Five things you should know before trademark and service mark registration
- Preliminary study
- Initiation of the procedure
- Content of the application
- Prohibitions
- Application course
Preliminary study
It is important to carry out a preliminary study of previously registered trademarks in the Industrial Property Registry to determine the feasibility of the desired name; Allowing the interested party to adjust, if necessary, its distinctive sign.
Procedure begins
The procedure for registering a trademark begins with the submission of the application form. For this step it is necessary to meet all the requirements of form and substance required by law, including the technical and detailed description of the material to be registered (distinctive signs, colors, relevant information, among others).
Contents of the application form
The main elements contained in the application are:
- Indication of the type of mark to be registered, whether it is a trademark, in the case of products produced by the same company or person submitting the application, commerce, in the case of marketing products made by third parties or Services, when it comes to the provision of a service.
- Color reserve, in case the applicant wants to protect the colors of the design.
- The class number in which the mark is intended to be registered, according to the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification). This classification categorizes products and services for the registration of trademarks and service marks.
- Description of the product or service to be registered.
Prohibitions
It is not possible to register trademarks that may be confused, at the discretion of the registrar, with previously registered trademarks or in the process of registration. Nor will it be possible to register trademarks containing common use and free use language.
Procedure
The National Registry will then carry out a study of the application and once it complies with all the requirements, the National Registry will order to publish, for three times and at the expense of the interested party, a notice in the official journal. Once the first publication has been completed, a period of two months for oppositions will be given, once it has been completed and without opposition, the Industrial Property Registry will proceed to register the trademark and issue a certificate of registration, which shall contain the data included in the corresponding register and those set by the regulatory provisions.
The registry of a trademark expires in ten years, counted from the date of its concession. It may be renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten years, counted from the date of the previous expiration.