Trademark Registration
A trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase used to identify the source of products and to distinguish the products of a particular manufacturer or seller from the products of another.
Before selecting a trademark, you should determine if the mark is available for your use. This is important for two reasons: 1) to determine whether your mark is capable of registration; and 2) to avoid opposition to your registration by the owner of a similar mark.
Panama offers trademark registration for a five or ten year period, as governed by Law 35 (1996) and Regulation 7 (1998). Our office can assist in preparing the required documents for the application, such as:
- Affidavits
- Application
- Certificate of Guarantee
- Documentation showing that the trademark has priority, in accordance with international treaties.
- Business license (or requesting an operating permit if you don’t already have one)
- Power of Attorney
If you are not actually the owner of the trademark, and you need licensing agreements for the use of the trademark, our office can assist in the preparation of the necessary agreements.
Other services:
Before filing your application, our law office can undertake a national trademark search, to minimise the risk of facing a trademark infringement lawsuit. We believe that it is essential for your lawyer to be involved in the search process, as it is possible that an on-line search will not provide the proper review.
We can also provide you with an opinion confirming the likely success that your trademark application be approved. Thankfully, in Panama we have a single register, unlike the US where there are both federal and state registers, as well as common law rights. Here in Panama, you should be concerned with “use” leading to pre-emptive rights through use in commerce, but generally the registrations of the trademark is considered to be conclusive.
Our legal team can also assist in defending against any oppositions to registration or trademark infringement lawsuit.