PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

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

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Honduras

GDP:$23,803 BILLION

IMPORTS: $14,282 BILLION

POPULATION: 9,587,522

TOTAL AREA: 112,492 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: HONDURAS LEMPIRA (L) (HNL)

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 Decree 12-99-E, effective as of January 2000.

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:

1 year.

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

NO.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Graphic or photographic reproduction of the industrial design, possible to submit more than one view (plan, profile, section), if three-dimensional; if two-dimensional for textiles, paper or another flat material, the reproduction may be replaced by a sample of the product incorporating the design.
  • Designation of the products to which the design is to be applied to, with the class and subclass to which they belong.
  • Assignment document.
  • Power of Attorney.
Locarno classification:

YES.

Deferred publication:

YES, by request of the applicant, any time prior to the publication order. The Office will defer publication for the time specified in the request, which may not exceed 12 months from the filing date of the application.

Registration Proceeding Outline:
  • Filing.
  • Formal and Substantive examinations.
  • Publication period.
  • Opposition period.
  • Decision.
  • Certificate of registration.
Opposition:

YES. From the first publication of the application until the last publication of the same, interested third parties can file an opposition.

Average time from filing to grant:

6-8 months.

Term of Protection and Maintenance:

5 years from filing, plus 2 renewals terms of 5 years each.

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 12-99-E of 2000).

Classification:

Nice classification, 10th edition.

Multiclass Applications:

NO.

Registrable trade marks:

Words, names, pseudonyms, commercial slogans, shapes, portraits, letters, figures, monograms, labels, coats of arms, cotton prints, vignettes, fringes, lines, stripes, combinations and arrangements of colours. Sound and smell trademarks are now accepted as a result of DR-CAFTA regulations.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney duly notarised and legalised within 30 days from the official request.
  • Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 30 days from the official request.
Examination:
  • Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
  • Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:

30 working days counted from the day of the last publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

Approximately 8-10 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. A Rehabilitation Tax can be paid, which protects the mark against cancellation petitions from third parties.

Renewal terms:

1 year prior to the renewal date.

 

Grace period:

6 months.

Link to Trade Mark Office:

www.ip.gob.hn

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 12/1999.

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 30 days from office action.
  • Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized within 60 days from office action.
  • Certified copy of priority application within 60 days from office action (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:

NO.

Search report must be requested by the applicant:

NO.

Observations by third parties:

YES, within 90 working days from publication.

Opposition:

YES, within 90 working days from publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

4 years.

Term of protection for patents:

20 years from filing date.

Term of protection for utility models:

1o 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:

www.ip.gob.hn

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