INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
UGGC Africa created a team dedicated to matters relating to intellectual property, IT and the Internet. This competence unit is organized around specialist lawyers covering, both as consultants and in litigation, all aspects of intellectual property, new technologies and data processing.
Trademark law
UGGC Africa helps and advises its clients in the development of their protection strategy for their trademarks, according to their field of activity and their desired geographical expansion. From the filing of trademarks, relying in particular on their Shanghai office, through the management of oppositions, nullity or cancellation law suits and the drafting of operation agreements (assignment, licence, coexistence, franchise), UGGC Africa is present at its clients’ side, in Morocco and internationally, to ensure the protection of their trademarks all along the value chain.
UGGC Africa also assists its clients by dealing with civil and criminal infringement law suits, which often prove complex when it comes to infringement on the Internet and violation of distribution networks. Our firm assists significant operators in the fashion, watchmaking, cosmetics and foodstuff distribution sectors in particular, and it is currently dealing with proceedings for the restitution of domain names (UDRP & Syreli).
Our firm also deals with disputes arising from the contesting of trademark registrations both before Moroccan and Community courts (EUIPO / formerly OHIM and EU General Court) and advises its clients on the implications of the trademark package.
Patent law
UUGC Africa helps and advises its clients in the negotiation and drafting of licence agreements, patent joint ownership rules, agreements on the remuneration of inventions, as well as in the use of know-how in view of Community exemption regulations in particular, both in the scientific and the pharmaceutical, automobile or agri-food domain
Our firm ensures for its clients the defence of their patents and know-how, dealing with infringement or patent claim law suits in particular, for French and foreign companies in the consumer goods (electronic, beverages) or infrastructure sectors (highways in particular) for instance.
UGGC Africa also assists its clients with the negotiations and follow-up of research partnerships and to put into practise the results they obtain.
Copyright and design law
Copyrights
With regard to copyright and related rights, the IP-IT team is active in the domain of fashion and accessories creation to assist designers or their employers and patrons (couture houses, jewellery, leather goods…) and defend their copyrights. The team is also an expert on problems of copyrights protecting works of art issued from public orders (architecture) or independent artists (sculptures). In particular, the team has a good practice of contracts for exhibitions of works of art and a good grasp of the copyright issues faced by museums in the management of their collections.
UGGC Africa also has a good practice and expertise of audio-visual production, image rights and publishing law, and deals with issues of copyright and associated rights. In the fight against the infringement of copyrights on the Internet, our firm deals with take down notice procedures and implementation of the responsibility of the various providers of online communication services.
Design law
UGGC Africa assists its clients to register their designs and models and to negotiate the related exploitation contracts (transfer, licence, co-existence) in Morocco or internationally. The protection of designs and models and related litigation generally create an opportunity to review the concurrent protection by copyright and 3D trademark law. This is true for the fashion sector where concurrent protection is frequent but it also concerns industrial designs and models (utensils, table ware, decorative objects, spare parts and connected objects).
IT, INTERNET, NEW TECHNOLOGIES
IT law
When it comes to IT, UGGC Avocats assists its clients to set up integrated software packages, to draw up software licence and maintenance agreements, data base licences, to outsource services (outsourcing, ASP, SaaS, hosting in the Cloud, dematerialization and certification, etc.). UGGC Avocats is also involved in connection with public IT procurement contracts and as consultant for local authorities.
New technologies – Internet
Digital technology reshapes distribution, manufacturing, exchange and cooperation models and enriches contractual matter which must adapt and anticipate new methods of value creation.
UGGC Avocats deals with all aspects of distribution on the Interned. The IP-IT team assists its clients with the creation of their Internet sites, the management of their e-commerce platforms (commercial website, price comparison, etc.), and social networks, the online marketing of data bases (from public or proprietary data), the drafting of e-commerce contractual documents.
UGGC Avocats assists its clients with litigations in relation to their IT systems, and for instance the integration of integrated software packages, the exercising of regulated activities (online games and bets), the capture of data bases contents, the infringement of personal data, people’s image or private life.
Our firm also deals with infringement law suits, law suits for the infringement of the sui generis right of data bases producer, for unfair competition, slander or violation of human rights, for the withdrawal of damaging content published online.
UGGC Avocats also assists its clients to ensure that they manage personal data in compliance with applicable regulations, in the midst of the transition going on at European level with the adoption of a new European Regulation in 2015.
MEDIA AND AUDIO-VISUAL SECTOR
UGGC Avocats enjoys a special expertise of audio-visual production, especially concerning the protection of formats, drafting the contracts required to engage in an audio-visual production (co-production agreements, authors’ contracts, presenters’ contracts, broadcasting contracts).
The IP-IT team further assists its clients, production companies most of them, for the exploitation and defence of their rights on audio-visual work they produce, and to protect and defend the trademark rights attached to such work.
Our firm also deals with the protection and exploitation of the image rights of property or people, and especially with negotiations of licence and sponsoring agreements or litigations in relation to the use of the image of property or people
ADVERTISING LAW
UGGC Avocats provides advice to its clients to help them with the definition and running of their advertising, marketing and communication operations. Our firm also assists its clients for the creation of cultural foundations, sponsoring, endorsement of advertising campaigns (for alcoholic beverages in particular), organizing events, competitions or lotteries, creating partnerships, sponsoring contracts with celebrities or public personalities, to design and run commercial or non-commercial information or promotion campaigns, and finally…
UGGC Avocats further provides support to its clients with litigations in connection with the protection and defence of their promotion, communication and advertising policies.