do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

More documents

Recommendations

Info

DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC112certain basic requirements set forth in the law.An earlier application is irrelevantwhen an inventor has priority rights over his invention, by virtue of a patentapplication filed in a member country of international organisations to which theDominican Republic belongs, or which grants reciprocity to Dominican inventors,but only for a period of one year after having filed for a patent abroad.The National Office of Industrial Property has a 60-day term after the date of filingto determine whether the application complies with the formalities set forthin the law (“examen de forma”). In the event of non-compliance, the applicantwill be asked to complete the application within a two-month period.A lack oftimely response will be deemed as a waiver of the application. If the lack relatesto basic requirements such as invention description or claims, the date of theapplication will be that of filing of the lacking information or documents.The patent application will be published 18 months after the date of filing, andany person may file his/her grounded objections to the granting of the patentwithin 60 days thereafter, to which objections the applicant may respond withinsixty days after receiving notice thereof.The request will be examined (“examen de fondo”) after payment of the respectivefees, which must be made within twelve months after publication. TheNational Office of Industrial Property will determine, based on the respectivelegal provisions, any international agreements, any objections that may havebeen filed and experts reports if necessary, whether the invention may bepatented.Patents may be granted for all, or only a part, of the requested claims. Rejectionsmust be duly justified. Patents are published in the Bulletin of the National Officeof Industrial Property, and all documents related thereto are public and may beconsulted by any interested party.Patents are granted for 20 years, and during that period the patent holder is entitledto exclusively exploit the invention protected thereby and to object to anyacts of third parties that may affect his/her rights.Law 20-00 provides for a reduction of patent fees for up to 10% of normal applicationand annual rates when the own inventor has filed the application orobtained the patent,and his economic situation,as verified by the National Officeof Industrial Property, does not allow him to cover the complete costs to applyfor, or maintain, the patent.b) TrademarksLaw 20-00 protects all types of trademarks, including collective marks and certificationmarks, providing a wide definition thereof.Registration grants the exclusive right of use over a trademark.The period of previoususe (longer than six months) determines priority for registration. Priorityrights for trademarks registered abroad are also recognised. New trademarks areregistered on behalf of the first person that first files for registration.Among the signs that may not be registered, we find some prohibitions that arerelated to the sign itself, such as the following:
Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at lawSigns that may be used in commerce to describe the product,Generic or scientific denominations of the product, colours, etc.,Signs contrary to public order or moral,Signs that make ridicule of people, religions, countries or others,Signs that may deceive the public as to the nature or qualities of the product,etc.Other prohibitions are related to existing rights, including the following:Signs similar to registered (or already in-use) trademarks for similar orrelated products, or similar to registered labels, commercial names oremblems,Signs copying, imitating or translating notorious signs, when the similaritymay lead to confusion,Signs that affect the personality rights of third persons, or the name, image orprestige of companies or organisations,Signs that violate existing intellectual property rights, etc.Registration applications may be filed with the National Office of IndustrialProperty, which after having verified within the following fifteen days that therequest complies with the respective formalities and other requirements setforth in the law, gives notice of its decision to the applicant. If the office hasdecided that the trademark may be registered, it orders its publication, and thirdparties may object to registration within forty-five days thereafter.After the expirationof this term, the office decides on the objections and grants or rejects therequest.Registration is granted for a period of 20 years,renewable for consecutive 10-yearperiods. Renovation applications must provide proof of use of the trademark.Registration grants the exclusive right of use over the trademark and entitles itsholder to object to any use of the registered trademark made in any mannerwhatsoever by third parties, apart from usual commercial indications.Furthermore, the trademark holder cannot object to the use of its trademark by athird party,in relation to legitimately marked products that the holder itself or a personwith the holder's consent or economically related thereto, has put into commerce,whether in the country or abroad, provided that the products or their packagingor labelling has not suffered any modification, alteration or deterioration.c) Trade NamesLaw 20-00 protects distinctive signs such as trade names, labels, emblems, slogans,appellations of origin, etc.The exclusive right to use a trade name does not arise from registration, but fromits first commercial use. Protection is granted in the absence of registration andends with the abandonment of the name, which takes place when the name hasstopped being used by its holder for more than five years. However, for commercialslogans, the right of exclusive use arises from registration.Trade names cannot be formed of indications or signs that go against publicorder or moral, or that may create confusion among the public regarding the113
Page 1 and 2:
DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPU
Page 3 and 4:
DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPU
Page 5 and 6:
FOREWORDA place to invest ...The Do
Page 7 and 8:
Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
INTERNATIONALTRADEInternational tra
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
MAININVESTMENTSECTORSThe Dominican
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64: Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 95 and 96: LEGAL FRAMEWORKFOR BUSINESSACTIVITI
Page 113: Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 125 and 126: Digital signature of the Certificat
Page 143 and 144: Design: Lourdes Saleme y AsociadosP
show all

do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?