PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

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You will find here all the important information about filing trademarks, designs and patents.

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Guatemala

GDP: $78,46 BILLION

IMPORTS: $21,97 BILLION

POPULATION: 17,247,807

TOTAL AREA: 108,889 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: GUATEMALAQUETZAL (Q) (GTQ)

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

Industrial Property Law.

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:

6 months.

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

YES, all embodiments must refer to products included in the same Locarno class.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Identification of the applicant.
  • Power of Attorney legalised by the Apostille.
  • Name of the design.
  • Identification of the designer.
  • The type of goods for which the design will be used.
  • Drawings.
  • Brief description.
  • Assignment document. If applicable, certified copy of the priority document.
Locarno classification:

YES.

Deferred publication:

NO.

Registration Proceeding Outline:
  • Filing of application.
  • Formal examination.
  • Publication.
  • Substantive examination.
  • Decision.
  • Certificate of registration.
Opposition:

Any interested party can submit observations within 3 months from the publication date. Such observations will not suspend the registration proceeding. They will be notified to the applicant, who will be entitled to file a response thereto.

Average time from filing to grant:

10-15 months.

Term of Protection and Maintenance:

10 years, with the option to extend once for a 5-year period.

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 (Decree of Congress 57-2000).

Classification:

Nice classification, 10th edition.

Multiclass Applications:

NO.

Registrable trade marks:

Words or groups of words, letters, numbers, monograms, forms, portraits, labels, shields, stamps, engravings, vignettes, borders, lines, fringes, combination and arrangement of colours, as well as any combination of these symbols. They can also consist of sounds or smells, the shape of products, their packaging, wrapping or trade dress and others which – at the discretion of the Trade Mark Office -possess or might have acquired distinctiveness.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney duly notarised and legalised by the Apostille within 1 month from the official request.
  • Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 3 months of the priority deadline.
Examination:
  • Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
  • Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:

2 months from the date of publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

Approximately 8 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 5 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is possible.

Renewal terms:

1 year 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 57/2000.

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 within 90 days from office action.
  • Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized within 90 days from office action.
  • Certified copy of priority application within 15 months from priority (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:

NOT available.

Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:

YES, within 1 month from notification.

Search report must be requested by the applicant:

NO.

Observations by third parties:

YES, within 90 days from publication.

Opposition:

YES, within 90 days from publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

5 years.

Term of protection for patents:

20 years from filing date.

Term of protection for utility models:

10 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 to chemical products, methods or uses; lower threshold for inventive step.

Maintenance:

Yearly; also during prosecution of the application.

Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:

NOT mandatory.

Compulsory licensing:

YES.

Link to Patent Office: