On March 24, 2020, the Law No. 1024, Law of Reforms and Additions to the Law No. 380, Law on Trademarks and other Distinctive Signs was approved. This law comes to update the provisions regarding to the trademarks and other distinctive signs registration procedure, without modifying the provisions related to the post-registration protection or to the termination of the rights obtained by the holder of a trademark or other distinctive signs, which remain identical to what is established in the Law since its approval in the year two thousand and one and the provisions amended on two thousand and six.
The current reforms mainly represent an update to the official fees, which have not been modified since the approval of the Law in the year two thousand and one.
The reforms also came to modify elements as the streamlining of the process and shortening the deadlines for obtaining the registration. Other important aspect is that the publication notice of the registration application can be received in a period of approximately fifteen days and is not necessary to await for two months because the reforms shorted the official application payment term which was in a maximum period of two months and now it must be paid prior to the fill of the application since without this payment the application cannot be received by the Registry.
Other amended provision has been the one regarding to the presentation of oppositions deadline, which now is a thirty business days period counted from the publication of the trademark notice in the Official Gazette.
Now that the implementation of the reforms has approximately five months, from its entered in force on April 3, 2020 – the date of its publication – it is evident that the shortening of the periods established in the trademark registration procedure helps to obtain more expedited trademarks and other distinctive signs protection. Likewise, the implementation of electronic notice helps with the deadline shortening and we will achieve the registration in a much shorter period, representing a positive aspect of the Law.
A very important aspect that must be considered in regard with the approval of this reforms and the deadlines shortening is the fact that much more attention should be paid to the surveillance of Trademarks for the timely defense of trademarks and other distinctive signs in a much shorter period than the previously established.