Cuba – Latam Guideline
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- Cuba – Latam Guideline
Trademarks
Patents
Designs
Data protection
Trademarks
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Madrid System: YES.
Trade Mark Law in force:
Decree Law 203/2000 of 1999.
Classification:
Nice classification, 11th edition.
Multiclass Applications:
YES.
Registrable trademarks:
Signs, words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers, devices, emblems, holograms, colors, combinations or shades of colors, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging.
Formal filing requirements:
- Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalization and no notarization required), within 60 days from the filing date. Unextendable.
- Certified copy of the priority application and its translation into Spanish, within 3 months from the filing date. Original copy is required.
Examination:
Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:
60 days from the publication date. Extendable term.
Average time from filing to grant:
Approximately 18 months, unless any obstacles were raised.
Currently, there is a delay of more than 2 years, due to a significant backlog at the TM Office.
Term of protection:
10 years from the date of application.
Use requirements:
YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trademark has not been used for 3 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is possible.
Renewal terms:
6 months prior to renewal date.
Grace period: 6 months.
Patents
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Paris Convention: YES
Contracting Party of the Patent Cooperation
Treaty (PCT): YES. Due term for entry into national phase: 30 months.
Patent Law in force:
Legal Decree 290 of April 1, 2012 and Decree 342 of August 10, 2018.
Types of protection available:
Patent of Invention; Utility Model.
First filing requirements with the local Patent Office for inventions made by nationals:
YES
Formal filing requirements:
- Power of Attorney merely signed (no legalization required) within 60 days from office action.
- Assignment document from the inventors merely signed (no legalization required) within 60 days from office action. Required upon petition of the examiner.
- Certified copy of priority application within 90 days from filing (not required for entry into national phase of PCT applications provided that PCT/IB304 form is available).
- Sequence listings must be filed in WIPO Standard ST.26 format.
Filing of the patent application in a foreign language:
Accepted for the entry into national phase of PCT applications only. In such case late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within 60 days from office action. (penalty fee should be paid)
Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:
NO
Search report must be requested by the applicant:
NO
Observations by third parties:
YES, within 60 working days from publication
Opposition:
YES, within 60 working days from publication
Average time from filing to grant:
5-6 years.
Term of protection for patents:
20 years from filing date.
Term of protection for utility models:
10 years from filing date.
Maintenance:
Yearly also during prosecution of the application.
Compulsory licensing:
YES
Designs
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Hague System: NO.
Applicable Law:
Decree Law 290 and Decree 342 on Inventions and Designs
Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:
NO.
Multiple design applications -one application for different embodiments-available:
YES.
Formal filing requirements:
Power of Attorney. Merely signed. 60 days from Office Action.
Drawings. At least one of the views must be presented in perspective. Each industrial drawing or model represented is identified with an Arabic number. The different views of the same drawing or industrial model are identified with the same number followed by a decimal number, as appropriate.
If drawings are presented, they can be originals or quality copies, made with precise and regular lines, accepting the presence of shadows to highlight the reliefs. The following requirements also apply to the representations:
a) Be executed in well-defined and durable lines and strokes. The figures and letters used must be clear, precise and not placed between punctuation marks or parentheses;
b) not contain any inscriptions or clarifications;
c) show the cross-sections by means of inclined lines without interfering with the understanding of the cross-section as a whole;
d) allow clear presentation and legibility of details by choosing the appropriate scale, which is included when a better perspective of the dimensions of the objects presented is required;
e) each element of any figure is represented on the same scale, except in cases where a different proportion allows for greater clarity;
f) several figures may be included on one sheet;
g) if the figures arranged on two (2) or more sheets constitute a single drawing, they are conceived in such a way that said drawing can be recomposed without omission of the parts that comprise it.
Brief description of each of the drawings.
Assignment document. Merely signed. 60 days from Office Action.
Locarno classification:
YES.
Deferred publication:
YES, 12 months.
Registration Proceeding Outline:
Filing. Formal examination. Publication. Oppositions. Substantive examination. Decision. Appeal. Definitive decision. Registration Certificate. Grant publication.
Opposition:
YES, before granting, within a 60 days term from the publication. Cancellation action after granting also possible.
Average time from filing to grant:
1-2 years approximately.
Term of Protection and Maintenance:
10 years, with annuity payment from 3rd year (1st and 2nd included in filing fees).
Data protection
Territory: Cuba
Data Protection Regulations:There is no data protection law in Cuba.
