PROSECUTION GUIDELINES

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

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Venezuela

GDP: $276,30 BILLION

IMPORTS: $9,1 BILLION

POPULATION: 28,486.596

TOTAL AREA: 916,445 KM2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: SPANISH

CURRENCY: BOLÍVAR SOBERANO (BS.) (VES)

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

1995 Industrial Property Law.

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:

NO.

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

NO.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney notarised and legalised by means of the Apostille.
  • Assignment document notarised and legalised.
  • Drawings.
  • Summary and description.
  • Priority document when applicable.
Locarno classification:

YES.

Deferred publication:

NO.

Registration Proceeding Outline:
  • Filing.
  • Publication in newspaper.
  • Publication in official Gazette.
  • Substantive examination.
  • Decision.
Opposition:

YES, before granting.

Average time from filing to grant:

More than 8 years, due to a considerable backlog at the Patent Office.

Term of Protection and Maintenance:

10 years, counted from the registration date.

WIPO-administered Treaties:
  • Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
  • Contracting Party of The Madrid System: NO.
Trade Mark Law in force:

1956 Industrial Property Law.

Classification:

Nice classification, 11th edition.

Multiclass Applications:

NO.

Registrable trade marks:

Any distinctive signs, such as words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers and devices.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney duly notarised and legalised by the Apostille within 30 days from the official request.
  • Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish within 3 months from filing date.
  • The translation of the priority application must be signed by a local sworn translator.
Examination:
  • Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
  • Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:

30 days from publication date.

If the applicant fails to reply to an opposition filed within the legal term, the application will be considered abandoned.

Average time from filing to grant:

Approximately 15 months, unless any obstacles were raised.

Term of protection:

15 years from the date of registration for trademarks granted on or after 17 September 2008.

Use requirements:

YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trade mark has not been used for 2 years, counting from the registration date. However, as the burden of proof of non-use rests on the applicant of the cancellation request, in practice it is extremely difficult to obtain the cancellation of a trade mark.

Renewal terms:

6 months prior to renewal date.

 

Grace period:

6 months.

Link to Trade Mark Office:

http://www.sapi.gob.ve/

WIPO-administered Treaties:
  • Contracting Party of The Paris Convention: YES.
  • Contracting Party of The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): NO.
Patent Law in force:

Patent Law of 1955.

Types of protection available:

Patent of Invention.

First filing requirements with the local Patent Office for inventions made by nationals:

NO.

Formal filing requirements:
  • Power of Attorney duly notarised and legalised within 30 days from office action.
  • Assignment document from the inventors duly notarised and legalised within 30 days from office action.
  • Certified copy of priority application within 30 days from office action. The translation of the priority application must be signed by a local sworn translator.
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 30 days from publication.

Opposition:

YES, within 30 days from publication.

Average time from filing to grant:

7 years.

Term of protection for patents:

20 years from grant date.

Term of protection for utility models:

10 years from grant date.

Differences between utility model and patent:

Directed to the improvement of a protected invention.

Maintenance:

Yearly after grant.

Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:

NOT mandatory.

Compulsory licensing:

YES.

Link to Patent Office:

http://www.sapi.gob.ve/

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