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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN VENEZUELA

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Opposition Term

30 Days 

Registration Term

15 Years

First Renewal Term

15 Years

Subsequent Renewal Term

15 Years

  • The Industrial Property Law, 1956 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Venezuela.

  • For getting a trademark registered in Venezuela, an application has to be filed with Venezuelan Patent and Trademark Office (SAPI), which administers the entire trademark registration process.

  • Venezuela is also a signatory to several international treaties, including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

  • In Venezuela, exclusive trademark rights are granted only by registration as per the Industrial Property Law. However, the owners of unregistered trademarks may be able to prevent the registration of marks by filing an opposition to the application based on their unregistered trademarks.

  • Use is not required to file or grant a trademark; like most civil law-based trademark systems, Venezuela is a first-to-file jurisdiction.

  • Venezuela follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are not acceptable.

  • The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within thirty (30) days following its publication date in the official gazette.

  • In Venezuela, registered trademarks have a validity of fifteen (15) years from the date of registration, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of fifteen (15) years each. 

  • The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.

  • The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is two (02) years from the date of registration.

  • Venezuela is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. It is not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

  • The Industrial Property Law, 1956 deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Venezuela.

  • For seeking patent protection in Venezuela, an application has to be filed with the Venezuelan Patent and Trademark Office (SAPI), which administers the entire process of patent grant.

  • Patentable inventions as per the Act in Venezuela include - any new product, defined, and useful; any new machine or tool and any new instrument or apparatus of industrial use or of medicinal, technical, or scientific application; and the parts or elements of machines, mechanisms, apparatuses, and accessories. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.

  • The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application, Convention Application, Divisional Application, and Patent of Addition.

  • In Venezuela, an opposition against a patent application can be raised at the pre-grant stage within two (02) months approximately following its publication. An opposition can also be raised at the post-grant stage within two (02) years after the grant of the patent.

  • The patent of invention lasts for ten (10) years in Venezuela. The first annuity will be due in the 1st year, and the last annuity will be due in the 9th year. The payment of annuities must be made within six (06) months before the due date. There is no grace period for the payment of annuities.

  • The Industrial Property Law, 1956 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Venezuela.

  • The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Venezuela include only the Non-Convention Application.

  • Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation.

  • Opposition against an industrial design application can be raised within two (02) months from the date of publication of the industrial design.

  • The total duration of industrial design registration in Venezuela is ten (10) years from the date of application. The initial registration term is five (05) years, which is further extendible for an additional term of five (05) years upon payment of the renewal fee. 

  • Venezuela is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the WIPO Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms, and Broadcasting Organizations, 1961.

  • The Law on Copyright 1993, as supplemented by various other laws and conventions, specifically the Regulations under the Law on Copyright (approved by Decree No. 618 of April 11, 1995) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Venezuela. 

  • In Venezuela, copyright protects the works expressed in a tangible form and containing a minimum degree of originality. Protection covers scientific, literary, artistic, or educational works, irrespective of the medium. Software is protected by copyright as a literary work.

  • There is no need to register the work to exert rights in Venezuela. The work is protected from the time of its creation.

  • The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus sixty (60) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.

  • Copyright in anonymous or pseudonymous works subsists until sixty (60) years from the publication.