– Law No. 41 of July 13, 1995.
– Law No. 29 of February 1, 1996.
– Law No. 35 of May 10, 1996.
– Executive Decree No. 7 of February 17, 1998.
– Law No. 1 of January 5, 2004.
– Law No. 61 of October 5, 2012.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since September 17, 1983.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since August 4, 1991.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since October 19, 1996.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since September 6, 1997.

Applicant: the creator, his assignees or successors, through a lawyer or law firm qualified in Panama. When the industrial design or model has been created during the performance of a work or service contract, or a labor contract, the right to obtain the protection will belong to the person who contracted the work or the service, or to the employer, except for contractual provisions to the contrary.

Protection for foreigners: the same as for nationals.

Naming of creator(s): the creator is entitled to the right to be mentioned as such, unless he states by written statement addressed to DIGERPI that he does not desire to be so mentioned. Any pact or agreement whereby the creator of the industrial design or model binds himself in advance, to make such statement, shall be null.

Kind of industrial design or model: the law defines the concept of an industrial drawing or model as any two-dimensional or three-dimensional shape incorporated to a utility product, giving it a special appearance and making it suitable to serve as a type or model for its manufacture. The protection does not include those elements or features of the design or model that serve only to procure a technical effect, or which are adopted only by considerations of technical order.

Novelty (notion): an industrial design or model will enjoy protection if it is new, or deemed to be new, if it has not been disclosed to the public, or if it has not been made available to the public, elsewhere in the world, either by tangible publication or through sale, trading, use or any other means, prior to any of the following dates: (a) the date on which the person entitled to obtain the protection, discloses the industrial design or model in Panama, through means; or (b) the date on which said person filed in Panama an application for the registration of the industrial design or model, or the acknowledged priority date, as it may be the case. In case of difference in the dates, the oldest one will be applied. The disclosure made within twelve months prior to the applicable date will not be considered to establish the novelty, provided, however, that such disclosure had arisen, directly or indirectly from acts performed by the creator or by his successor in title, or by breach of confidence, non-performance of the contract or illicit act committed against anyone of them. Furthermore, the law establishes that the disclosure of the industrial design or model shall take effect when the design or model has circulated through any means in the Republic of Panama, be its through acts carried out directly by the title holder or if it has been made available to the public, by means of a tangible publication, an oral dissemination; the sale or trade thereof, the use, or through any other means.

Exceptions to protection: if used contrary to public order, or to morality.

Kinds of protection: acquired indistinctively by: (a) the first disclosure in Panama; or (b) the registration at DIGERPI.

Territory covered: Republic of Panama.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident lawyer together with the application):
1. Name and address of the applicant as well as of the creator(s) if he is not the applicant;
2. Power of attorney in favor of a resident lawyer or law firm;
3. Assignment document, if the applicant is not the creator. Said document, once executed by the parties concerned, must be delivered duly authenticated either by a Consulate of Panama, or by Apostille;
4. A description of the industrial design or model and its particularities;
5. A graphic representation of the industrial design or model;
6. Class selected;
7. If a priority is claimed, the application must attest the country or office where the priority was filed, the date of such filing and the number assigned to said application. A certified copy of the priority application must be filed within six months after the filing of the application in Panama.

Filing without power of attorney: possible by posting a surety bond in the amount of U.S.$ 100. The law provides a two-month period to submit the power of attorney. Said period can only be extended for one additional month.

Formal examination: upon receipt of the application, DIGERPI will make an examination to determine whether the application meets the requirements stated by the Law.

Publication: after the examination referred to above, DIGERPI will order the publication of the industrial design or model in the “Industrial Property Bulletin” (BORPI). Once the industrial design or model is published, any interested party may file an opposition suit before the proper authority, within a period not greater than two months counted from the date of its publication.

Duration: an industrial design or model which has been disclosed within the twelve-month period prior to the applicable date, will enjoy a protection for a period of two years, from the date of its first disclosure made in Panama, by the person entitled to the right to the protection. Once the industrial design or model is secure by means of a registration, the term of validity thereof will be of ten years, counted from the date of filing in Panama.

Renewal: it may be renewed only for one additional period of five years by paying the established renewal fees.

Annuities: fees established by the law must be paid every five years to keep the industrial design or model in full force and in effect. Failure to pay such fees will entail the industrial design or model to lapse.

Assignment: as for “patents“.

License agreements: as for “patents“.

Working: as for “patents“.

Opposition to an industrial design or model: upon request of an interested third party, and previous hearing of the owner, the commercial court will declare the nullification of the industrial design or model in any of the following cases: (a) when provided that the subject matter was not new; (b) when it was granted to anyone who, according to the Panamanian Law, did not have the right to the granting thereof. The nullification in this case may only be requested by the person to whom the referred rights belong. This action to demand the nullification is under a statute of limitation of five years from the date of the grant of the industrial design or model, unless same had been obtained in bad faith, in which case the action may be exercised at any time during its existence. DIGERPI will declare the nullification when a judicial judgment has been rendered to that effect.

Infringement and penalties: same as for “Patents“.