:

• Traditional musical works and songs
• Anecdotes, poems, folklore and dances
• Works of popular arts, such as drawings, sculptures, carvings, pottery
• Handcrafts of metal, wood, basket, textiles, jewellery.

Protection in general does not extend to ideas, concepts, principles, techniques or working procedures. Official documents also do not enjoy copyright, such as administrative laws, regulations, administrative contracts, justice rulings, etc.

Works referred to as State works, which are legally made available to the public, may be used freely subject to maintaining the integrity of the work and acknowledging the source. Such works include works produced by State institutions and public entities of an administrative nature.

There is no provision for the registration of copyright.

Protection under the copyright law generally endures for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years. However, the Ordinance provides for many exceptions when the protection will be only 50 years and when the 50-year period commences on the date that the material is first published.

Design protection may be obtained by way of a national filing. Since Algeria is a member of the Paris Convention, priority may be claimed.

Industrial designs comprise the following:

• an arrangement of colours or lines which gives a distinctive appearance to an industrial or handicraft object
• any three-dimensional configuration of an industrial or handicraft article which may be used as a model for the manufacture of replicas and which is distinguishable by reason of its configuration
• layout designs (topography), being three-dimensional arrangements, in whatever form, for the elements and connections of integrated circuits.

A design is new if it has not been created previously. Prior publication does not destroy novelty. Novelty is also not destroyed by exhibition at an officially recognised exhibition, provided the application is filed within six months.

Examination takes place as to formal requirements only.

An accepted application will not be published and will be kept secret, unless the proprietor requests otherwise. Generally an application will be published after expiry of the first year, at which time a notice of acceptance is published in the Official Gazette and the certificate of registration will be issued.

Designs have a term of ten years from the date of application. The term is divided into a first period of one year (during which the design remains secret), and a second period of nine years (when a renewal fee is payable and the design becomes open to public inspection).