Mauritius Accedes to PCT

On 21 December 2022, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) gave notice of the deposit by the Government of the Republic of Mauritius of its instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on December 15, 2022. By doing so, Mauritius has become the 157th Contracting State of the PCT.

The Treaty will enter into force, with respect to the Republic of Mauritius, on March 15, 2023. Consequently, any international application filed on or after 15 March 2023 will automatically include the designation of Mauritius.

The Mauritian Industrial Property Act 2019, which came into force in February 2022, already includes provisions recognising applications filed via the PCT route. As such, going forward it will be possible for applicants to enter the PCT national phase in Mauritius, provided the international filing date occurs after 15 March 2023.

Until now, Mauritius was one of the few countries in Africa which had not joined the PCT. This is a positive development and brings Mauritius’ IP laws in line with international standards. Furthermore, applicants seeking patent protection now have greater flexibility when considering their filing strategy in Africa.

Source: WIPO Treaty Notification December 21, 2022, PCT Notification No. 223