PATENTS
Information required for patent registration in Guatemala:
a) Name of the inventor, profession or trade, nationality and domicile.
b) Name of the invention
c) Descriptive report of the invention
d) Claims
e) Drawings, if applicable
f) Summary for technical information purposes.
All documents must be submitted strictly in Spanish, and unless they are provided in Spanish, we would be uploading the relevant translations.
Necessary documents:
It is important to note that, in cases where the power of attorney and rights transfer documents have been issued in a language other than Spanish, a sworn translation must be accompanied. This translation must necessarily be done by a certified sworn translator in Guatemala, so the corresponding procedure will be charged separately depending on the size of each document.
EXPLANATION OF THE STAGES OF THE NATIONAL PATENT PHASE ENTRY PROCEDURE IN GUATEMALA:
Annuities:
Regarding the annuities, the first annual rate for the maintenance of the validity of a patent will be paid before beginning the third year, counted from the date of submission of the international application (provided that the respective certificate has been issued). It is optional the pay in advance more than one annuity. Failure to pay any of the annual rates will produce in full right the expiration of the patent.
TRADEMARKS
Trademark Law in Guatemala :
Apart from the Paris Convention and TRIPS, the legal framework is primarily comprised by the Industrial Property Law (Decree of Congress 57-2000 and amendments), which came into effect November 1, 2000, and the executive regulations to such Law (Executive Accord 89-2002 and amendments). Amendments to the IP Law were last made in June 2013, arising from an Association Agreement entered with the European Union.
Recently the TLT was approved and came into force, however the trademark office is waiting for change in order to implement this treaty.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration (“first to file” system). Prior use in Guatemala is only required for the registration of trade names. In such case registration is only declarative (an exception to the “first to file” system).
REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN GUATEMALA:
1. Full name of the applicant;
2. Exact address of the applicant;
3. In case the applicant is an individual, it indicates the nationality and profession or trade. If the applicant is a commercial company, indicate place of incorporation;
4. Name of the brand or trade name to be registered;
5. Country of origin of the distinctive sign;
6. If the sign form is marketed and is special and you want to be protected, you must accompany the design in electronic format (JPG). Indicate if any specific color will be protected, or if the mark will be protected in any color or combination of colors.
7. Class to be protected or merchandise, activities or services to be protected.
8. A power of attorney granted by the applicant, must be duly legalized by the nearest Guatemalan Consulate or by apostille. POA can be file in a later days after pay a fee.
9. For the case in which the right of priority is claimed, it must indicate:
a) Country of deposit of the priority application
b) Deposit date
c) Number assigned to the request.
The right of priority is valid for 6 months from the day following the submission of the priority application. If priority is claimed, we must receive a copy of the application duly certified by the Trademark Office of the country where it will be submitted. This document is exempt from legalizations or passes and may be submitted within a period not exceeding 3 months to the expiration date of the priority. It will be necessary
Accompany a simple translation, in case the document has not been issued in Spanish.
THE TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESS IN GUATEMALA
1. The estimated time for registering a trademark is usually ten (10) months, if there are no official actions or oppositions, or any legal action against the trademark registration.
2. Once the registration of a trademark has been requested, the Registry submits it to a formal examination, in order to check if it complies with all
formalities required by law.
3. Once this stage has been completed, the Registry proceeds to carry out a thorough and novelty examination, in order to verify that it has the characteristics of distinctiveness with respect to the other trademarks already requested or previously registered in the same class. It also evaluates that the request does not fit within the prohibitions established by the Law so that it can be registered. The Registry has shown delays in this area so this stage lasts about four to five months.
4. Once the novelty stage is over, the mark must be published once in the Official Electronic Bulletin of the Registry of Intellectual Property of Guatemala (BORPI). It immediately opens up to an opposition period which lasts for two months from the first publication of the application so that a third party can oppose it. If there is no opposition by a third party, the registration proceeds to make the registration of the trademark and subsequently issues its certificate within three months of publishing the application.
Notes of the Registration Proceedings in Guatemala:
-The application is filed at the Trademark and Patent Office (Registry of Intellectual Property).
-A separate application has to be filed for each class (multi-class applications are not yet allowed).
-The application process includes a formal examination. Afterwards, an inherent distinctiveness analysis of the mark as well as a search / clearance of conflicting third parties' rights are carried out.
After examination and once formal admission has been secured, the trademark application must be published in the Official Bulletin of the Intellectual Property Register (BORPI) in a single digital publication. Such publication must be carried out within the 6 months from the date where the publication notice was served to applicant, otherwise application becomes abandoned “ipso facto”.
If there is no opposition lodged against the application, registration duties are paid and the certificate of registration is issued in approximately 2-3 months.
National Opposition Period
The opposition period is 2 months from the date of the publication in the Official Bulletin of the Intellectual Property Register (BORPI).
The deadline for filing an opposition would be calculated as follows:
1. Publication takes place on August 20, 2020, deadline to oppose elapses October 20, 2020;
2. If October 20, 2020 were to fall on a weekend or any other non-working day the deadline would be moved to the prior working day.
Trademark Duration
Protection begins with the date of registration. A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the date of registration. The registration is renewable for periods of 10 years.