PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

You have questions – we have the answers!
You will find here all the important information about filing trademarks, designs and patents.

Choose the country from the below options or just contact us for other territories.

Dominican Republic

GDP: $81,299 BILLION

IMPORTS: $24,390 BILLION

POPULATION: 10,627,165

TOTAL AREA: 48,442 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: DOMINICAN PESO (RD$) (DOP)

Local time:
WIPO-administered Treaties:
  • Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
  • Contracting Party of The Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs: NO.
Applicable Law:

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

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:

12 months.

Multiple design applications -one application for different embodiments-available:

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

Formal filing requirements:
  • 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.
Locarno classification:

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

Deferred publication:

NO.

Registration Proceeding Outline:
  • 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.
Opposition:

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

Average time from filing to grant:

8-10 months.

Term of Protection and Maintenance:

5 years, can be extended to 15 years.

WIPO-administered Treaties:

Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.

Contracting Party of The Madrid System: NO.

Trade Mark Law in force:

Industrial Property Law 20-00.

Classification:

Nice classification, 10th edition.

Multiclass Applications:

YES.

Registrable trade marks:

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.

Formal filing requirements:
  • 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.
Examination:
  • Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
  • Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:

45 days from the publication date.

Average time from filing to grant:

Approximately 3-4 months unless any obstacles were raised.

Term of protection:

10 years from the date of registration.

Use requirements:

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.

Renewal terms:

6 months prior to renewal date.

 

Grace period:

6 months.

Link to Trade Mark Office:
WIPO-administered Treaties:

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.

Patent Law in force:

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

Types of protection available:
  • Patent of Invention.
  • Utility Model.
First filing requirements with the local Patent Office for inventions made by nationals:

NO.

Formal filing requirements:
  • 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).
Filing of the patent application in a foreign language:

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

Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:

YES, within 12 months from publication.

Search report must be requested by the applicant:

NO.

Observations by third parties:

YES, within 60 calendar days from publication.

Opposition:

NO.

Average time from filing to grant:

4 years.

Term of protection for patents:

20 years from filing date.

Term of protection for utility models:

15 years from filing date.

Differences between utility model and patent:

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.

Maintenance:

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

Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:

NOT mandatory.

Compulsory licensing:

YES.

Link to Patent Office: