Patents of Invention

– Law of December 2, 1916.
– Bolivian Decree of May 6, 1960 (No. 05470).
– Decision 486 of the Andean Community (Cartagena Agreement), in force since December 1, 2000.

Membership in International Conventions

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since July 6, 1993.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since November 4, 1993.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since July 5, 1995.
– Andean Community Decision No. 486, since December 1, 2000.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since May 7, 2018.

Filing

Applicant: the inventor or his/her legal assignee.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: must have an appointee.

Types of patents: (1) patents; (2) divisional or derived patents; (3) fusioned patents.

Novelty: interpreted in an absolute sense; a new invention is one which, at the time when the application is made, is not known and has not been described or published. If any person, who has filed an application abroad, files a similar application in Bolivia within one year, such an application is not affected by events that may have taken place in the interval, such as publications, workings, or the handing of other applications.

Exceptions to protection: (1) scientific principles; (2) financial or credit plans; (3) inventions contrary to public order and security; (4) mathematical methods; (5) live material as found in nature; (6) therapeutic or surgical methods.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Apostilled power of attorney;
2. Specification with claims and drawings (if any), and abstract in Spanish;
3. Electronic specification with claims and abstract in Spanish;
4. Certified copy of home application;
5. Name, address and nationality of inventors.

For assignment:
1. Apostilled assignment deed;
2. Apostilled power of attorney executed before a Notary Public, signed by the assignor and the assignee.

For change of name or address:
1. Apostilled document that attests to the change, i.e. an extract from a Commerce Registry;
2. Apostilled power of attorney.

Filing without power of attorney: possible as long as it is submitted within two months.

Electronic filing: not available. 

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures).

Protection

Examination: as to form and novelty; if the Patent Office decides that the invention is not patentable, the applicant will be notified of this decision and must then respond within sixty days (this period may be extended for a further period of thirty days). If the final examination is favorable, the patent of invention shall be granted.

Opposition: possible before granting, within sixty working days from publication in the Official Gazette.

Beginning of protection: date of filing.

Delivery of document: the registration certificate is issued in paper format.

Duration: twenty years from date of filing.

Extension of duration: not possible.

Annuities: the first annuity is payable on filing and the following ones payable every year on the same date of filing.

Annuity grace period: six months.

Marking of patented goods: not compulsory.

Nullification: the Patent Office can decree ex officio or at the request of any interested party the nullity of a patent, if it was granted contravening any of the provisions of Decision 486 or if it was granted based on false indications. Nullification can be filed at any time. The nullification can be partial or total.