The legal basis is the Law of July 17th, 1954 as amended in 1956, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1970; Decree of June 18th, 1964 on the registration at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
References of the laws’ publications/official Gazette: Le Moniteur No. 70 dated August 16, 1954, No. 90 dated August 23, 1956, No. 81 dated September 9, 1960, No. 87 dated September 16, 1965, No. 91 dated October 16, 1967, No. 96 dated November 23, 1970; No. 59 dated June 19, 1964.
The following international treaties/conventions apply: Panamerican Convention; Paris Convention; Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration; TRIPS but as part of LDC, the transition period has been extended to July 1st, 2021, or when a country ceases to be a member of LDC.
Haiti is not a member of the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration. First-to-file jurisdiction.
Although Haiti is not a party to the Nice Agreement, it is currently using the Nice classification.
Registration is mandatory for pharmaceutical products (class 5). They cannot be sold if the trademark is not registered.
Registrable as a trademark are names in a distinctive form, emblems, impressions, stamps, cachets, vignettes, relief’s, letters, ciphers, monograms, labels, particular combinations of colors, signatures, ornamental designs, fabricated words or names, portraits in general, all special signs or appellations adopted or applied by said manufacturers, industrialists, merchants or companies to their products with the object of indicating their industrial, commercial, or agricultural activity, and of distinguishing it from others of the same kind.
Non-traditional marks (like sound marks, olfactory marks, or three-dimensional forms) are registrable, but there is no precedent of any registration of sound and olfactory marks in Haiti, although they’re not expressly excluded by the law. Due to a lack of adequate support, sounds and olfactory marks cannot be registered. Three-dimensional marks have been registered.
The following trademark types are registrable: trademarks, service marks, and collective marks. Tradenames can also be registered.
The application is filed at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Multiple classes can be filed on one application but will be treated separately.
Foreign applicants need a local agent.
A power of attorney (simply signed) is needed for registrations and renewals.
Foreign applicants do not need a domestic registration of the corporation or entity proprietor of the mark.
The processing time from first filing to registration is 12 to 16 months if there are no oppositions. Prior to registration, trademark applications are published in the National Gazette “LE MONITEUR” for opposition purposes.
National:
The opposition period is 2 months from the publication date of the application.
Trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the date of expiration of the opposition period. Proof of Use or Affidavit of Non-Use
must be filed during the first three months of the sixth year of the registration or renewal. If a Declaration of use or a legitimate excuse for non-use has not been filed within the time limit indicated above, the registration becomes invalid. However, after the registration has lapsed, the owner of the lapsed registration has a period of priority of three months for refiling the same mark.
The registration is renewable for periods of 10 years.
Practical details on grace periods for trademark renewals are available in our publication
herePractical details on trademark use requirements are available in our publication
hereThe official fee for filing a trademark application in one class is HTG 2,000. The publication fee for a word trademark is HTG 2,970 for one class and HTG 2,970 for each additional class. The publication fee for device, design, and logo trademark is HTG 7,700 for one class and HTG 7,700 for each additional class. The registration fee is HTG 2,000 for one class and HTG 152 for each additional class (plus additional costs for certified check (HTG 1,000), stamps (HTG 150) and registration at Chamber of Commerce (HTG 225).
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Online you can see a limited part of information about this country.
More in-depth details are available for the following aspects:
General Trademark Regulations
Trademark Use Requirements
Grace Period for Trademark Renewal
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Aug 25, 2023
Minino Abogados, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic