– Industrial Property Law of October 14, 1955, published in Official Gazette No. 24.873 dated October 14, 1955.

Note: provisions of Decision 486 of the Andean Community (Cartagena Agreement) are no longer in force since September 17, 2008. A new Industrial Property Law is in preparation and expected to be enacted in the near future.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since November 23, 1984.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since September 12, 1995.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since March 16, 1999.

Applicant: any person, private or legal, can obtain the registration of any mark, providing he previously complied with the requirements established by the law.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: must appoint a registered patent attorney as agent.

Trademarks of foreigners: accepted.

Marks for services: can be protected.

Not registrable: the following cannot be adopted nor registered as marks: (1) words, phrases, figures or signs which may suggest immoral ideas or which may serve to distinguish immoral objects or merchandise of forbidden production or commerce, and those which may be used in an unlawful business or on a harmful article; (2) the flag, coat of arms or other insignias of the Venezuelan Republic, States, municipalities and, in general, of any Venezuelan entity of a public nature; the flag, coat of arms or other insignias of foreign nations, except when their commercial use is duly authorized by a certificate issued by the corresponding office of the interested country; signs, emblems and badges of the Red Cross and of any other entity of similar nature; (3) geographical names, as indication of the place of origin; (4) the shape and color which may be given to goods or products by the manufacturer, or colors or color combinations in themselves; (5) geometrical figures which bear no newness; (6) caricatures, photographs, drawings or expressions that may tend to ridicule ideas, persons or objects worthy of respect and consideration; (7) terms and phrases which may have become of general use, and expressions commonly employed to indicate the class, kind, nature, origin, quality or shape of the products; (8) the complete name or surname of a private person, if not presented in a peculiar and distinctive form, sufficient to differentiate it from the same name when used by other persons, and even in this case, if it treats of the name of a third party, should such be presented without the consent of the latter; (9) a mark which may graphically or phonetically resemble another mark already registered, for the same or analogous articles; and a mark which can cause confusion with another mark already registered or which may lead to error through suggesting a false origin or quality.

Priority: six months, according to Paris Convention.

Classification: International Classification of Nice (11th Edition). Note: since February 10, 2020, the Venezuelan Trademark Office no longer uses the local classification and will exclusively use the international classification established in the Nice Agreement. Separate applications must be filed for each class of goods or services.

Territory covered: all the Venezuelan territory.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (notarized and legalized by a Venezuelan Consulate, or Apostille);
2. 10 prints (not exceeding 4 x 4 cm) or 2 prints (not exceeding 8 x 8 cm);
3. Certified copy of priority document (if any), translated into Spanish by a Venezuelan sworn translator.

Electronic filing: possible since August 2015. All documentation must be translated into Spanish by a Venezuelan sworn translator.

Amendment of application: possible for restrictions of the list of goods/services.

Examination: as to form and anteriorities.

Urgent registration: not possible.

Provisional registration: not possible. 

Letters of consent: not accepted.

Publication: after formal examination. Publication in the press and notice of the trademark is published in the Official Bulletin.

Opposition: during thirty working days from the date of publication in the Bulletin of Industrial Property, any person can object to the application and oppose the granting of the mark. The mark is considered to be stopped if no reply to the opposition is submitted.

Disputes about ownership: possible.

Application kept secret: not possible.

Appeal: appeal can be made against every decision of the Registrar on registration.

Correction of registration: not possible.

Beginning of protection: as soon as the trademark is granted.

Duration: fifteen years from the granting date.

Extension: renewable every fifteen years, to be requested within six months prior to the expiration date.

Term of grace for renewal: not possible.

Modification of the mark: not possible.

Changes in the list of goods: only restrictions are accepted.

Obligation to use: trademarks must be used within two years of their registration date. Use in another language is not considered as a valid evidence of use. Use by a licensee is only valid if the license agreement has been recorded both at the Technology Transfer Office (SIEX) and the Registry of Trademarks.

Marking of registered goods: not compulsory, optional.

Assignment: possible. A certified and legalized copy of the assignment document (on a specific form) is required for recordal.

Licenses: possible. A licensed user must be registered at the Trademark Office.

Rights of prior user: not permitted.

Cancellation: may be requested by any interested person if the trademark has not been used for two consecutive years prior to cancellation action, without justified reasons.

Nullification: may be decreed if the registration has been awarded in violation of any of the provisions or in bad faith. Evidence of use must be presented in the Spanish language.

Compulsory licenses: not provided for.

Expropriation: not possible.

Validation of invalidated marks: not possible.

Provision for restoration: no provision.

Registration of invalidated marks: if a trademark has lapsed through failure to renew it, it can be re-registered but not if the invalidation was caused by illegality.