PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

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

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Panama

GDP:$65,055 BILLION

IMPORTS: $29,275 BILLION

POPULATION: 4,176,873

TOTAL AREA: 75,517 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: BALBOA (B7.) (PAB); UNITED STATES DOLLAR ($) (USD)

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 35, amended by Law 61.

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:

3 years, provided that disclosure is made in Panama.

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

YES, although the Law in Panama does not foresee multiple applications, in practice, multiple applications are filed. However, the examiner may request division of the application.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney, notarised and legalised by means of the Apostille or before Panamanian Consul.
  • Assignment document, executed and signed by all the parties (applicant and inventors), attested by a Notary Public, and duly legalised by means of the Apostille or before the Panamanian Consulate.
  • Name of the design.
  • Description of the design and drawings.
  • Claims. 3 sets of drawings.
  • A summary or abstract of the design, which is a brief explanation provided in the description, claims and drawings.
  • Certified copy of the priority document, when applicable.
Locarno classification:

YES.

Deferred publication:

NO.

Registration Proceeding Outline:
  • FIling.
  • Formal and substantive examination.
  • Publication.
  • Oppositions.
  • Decision.
Opposition:

YES. Any interested party can file opposition within 2 months from the publication date. Cancellation actions can also be filed, within 5 years from granting, except in case of bad faith.

Average time from filing to grant:

8-18 months.

Term of Protection and Maintenance:

10 years, renewable once for a further 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:

Law 35 dated 10 May 1996, modified by Law 61 dated 5 October 2012.

Classification:

Nice classification, 10th edition.

Multiclass Applications:

YES.

Registrable trade marks:

Distinctive and graphically representable signs, such as words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers, devices, emblems, holograms, colours, combinations or shades of colours, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging and any combination of the mentioned signs as well as sound, smell and taste marks.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalisation and no notarisation required) within 2 months from application date.
  • Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 6 months from the application date.
Examination:
  • Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
  • Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:

2 months counting from the publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

Approximately 12 months, unless any obstacles were raised.

Term of protection:

10 years from the application date.

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: 31 months.
Patent Law in force:

Patent Law 6867/1983.

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 within 90 days from filing.
  • Assignment document from the inventors duly notarized and legalized (which may be substituted by a sworn declaration by the representative) within 60 days from office action.
  • Certified copy of priority application within 90 days 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 days from office action.

Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:

YES, within 15-working days after receipt of official request.

Search report must be requested by the applicant:

NO.

Observations by third parties:

YES, within three months from the third publication.

Opposition:

YES, within three months from the third publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

5-6 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 after grant, only for patents.

Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:

NOT mandatory.

Compulsory licensing:

YES.

Link to Patent Office: