JEE Africa IP Practice: Algeria

Algeria is a member of the

• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

•  The Patent Cooperation Treaty

• The Patent Law Treaty.

• The Madrid Agreement.

Provision is made for the registration of trade marks for goods and for services, and for collective marks. No express provision is made for defensive marks.

Types of trademarks:
Service marks are registrable. Multi class applications are acceptable. No provision for defensive marks.

Documents required for trademark registration

• A simply signed Power of Attorney in French;

• Prints of the mark

• Specification of goods in French translation

• Details of home registration (if any);

• Full details of the applicant

• Certified copy of Priority document to be submitted within six months from date of application(if applicable)

Renewals

• Valid for an initial period of 10 years counting from the date of filing

• Renewable every 10 years

• Grace period of 6 months allowed for late renewal upon payment of a fine.

Documents Required for Assignment Applications

• Simply signed power of attorney by the assignee

• A duly legalized deed of assignment signed by the assignor and the assignee

Change of Address/Name Applications

• A simply signed power of attorney

• A legalized certificate of change of name or address

License Applications

• A simply signed power of attorney by the licensee

• A legalized license agreement executed by both parties

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.

NON-PCT Applications

• Simply signed power of attorney, along with an Arabic translation

• Specifications, claims and abstract in French and Arabic

• Formal drawings

• Priority document with verified French Translation

• Assignment of Priority rights

National Phase PCT Application

• Simply signed power of attorney, along with an Arabic translation

• Arabic translation of the International Search Report

• International Examination Report

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

Filing Requirements

• Power of Attorney (simply signed) (can be late filed within two months).

• Drawings or photographs of the design or two specimens of the design (required on the day of filing).

• Certified copy of priority document with verified French translation, if priority claimed (can be late filed within two months from filing).

• Assignment (can be late filed within two months).

Duration and Renewal
The total duration of a design registration is ten years from the filing date of the application. The initial term of the design registration is one year which is extendible upon payment of renewal fees for a further nine-year term. The term of the registration starts from the date of application for registration. The nine-year extension has to be requested either on filing or within the first year. A six-month grace period is provided.

Algeria is a member of the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention. 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, 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