You will find here all the important information about filing trademarks, designs and patents.
Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
Contracting Party of The Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs: NO.
Decree Law 290 and Decree 342 on Inventions and Designs.
NO.
YES.
- Power of Attorney.
- Drawings.
- Brief description of each of the drawings.
- Assignment document.
YES.
YES, 12 months.
- Filing.
- Formal examination.
- Publication.
- Oppositions.
- Substantive examination.
- Decision.
- Appeal.
- Definitive decision.
- Registration Certificate.
- Publication of granting.
YES, before granting, within a 60 daysterm from the publication. Cancellation action after granting also possible.
1-2 years approximately.
10 years, with annuity payment from 3rd year (1st and 2nd included in filing fees).
- Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
- Contracting Party of The Madrid System: YES.
Decree Law 203/2000 of 1999.
Nice classification, 12th edition (2024).
YES.
Signs, words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers, devices, emblems, holograms, colors, combinations or shades of colors, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging.
- Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalization and no notarization required, simple scanned copy is sufficient), can be filed together with the application or within 60 days from the filing date. No fee is required for subsequent filing of the document.
- Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish, it can be filed together with the application for registration or within 3 months from the filing date. A copy of the priority document can also be filed together with the application and the original and its corresponding translation and can be filed late. No late filing fee applies.
- Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
- Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
The formal examination period is 5 to 6 months following the filing date of the application, the period of the substantive examination is 6 months or 180 days.
60 days from the publication date. If during the period of formal examination the Trademark Office detects any omission or irregularity, an office action may be filed on their part to correct the irregularity and the examination of the application may be continued.
The trademark registration process typically takes 18 months, but due to a backlog, delays now exceed two years. The TM Office issues a Conclusive Examination Report, determining whether the trademark is Granted, Partially Granted, or Denied. Failure to pay grant fees results in abandonment, notified by an OCPI resolution.
10 years from the date of application.
A declaration of use is not required, but if the trademark remains unused for 3 years post-grant, a third party may file a forfeiture action. Revocation may be total or partial.
6 months prior to renewal date.
6 months.
- Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
- Contracting Party of The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): YES. Due term for entry into national phase: 30 months.
Legal Decree 290 of April 1, 2012 and Decree 342 of August 10, 2018.
- Patent of Invention.
- Utility Model.
YES.
- Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalization required) within 60 days from office action.
- Assignment document from the inventors merely signed (no legalization required) within 60 days from office action. Not required under certain circumstances.
- Certified copy of priority application within 90 days from filing (not required for entry into national phase of PCT applications provided that PCT/IB304 form is available).
Accepted for the entry into national phase of PCT applications only, provided that claims are filed in Spanish or English. In such case late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within 60 days from office action.
NO.
NO.
YES, within 60 working days from publication.
YES, within 60 working days from publication.
4 years.
20 years from filing date.
10 years from filing date.
UM Suitable for utensils, instruments, tools, apparatus, devices, or any parts or improvements thereof, but not to chemical products, methods or uses; lower threshold for inventive step.
Yearly also during prosecution of the application.
NOT mandatory.
YES.