Trademark registration
Panama is currently one of the most attractive countries in the region to do business, with a thriving economy, an abundant skilled workforce and business-friendly policies and low taxes and tariffs.
With many international companies relocating to Panama, the government has taken steps to help companies protect their patents and trademarks through a simplified trademark process that normally takes between 6 and 9 months.
We must review the model of the trademark you wish to register, since there are three types of applications: Denominative (the trademark is a combination of letters or signs), Figurative (the trademark is only a design or an image) or mixed (the trademark keeps letters and images in the same design).
The duration of the exclusivity of the brand is for ten (10) years, renewable.
- Application form and document collection
The first step towards obtaining a trademark is to complete an application form and to include all the required information and documents. The attorney usually takes care of this part. The application and supplementary documents must be submitted to the General Directorate of the Industrial Property Registry of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Panama, Directorate of Patents and Trademarks. It takes about a month for the application to be reviewed. - The trademark application is published.
The trademark is published in the Official Gazette, also called the Industrial Property Gazette. The application will be published for 60 days, during which time opposition claims can be made against the application for registration. - Opposition process.
If any objections are raised in connection with the trademark application, the parties must file their objections with the Patent and Trademark Office. Any and all opposition must be made and filed within 60 days of the trademark application being published in the bulletin. - Final review and decision
The Panamanian Patent and Trademark Office will make a decision to accept or deny the trademark application. If no objections or observations are made, the final examination will be made based on the registration application. This final examination will be based on Panamanian trademark law. - The trademark is registered
If the application is approved, the Directorate of Patents and Trademarks of Panama will notify the applicant and issue the title deeds. Panamanian trademarks are valid for 10 years, after this term the trademark must be renewed.
- Power of Attorney
- Applicant contact information, including name, address, phone number and email address.
- Images of the brand, logo in .gif or .jpg format. A color image is not necessary unless color is important to the logo.
- Details of the product or service of the trademark. Classes are defined according to the latest edition of the Nice International Classification.
- Priority document (if the mark is registered in another country and you wish to claim priority, this is optional).
- Brand Name
- colors
- Flavors
- forms
- sounds
- LOGOS
Patent Registration
Industrial Property rights prevent third parties from exploiting the protected invention without the owner’s consent; therefore, they confer an “exclusive right” of exploitation to the owner that he can hardly obtain by the system of keeping his invention secret without any legal protection, given the characteristics of today’s society.
Your invention will be protected for up to 20 years.
- Legal Entity
- Patent Application to the Dirección General del Registro de Propiedad Industrial (DIGERPI), which includes (Name and Address of the Applicant, Name of the inventor(s), Name and Address of the Agent and the Name of the Invention.
- The application must be accompanied by a Descriptive Report.
- One or more Claims
- Corresponding Drawings with 4 reduced copies of the Drawings
- Abstract, not to exceed approximately two hundred (200) words in length.
- Proof of Payment of Fees and Filing Fees
- If the applicant is not the inventor, the application shall be accompanied by the respective assignment agreement, or any other document that duly justifies the applicant’s right to obtain the patent.
- In the case of Informal Management, consignment of the Certificate of Guarantee for the amount of B/. 100.00
- Correctly fill out the application form