- North & South America
2. The Haitian Trademark Law was initially promulgated on July 17, 1954 and came into effect on November 16, 1954. The Trademark Law was revised and supplemented three times on July 15, 1956, August 28, 1960, and June 18, 1964. The amended Trademark Law of June 18, 1964 stipulates that trademark registration applications must be submitted to the Haitian Ministry of Commerce. Trademarks approved for registration before June 19, 1964 should be registered and filed with the Haitian Ministry of Commerce when submitting renewal applications.
3. The Administration for Industry and Commerce is responsible for managing trademark affairs, and the official languages are French and Creole.
4. The acquisition of trademark rights in Haiti is based on the principle of prior use.
5. Currently, Haiti adopts the Nice Classification 10th edition of product and service descriptions and does not accept applications for multiple categories in one form.
6. After the registration of pharmaceutical products and drug trademarks, they must be marked with "Haitian registered trademark" when used. There are no mandatory regulations for other trademarks.
Haiti is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Paris Convention and the WIPO Convention; As we have not yet joined the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol, trademark registration can only be processed through "single country registration".
The Haitian trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the end of the opposition period; Renewal can be processed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months and a validity period of 10 years.
If the applicant does not reside in Haiti, they must entrust a specialized agent in their home country to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark application design;
2. Specific categories and product/service offerings;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. If priority is declared, priority proof documents and corresponding French translations must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a Haitian trademark is: application, acceptance, examination, announcement, approval, and issuance of a certificate.
The application will be accepted within 1-2 weeks after submission. The examiner will conduct formal and substantive examinations on the application. Formal review mainly examines whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations; The substantive examination includes the examination of the distinctiveness of the trademark, whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses, and whether it conflicts with the prior trademark.
If the examination fails, a rejection notice will be issued and the applicant will be required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice; Those who pass the substantive examination will be arranged for announcement. The objection period is 2 months from the date of announcement, and any interested party or prior rights holder may raise objections.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, registration can be approved and a registration certificate can be issued.
In a smooth situation, trademark registration in Haiti currently takes 10-12 months.
