RFQ: Consultancy for Socio-economic impact assessment to determine the feasibility of the adoption of the international exhaustion regime for trademarks by the Republic of Mauritius

Purpose and objectives of the Assignment  

To conduct a micro-level assessment of the socio-economic impact if Mauritius chooses to adopt the international exhaustion regime for trademarks, focusing on relevant sectors of the economy involving the sale of branded goods. The study would also cover the legal as well as the economic and commercial aspects of the subject. The aim is to bring certainty and influence the future direction of intellectual property policy in Mauritius, especially in light of the current international conjuncture including inflationary pressure on prices of goods.

The intention of the Government of the Republic of Mauritius is to be informed on how a shift to an international exhaustion regime for trademarks would impact on the economy, including the manufacturing sector and wholesale/retail markets.

Specific objectives

• Objective 1: Identification of relevant stakeholders

This consists of identifying stakeholders operating with foreign trademark licences and thereafter, sorting them out by types of activities (including importers of foreign branded goods, local manufacturers of foreign brands, and the type of contract/licence that they have with the trademark owner abroad). The aim is to ensure that the analysis engages in primary data.

• Objective 2: Collection of empirical information

The above consists of collecting empirical information in Mauritius through the conduct of meetings surveys/questionnaires/interviews, as may be appropriate, which are crucial for the successful completion of the assignment.

Data should also be collected from external sources for comparative analysis and tests and analysis exercises as may be necessary.

• Objective 3: Assessment of economic contribution of relevant stakeholders

It consists of a cost evaluation of the contribution of identified stakeholders to the economy in terms of employment, productivity/contribution to the economy, social responsibility, value addition, investment, innovation, export earnings and other relevant indicators.

• Objective 4: Examination of implications

The expert shall make a micro-level assessment of the implications of the exclusive rights enjoyed by identified operators on competition, the quality of the services provided, after sales service, the price of goods and services and on consumer expenditure and the impact that the adoption of international exhaustion will have on these indicators. The study should also cater for the impact of the exhaustion of trademarks vis-a-vis the current policy of encouraging the local production of medicines, drugs, and vaccines.

• Objective 5: Cost & Benefit Analysis

This consists of undertaking an objective assessment of the costs and benefits for consumers, importers of foreign brands and local manufacturers of foreign brands as well as the wider economy resulting from the transition from the national to the international exhaustion of the trademark rights regime.

Required Expertise

It is recommended that the team of experts includes one international senior expert (home based) and one national expert (based in Mauritius) to assist in data collection.

The duration of the assignment is anticipated to take place over a three (3) month period.

Offers are invited from consultancy firms/ experts working in partnership/consortium having the expertise described under (A)-(D) below.

• Qualifications

A Master's degree in either Econometrics, Statistics, Intellectual Property and/or Business Management.

• General professional experience

Extensive working experience related to econometrics/economic analysis or any relevant related discipline and must have been involved in or undertaken similar assignments; and
Experience on how markets of branded goods work over a range of industries.
Experience in working on assignments which involve economic analysis within a developing country context.

• Soft Skills

Demonstrated ability to present technical findings in succinct reports for a wide public and to make oral public presentations.

• Language skills

The expert should have excellent communication and written skills in English language.  He/She should be able to express themselves in very clear English, be able to interact easily with business operators, conduct interviews and host stakeholder meetings

Ability to speak French will be an advantage.

In undertaking the study, the international senior expert would require a wide array of information from the private sector, especially from local companies having distribution agreements with foreign brands as well as local enterprises manufacturing branded products under license.

The services of the international expert shall be combined with the services of one national expert.

International expert

The international expert should:

1. Identify the data that they would need in order to appropriately conduct the assessment and communicate their requirements to the national expert;

2. Prepare a draft questionnaire for the collection of data;

3. Conduct tests and analysis based on collected data; and

4. Complete services as per 2.3 above.

National expert

The national expert should:

1. Work closely with the international expert to identify the relevant stakeholders from the public and private sector with whom the local a

2. Schedule appointments with identified companies/stakeholders based in Mauritius;

3. Conduct field trips to identified companies/agencies to fill in the questionnaire for data collection;

4. Transmit the duly filled in questionnaires to the international expert; and

5. Schedule virtual meetings with relevant stakeholders as and when required by the international expert.

Data may also be collected by way of questionnaires, interviews and surveys.

Data collection should include the scope of the intellectual property agreements signed by the local companies; their price structure and profit margin; production data; costs involved; the price of relevant branded goods on the world market (for comparative purposes – compared to Mauritius) and the share of branded goods being produced locally for export purposes

Please apply for this contract by submitting a Technical and Commercial proposals to [email protected] by 5pm (GMT) 11^th November 2022

Prices quoted should include VAT but must indicate clearly where VAT is applicable and where items might be zero-rated.

Evaluation will be based on both competency and cost.

Closing date: 17:00PM, 11 November 2022