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.

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:
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: