

Prosecution Of A Trademark Application In Dominican Republic
FILING
The filing date of a Dominican trademark is the one assigned when filing the application.
If priority is claimed, the filing date will remain the same but the priority date will be the one claimed.
FORMAL AND SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION
Within 10 to 20 working days from the filing date
The Trademark Office will determine if the application meets the formal requirements and analyze the application on both absolute and relative grounds of refusal. This includes a search to determine potential legal obstacles.
PUBLICATION
Within 60 days from the filing date
Once the examination period has ended and no objections were raised, the Trademark Office will issue the communication of approval providing a 30-day deadline to pay the publication fees. Once the official fees are paid, the mark will be published for opposition purposes in one of the Official Bulletins issued by the Dominican Trademark Office on the15th and last day of each month.
If the publication fees are not paid, the trademark will be considered abandoned.
OPPOSITION PERIOD
45 days counted from the publication date
The opposition period starts as soon as the trademark is published and ends 45days after the publication.
Oppositions can be filed before the Dominican Trademark Office by any third party that considers that the trademark application affects their trademark rights.
GRANTING
Within 3 to 4 months from the filing date
If no obstacles are found, the Trademark Office will proceed to grant the trademark and issue the certificate of registration.
The mark will be protected for a period of 10 years, counting from the granting date.
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
Within 3 to 4 months from the filing date
The Dominican Trademark Office has started issuing trademark certificates electronically, however, some certificates will still be printed in paper.
Useful Information
According to the applicable law, a trademark has a period of 3 years after its registration in which it cannot be cancelled. After that, any third party can apply for a cancelation action due to non-use.
It is relevant to also note that the use of the mark is not evaluated ex officio by the DOTMO, nor the owner must file periodically any prove of use. The evaluation of the use of a trademark is only done in the eventuality that a cancelation action is filed.