Costa Rica-柏斯特(深圳)国际知识产权服务有限公司

Trademarks

North & South America

Costa Rica Trademark Registration

Overview of Costa Rican Trademarks

1. Costa Rica, abbreviated as Costa Rica, is a presidential republic located in Latin America. The economy mainly relies on agriculture and electronic component exports. It is a relatively developed country in the Central American region, with a high standard of living, widespread expansion of land ownership, and a thriving tourism industry. At the same time, it has diverse cultures due to being the cultural intersection of Central and South America. It is known as the 'Switzerland of Central America'.
2. The current trademark regulations in Costa Rica are mainly based on the revised and effective "Trademark and Other Distinctive Marks Law" on March 28, 2008
3. The Costa Rican trademark is managed by the Industrial Property Registry of the Costa Rican National Registry, and the official language is Spanish.
4. The trademark registration in Costa Rica follows the principle of "use first".
5. Costa Rica adopts the Nice classification system and accepts multiple types of applications. The elements that can be registered as trademarks include: text, name, graphics, color combinations, slogan, sound, etc. In Costa Rica, chemicals, drugs, medical equipment, veterinary supplies, and food must register trademarks.

Application

Costa Rica is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Paris Convention and the WIPO Convention, and has not yet joined the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol. Therefore, trademark registration in Costa Rica can only be processed through "single country registration".

Validity period and renewal

The validity period is 10 years from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months (with additional fees) and a validity period of 10 years.

Required documents

1. Applicant's name and address

2. Goods or services

3. Trademark design

4. Power of attorney, to be notarized

5. To submit priority, proof of priority must be provided

Application process

Registration process: Application - Acceptance - Examination - Announcement - Approval - Issuance.

RIP will issue an acceptance notice within 4-5 weeks after receiving the trademark registration application, and initiate formal examination at the same time. If there are any formal defects, the trademark registrar will return the application documents for correction. The applicant must resubmit the modified documents within 15 days after receiving the returned documents.

RIP will publish the trademark that has passed the formal examination three times, with a publication period of 15 days. Within 2 months after the first publication, anyone can file an objection request to the published trademark, and the respondent must respond and provide corresponding evidence within 30 days. This deadline cannot be extended.

RIP will make a ruling on the materials of both opposing parties and issue a trademark registration certificate.

If the whole process goes smoothly, it will take about 8 to 12 months.