– Industrial Property Law (Decree No. 57-2000) of September 18, 2000, in force since November 1, 2000, amended on June 26, 2013.

– Convention on Invention Patents, Industrial Designs and Models, Trade Marks and Literary and Artistic Property, Rio de Janeiro, 1906.
– General Inter-American Convention on Trade Mark and Trade Protection, Washington, 1929.
– Central American Treaty for the Protection of Industrial Property, 1973.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since April 30, 1983.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since July 21, 1995.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since August 18, 1998.
– U.S.A. with DR-CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement), since July 1, 2006.
– Trademark Law Treaty, since December 12, 2016.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since September 18, 2017.

Applicant: any person whether national or foreign.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: may apply by granting a power of attorney to a resident lawyer of Guatemala.

Marks for services: registrable.

Novelty: a trademark must be new.

Not registrable: (1) letters, emblems, words or names and devices used or that may only be used by the State; (2) the form, shape or color of the products; (3) terms or phrases which are in general use and designations usually employed to indicate the nature of the products; (4) expressions or figures that are contrary to good morals; (5) the coats of arms of foreign countries, unless so authorized by the corresponding government; (6) the portrait of any person, other than that of the person applying for registration of the mark, unless his consent or that of his heirs is submitted; (7) marks that may be confused with other registered trademarks or with those about to be registered when the corresponding application is filed at the Trademark Office; (8) trademarks that are obvious imitations; (9) geographical denominations.

Classification: international with 45 classes of goods and services.

Multi-class applications: not yet permitted.

Territory covered: the Republic of Guatemala.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney, notarized and legalized by the Consulate of Guatemala;
2. Applicant’s name, address, country;
3. Description of the mark in Spanish, list of goods or services (according to Nice Classification);
4. 1 print in JPG format;
5. Priority certificate (if claimed).

Opposition: a trademark may be opposed through a petition submitted to the Trademark Office within two months of publication of the mark.

Application kept secret: not possible.

Appeal: first before the Ministry of Economy and then before the contentious-administrative courts.

Publication: once in the Trademark Office's electronic bulletin.

Delivery of document (and usual duration after filing): eight months.

Beginning of protection: from filing of the application.

Duration: ten years; this term is calculated from the date of granting.

Renewal: possible, since one year prior to due date.

Latest term for renewal: six months after the due date.

Term of grace for renewal: six months.

Compulsory character of registration: registration is not compulsory.

Use: not mandatory but recommended. If a trademark is not used for five years, registration may be cancelled.

Marking of registered goods: not compulsory.

Text of marking: not compulsory.

Opposition to registered marks: not possible.

Licenses: it is possible to grant licenses for the use of trademarks.

Assignment: possible, if in written form.

Infringement and penalties: infringers will be obliged to pay a compensation for damages, a fine between Q1,000 to Q5,000, and imprisonment between one to four years.