INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ANDORRA
Opposition Term |
N/A |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
The Trademark Act, 1995 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Andorra.
For getting a trademark registered in Andorra, an application has to be filed with the Trademark and Patent Office of Andorra (OMPA), which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file' system, which means that priority will be given to the earlier registered trademarks.
Andorra follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are allowed.
There are no provisions for filing opposition against a trademark registration. All problems between trademarks must be solved amicably or at the court.
In Andorra, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months along with penalty.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.
Andorra is a contracting party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Andorra is not a contracting party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The Patent Law 26/2014, passed by the Principality of Andorra on 30th October 2014, entered in force in January 2016 – deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Andorra. Before this, it was not possible to protect inventions through patent applications.
The Patent Law of Andorra provides that the patent shall be granted without substantive examination, and therefore, the application and grant are reduced to a simple deposit.The conditions of patentability will not be examined unless there is an obvious lack of novelty.
The patents will be completely valid during the period for which they have been granted, which means that the application of both verification diligences and interim measures as well as the use of actions based on a patent will have to include a principle of proof of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability of the title.
The applicants, who have applied for patents or utility models under the Paris Convention or as a member of the WTO, will have twelve (12) months to claim priority from the date of the first application.
Andorra does not have an online register. It has an Online Gazette (Butlletí de patents).
Although the national law already provides the possibility to extend a European Patent to Andorra, the agreement with the European Patent Organization (EPO) has not yet been ratified.
Both product patents and process patents can be filed in Andorra.
There is no provision for raising an opposition against a patent application in Andorra.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years from the date of application.
Andorra does not have a law on the registration and protection of industrial designs.
Andorra is a signatory to the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.
The Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, 1999 is the primary law governing the registration and protection of copyrighted works in Andorra.
Any work originating in Andorra, where the author of the work is a national of Andorra or the work was first published in Andorra, is given the same copyright protection in each of the other Berne Convention member countries. While in some countries copyright protection is automatic as soon as the work is saved in material form, registering for copyright in Andorra is extremely important in order for the copyright holder to have the necessary proof of copyright.
Economic and moral rights are protected during the life of the author and for seventy (70) years after his death.