How To File A Declaration Of Intention Of Use In Mozambique

Mozambique's Intellectual Property Code dated December 31, 2015, established that the filing of a Declaration of Intention of Use (DIU) is mandatory regarding trademark registrations in Mozambique. It is important to underline that this obligation is only applicable to trademarks, but not to other distinctive trade signs.

In other Portuguese speaking jurisdictions, such as Portugal or Angola, the DIU system has been replaced, over time, by the obligation of the use of the trademark by its owner, for the products/services it covers. The DIU's main purpose is to ensure the maintenance of an exclusive right, regardless if it is used or not.

Such system allows the holding of an exclusive right over a trademark, preventing others from using and registering similar trademarks, even if the trademark is not being used. The obligation of using the trademark opposes this system, as it prevents someone to ad aeternum hold the right over a trademark, without using it, as it allows other interested parts to cancel the registration of the owner, if said trademark is not used effectively.

The DIU system allows someone to hold exclusivity over a trademark, regardless of its use, preventing third parties to oppose to the maintenance of this right.

Even though its mandatory to file the DIU, there is no automatic, direct consequence to the trademark registration should this document not be filed. Nonetheless, a trademark for which the DIU has not been filled may lapse, if a lapse application is filed before the IPO - Intellectual Property Office of Mozambique, by a third interested party.

The existence of previous similar trademarks is an obstacle to the granting of a similar trademark application, in two different stages of the registration procedure.

To begin with, the owner of the first registered trademark may oppose to the application of a similar trademark, if said owner considers that there is a similarity and, therefore, a likelihood of confusion with the previously registered trademark.

Additionally, even if there are no oppositions, the IPO may still issue a provisional refusal of the trademark application after conducting a prior trademark search.

In both cases, should the DIU of the prior trademark, which constitutes an obstacle to the granting of the application, not have been filed, proceeding with a lapse application is the most effective way to guarantee the granting of the trademark application.

The filing of the DIU is, therefore, extremely...