Improved understanding of trademark law render judgments more promptly

	Improved understanding of trademark law render judgments more promptly

Challenge
Moroccan commercial court judges are increasingly hearing cases involving trademark disputes, but until recently they had received little training in this area of the law.  As a result, judges have often had to rely on the assistance of court-appointed experts in rendering decisions on trademark disputes.

Initiative

In response to requests from Moroccan partners, including the Industrial Property Office, USAID’s “Improving the Business Climate in Morocco” program developed and implemented an innovative trademark law judicial training program. Donor-funded initiatives typically bring foreign and/or local trainers from outside the court system to train judges. 

Too often, the impact of such one-off trainings is limited since the expertise and training techniques do not remain within the courts. In contrast, a more sustainable approach was taken by the Program. First a retired judge and judicial trainer with expertise in trademark law prepared and published a 100 page “Guide to Trademark Law” with assistance from international experts. This senior trainer then worked closely with a team of four young judges interested in developing expertise in trademark law and learning training techniques. 

Working with the Commercial Courts and other partners, the Program then organized intensive two-day trainings throughout the Kingdom, reaching judges from all eight commercial jurisdictions over the course of 2008.  The four judges assisted the senior trainer in all of these trainings sessions, gradually taking on a larger share of the presentations and leading the role plays and discussions.  At the last training, held in June 2008in Agadir city, south of Morocco, the four judges demonstrated markedly improved training skills.

Results

As a result, commercial court judges have improved their understanding of trademark law and are able to render judgments more promptly. “Before these trainings, I always needed the help of an expert to address certain technical aspects of trademark law-related cases, but thanks to these trainings I consider myself much more independent today and do not need to contact any expert anymore”, a judge who recently participated in the training.