PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

• Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
• Contracting Party of The Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs: NO.

Law 20-00 on Industrial Property, modified by Law 424-06 on Implementation of the DR-CAFTa; TRIPS;

12 months.

YES, 20 designs maximum, provided that they relate to products belonging to the same category in the Locarno Classification.

• Power of attorney, legalised by means of the Apostille.
• Priority document (certified), when application.
• Description in the form provided by the Invention Department.
• Assignment of the Design, duly legalised by means of the apostille.

Not part of the Lorcano Agreement, but the Locarno Classification is used in practice.

NO.

• Filing and payment of examination fees.
• Formal examination.
• Publication, upon payment of the corresponding fee.
• Oppositions.
• Substantive examination (after 6 months from filing), considering any oppositions filed.
• Decision.
• Publication of granting decision, upon payment of the corresponding fee, in order to obtain the Registration Certificate.

YES, before granting, within 30 days from the publication. Nullity action is also possible.

8-10 months.

5 years, can be extended to 15 years.

Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.

Contracting Party of The Madrid System: NO.

Industrial Property Law 20-00.

Nice classification, 10th edition.

YES.

All distinctive and graphically representable signs, words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers, devices, emblems, colours, combinations or shades of colours, three-dimensional forms, the threedimensional form of a good or its packaging, sounds and smells.

• Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalisation and no notarisation required) within 30 days from the official request.
• Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 3 months from the application date.

• Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
• Relative grounds for refusal: YES.

45 days from the publication date.

Approximately 3-4 months unless any obstacles were raised.

10 years from the date of registration.

YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trade mark has not been used for 3 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is possible.

6 months prior to renewal date.

6 months.

http://www.onapi.gov.do/

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.

IP Law 20-00 dated May 8, 2000 (modified by Law 424-2006 dated November 20, 2006).

• Patent of Invention.
• Utility Model.

NO.

• Power of Attorney duly notarized and legalized by apostille or up to the Dominican Republic consulate within 60 days from office action.
• Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized within 60 days from office action. Not required under certain circumstances (not required for entry into national phase).
• Certified copy of priority application within 3 months from filing, together with Spanish translation from filing (not required for entry into national phase of PCT applications provided that PCT/IB304 form is available).

Accepted. Late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within 60 calendar days from office action.

YES, within 12 months from publication.

NO.

YES, within 60 calendar days from publication.

NO.

4 years.

20 years from filing date.

15 years from filing date.

UM suitable for utensils, instruments, tools, apparatus, devices, or any parts or improvements thereof, but not process or use patents; chemical, metallurgic or related substance or composition products; matter excluded from protection for patent invention; lower threshold for inventive step.

Yearly also during prosecution of the application for patents. Payments for periods of 5 years for Utility models.

NOT mandatory.

YES.

http://www.onapi.gov.do/