Maghreb region: Lands of plenty
The Maghreb region of North Africa, known for its touristic and historic sites, along with its proximity to Europe, has been experiencing its own industrial revolution over the past several years. From west to east, the region includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
With a total population in excess of 90 million, the Maghreb region has attracted its share of business and development. Algeria and Morocco account for the majority of this market with populations of 40 million and 35 million, respectively.
Tunisia, a much smaller country in land size, has a population of over 11 million. Finally, Libya, despite its massive land size, has a very small population—about six million. This is primarily due to the political situation and instability in the country for decades.
Libya’s patent system is based on a law that was published in 1959 and not amended or ratified since, despite the country’s accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2005. There is certainly a lot of work to be done in Libya, which may create the right opportunities in the future.
The focus of this article will be on the three other countries: Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. These three countries share a common history, cultural heritage, and language.
Algeria
Algeria is rich in natural resources including phosphates, uranium, and lead, but the economy’s backbone is oil and gas. Algeria has the tenth-largest proven reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks 16th in proven oil reserves. Following the decline in oil prices in recent years, the government took numerous steps to encourage the development of many domestic industries and to migrate away from state-owned companies.
Until a few years ago, the patent system in Algeria was a system of grant only. Applications were filed claiming a 12-month Convention priority, or within the 31-month deadline (chapters I & II), for international PCT national stage entries. Within six to 12 months, but no less than 18 months from the earliest claimed priority, the patent applications were granted and published.
Recently, Algeria’s patent office began performing substantive examination, which is essentially based on the International Search Report.
Even if the examination report objects to the unity of the invention, it is not possible to file a divisional application and only one subject matter may be pursued. Any amendments submitted in response to the examination report are kept pending until further notice, or until this provision in the law is revised.
