Trade and Service Marks

– Law of January 15, 1918. See also Bolivian Decree of May 6, 1960 (No. 05470).
– Law of July 21, 1965.
– Commerce Code Decree No. 14379 of February 25, 1977.
– 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: anyone.

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

Novelty: the trademark applied for must not conflict with a trademark already registered.

Exceptions to protection: (1) generic marks; (2) descriptive marks; (3) misleading marks; (4) letters, words, names, or emblems having reference to  national symbols or states; (5) diluted words.

Service marks: are registrable.

Classification: international. A separate application must be filed for each class.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Apostilled power of attorney;
2. Representation of the mark;
3. List of goods or services to be protected.

For renewal: apostilled power of attorney.

For assignment: a valid apostilled power of attorney and the legalized assignment document.

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 one or more requirements: possible for certain requirements but the missing documents have to be submitted within sixty days of filing.

Filing without power of attorney: possible but the same has to be submitted within sixty days.

Consular legalization: not required, only apostilled.

Electronic filing: not available. 

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

Examination, Protection

Examination is conducted at two levels: the first is the pro-forma examination to determine if the application meets all the requirements and if so it gets sent to publication. Also, there is a subject matter examination to see that the application meets the registrability criteria.

Rights of prior user: use does not lead to any rights in trademarks so a prior user cannot invoke prior use rights. Regarding commercial names, a prior user can acquire rights if he has been using the commercial name continuously prior to the registration of a trademark.

Disclaimers: not available. 

Letters of consent: may be accepted, must be apostilled.

Opposition: may be filed within thirty working days from publication in the Official Gazette.

Cancellation: possible if the targeted mark has not been in use during the prior three consecutive years. The first three years of registration, a mark is not vulnerable to cancellation.

Beginning of protection: upon registration.

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

Duration: ten years.

Renewal: every ten years; application for renewal can be made six months before or after the deadline. Grace period: six months.

Marking of registered goods: no provision.

Assignment: possible. Requirements: assignment deed and power of attorney, signed by assignor and assignee, apostilled.

License: it is possible to license a mark under condition that the same is registered. Registration is not compulsory but highly advisable as non-registration will prevent enforcement against third parties.

Use of trademarks: not mandatory but lack of use may lead to ex-parte cancellation.

Particularities: the registration of the mark is mandatory for chemical and pharmaceutical products.