Database

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MOROCCO

Since October 1999

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Participation in the Patent Cooperation Treaty
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Morocco is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Coverage Horizontal

MOROCCO

Since February 2000, last amended in February 2006

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Practical or legal restrictions related to the application process for patents
Industrial Property Law Law No. 17-97 of February 2000, last amended by Law No. 31-05 of February 14, 2006
Art. 4 of Law No. 17-97 on the protection of industrial property requires natural or legal persons who do not have a domicile or headquarters in Morocco or do not have an industrial or commercial establishment in Morocco, to elect an address for service with a representative domiciled or having his headquarters in Morocco who will effect on their behalf any acts before the body responsible for industrial property. However, resident nationals and foreigners habitually residing in Morocco, whether natural or legal persons, are at liberty to personally file their applications for an industrial property title, or use a representative at their discretion.
Coverage Horizontal

MOROCCO

Since August 2016

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Sub-pillar Nationality/residency requirement for directors or managers
Law No 88-13 relating to the press and publishing promulgated by Decree No. 1-16-122 of August 10, 2016
Pursuant to Art. 15 of the Law No. 88-13, any periodical writing, electronic journal or any other electronic medium of the press must have a director of publication and, in Art. 16 (1), it is required that the Publication Director should be of Moroccan nationality and domiciled in Morocco. The law also recognizes electronic newspapers as a part of press and publishing.
Coverage Online newspapers

MOROCCO

Since September 2020
Since 2013, last amended in 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Government Circular No. 15/2020 issued on 10 September 2020 calling for the application of the domestic preference and encouraging the use of made in Morocco products in public procurement

Decree No. 2-19-69 of May 24, 2019 amending and supplementing Decree No. 2-12-349 of March 20, 2013 relating to public procurement
Circular No. 15/2020 makes some provisions of Decree No. 2-19-69 mandatory. These are: Art. 155 that provides a margin of preference for domestic companies of 15%. When there is a joint venture arrangement comprising an international and domestic firm, the 15% margin is applicable only to the share of foreign companies in the overall amount of the group's offer. It is reported, while the possibility to grant national preference was already foreseen in earlier public procurement legislation (Decrees of 1998, 2007, and 2013), it was de facto rarely applied.
Moreover, Art. 156 that requires a reservation of 30% of the contracts for domestic SMEs, cooperatives, cooperative unions, and self-employed entrepreneurs, while previously it was 20%.
Coverage Horizontal

MOROCCO

N/A

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Signatory of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Lack of participation in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Morocco is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.
Coverage Horizontal

MOROCCO

Since September 2020

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Exclusion from public procurement
Government Circular No. 15/2020 issued on 10 September 2020 calling for the application of the domestic preference and encouraging the use of made in Morocco products in public procurement
Circular No. 15/2020 issues on 10 September 2020 calls for the application of the domestic preferences and encouraging sourcing of made-in Morocco products in public procurement by ministerial departments and public establishments.

Pursuant to the Circular, public entities are required to limit the use of supplies and services provided by foreign companies in order to encourage the consumption of Moroccan products. Moroccan public purchasers may however deviate from this requirement if no Moroccan product complies with the required technical specifications. Furthermore, the companies participating in public procurement contracts that intend to use foreign imported products should produce a certificate of proof that there are no national products that meet the required standards.
Coverage Horizontal

MOROCCO

N/A

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Sub-pillar Participation in the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Lack of participation in the ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
Morocco is a signatory of the ITA agreement I of 1996. The country is however not signatory to its expansion (ITA II) in 2015.
Coverage ICT goods
"SELECT DISTINCT(post_id) FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MA')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
[{"post_id":"57807"},{"post_id":"57808"},{"post_id":"57809"}]
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'impact' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MA')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MA')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
ITA: [{"meta_value":"0.50"}]

MOROCCO

ITA signatory? I II

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Sub-pillar Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
2.50%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
63.31%
Coverage: Digital goods

JAMAICA

Since 2006

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signature
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Jamaica has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

JAMAICA

Since 2000

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Jamaica has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

JAMAICA

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Ratification of the UN Convention of Electronic Communications
Lack of signature of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Jamaica has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Coverage Horizontal

JAMAICA

Since April 2007
Since 2005, last amended in 2012

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
The Electronic Transactions Act

The Consumer Protection Act
The Electronic Transactions Act and The Consumer Protection Act provide a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions
Coverage Horizontal

JAMAICA

Reported in 2021

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Threshold for ‘De Minimis’ rule
Low de minimis threshold
It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 20, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Coverage Horizontal

JAMAICA

N/A

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods, products and online services  |  Sub-pillar Self-certification for product safety
Lack of self-certification
It is reported that the market approval of products with radio technologies in Jamaica is granted by the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA). The SMA certification is a national certification scheme, which is based on the specifications of a Conformité Européenne (CE), marking according to the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification. However, it is reported that typically one sample of the product is required for approval requests in Jamaica.
Tests and certificates that have already been issued for CE marking and FCC certification can be reused for SMA certification. Type approval for Radio Communication equipment in Jamaica is done by recognition of type approval test reports which are prepared according to international standards. However, technical documents must be reviewed and validated by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica.
Coverage Cell phones, RFID equipment, Bluetooth devices, WiFi products, PSTN equipment

JAMAICA

Since April 2007

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbor for intermediaries for copyright infringement
The Electronic Transactions Act
Jamaica has a safe harbour regime in place for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 25 of The Electronic Transactions Act, an intermediary shall not be held liable in any civil or criminal proceedings for any information contained in an electronic document in respect of which the intermediary provides services if:
- the intermediary is not the originator of the document;
- it has no actual knowledge of the act or omission that gives rise to the civil or criminal liability, as the case may be, in respect of the document; and
- it has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances from which the likelihood of such civil or criminal liability ought reasonably to have been known.
Coverage Internet intermediaries