Article 6 of Law No. 9-94 prescribes that a variety is deemed to be new if, at the date of filing the application for the breeder's right, the reproductive material or propagating material or the harvested or processed material of the variety has not been sold or otherwise transferred to third parties by or with the consent of the breeder with a view to the commercial exploitation of the variety, for at least one year in Morocco or at least four years, or in the case of trees or vines, at least ten years abroad.
Besides, Article 76 provides that for a transition period of one year from the effective date of the Moroccan Law, an application may be filed for the protection of varieties that have been offered for sale, otherwise used commercially or disseminated in Morocco or abroad prior to the effective date of the present law. If that protection is granted, its duration is reduced by the number of full years that have elapsed between the date when the variety was first offered for sale, otherwise commercially used or disseminated and the filing date of the application.
The same rule applies, mutatis mutandis, to varieties of species added to the list of protected species after the entry into force of the present law (Article 76).