Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) relates to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
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Panamanian law defines a trademark as: any sign, word, combination of these elements, or any other means that, due to its characteristics, is capable of distinguishing a product or service in trade. The trademark to be registered can be a sign, logo, word, image, figure, graphic, as well as packaging, containers, colors, among others.
Trademarks registered in Panama have a validity period of 5 or 10 years, starting from the date of application. These periods can be renewed 12 months before the expiration date. Examples of trademarks, based on their components, include denominative, figurative, mixed trademarks, three-dimensional trademarks, sound trademarks, olfactory trademarks, and taste trademarks.
Trademarks are registered in 45 different classes, which are distributed into product classification (classes 1 to 34) and service classification (classes 35 to 45). In Panama, trademark registration is managed by the General Directorate of Industrial Property Registry of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (DIGERPI).
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. In general terms, a patent empowers its holder to decide whether the invention can be used by third parties and, if so, under what conditions..
Panamanian Law No. 35 of May 10, 1996, as amended by Law No. 61 of October 12, 2012, defines an invention as: "any idea that can be practically applied to solve a specific technical problem and can be a product and/or a process." An invention of a product can be any substance, composition, material, article, apparatus, machine, equipment, mechanism, device, or other tangible object or result, including any of its parts.
An invention of a process includes, among others, any method, system, or sequence of steps leading to the manufacture or obtaining of a product or a tangible result.
In Panama, the registration of a patent is managed by the General Directorate of the Industrial Property Registry of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (DIGERPI). This institution handles the registration of invention patents, utility models, industrial designs, as well as applications for international patents processed within the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).