Jul 27, 2022 (Newsletter Issue 10/22)Guidelines on Examination of 3D Marks IssuedOn 13 May 2022, the Court of Justice of the Andean Community published Interpretation No. 81-IP-2020 on the examination of 3D marks. The new guidelines clarify that 3D marks may consist only of shapes or be a combination of shapes and additional elements and describe the different elements that the Andean Community’s IP Offices (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) must consider when examining these marks. These guidelines are important as they recognize the protection of 3D marks and harmonize how IP offices of the Andean Community examine these applications.
For more information and examples, please click here
Source: Bermeo & Bermeo Law Firm, Ecuador, see INTA Bulletin of 22 June 2022 May 31, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 10/16)
IP Procedures Optimised
The Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI) has launched a program for the optimisation and automatization of procedures within the framework of the National Plan for the Simplification of Procedures. The new online processes will speed up the applications and registrations filed before the IEPI and reduce the response times.
Processes and response times for trademark, slogan and trade name registrations should be reduced to six months. Additionally, the response time for distinctive sign oppositions will be reduced to nine months.
The IEPI has also reported that the number of requirements for the inscription of the following contracts will be reduced: databases, computer programs, audio-visual works, literary works and phonograms. The response time for these processes will be one day.
Source: ww.moellerip.com, www.propiedadintelectual.gob.ec
Oct 25, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 12/11)
Term Extension to File Oppositions No Longer Accepted
The Ecuadorian Trademark Office has decided to eliminate the possibility of term extensions to file opposition (under Resolution No. 11-029 P-IEPI), in concordance with the Andean Community Regulations.
As from July 2011, the Ecuadorian Trademark Office has decided to eliminate exensions of terms to file oppositions against trademark applications, considering that there was a contradiction between the national and the community regulations.
The Decision 486 of the Andean Community does not include the possibility of requesting extensions of terms to file oppositions, against the Ecuadorian Trademark Law which accepts this exception.
In light of the above, the Ecuadorian Trademark Office has concluded that the community regulation must prevail on the national one. Therefore, extensions will no longer be granted in Ecuador to file oppositions.
Source: Moeller IP Advisors, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jul 12, 2010 (Newsletter Issue 12/10)
Official Fees Increased
The Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property has increased the official registration fees and opposition fees effective by June 1st, 2010.
The official fee for a trademark application is USD 116.- (approx. EUR 92.-) including the issuance of the title.
There is no longer any requirement to pay for the issuance of the registration title; it will be included in the one-off fee for applications.
The registration fees of three-dimensional trademarks are much higher compared to other trademark registration fees with USD 336.- (approx. EUR 266.-).
Source: www.iloinfo.com
The legal basis of Intellectual Property in Ecuador is the Social Economy of Knowledge, Creativity, and Innovation Organic Code, enacted in December 2016 (“Ecuadorian IP Law”), and the Andean Community Decision no. 486 concerning intellectual property (“Decision 486”).
Ecuador is a member of the Andean Community. Andean Community Decision no. 486 contains common rules on Trademark Law in all member states (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru).
Trademark protection is obtained by registration.
Nice classification, 11th edition
Registrable as a trademark are all distinctive and graphically representable signs, such as words, the combination of words, images, figures, symbols, letters, numbers, sounds, flavors, devices, emblems, holograms, colors, combinations or shades of colors, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging, trade dress, sound marks, and olfactory marks and any combination of the above.
The following trademark types are registrable under Ecuadorian IP Law: trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks, trade names, and titles of establishment.
The application is filed online before the Servicio Nacional de Derechos Intelectuales (“SENADI”), through the web page www.derechosintelectuales.gob.ec. A separate application needs to be filed for each class.
To obtain the registration of a commercial name, the holder must accompany the application with proof of public use, continuous and in good faith, at least during the six months prior to the application.
Foreign applicants may file an application through a local agent with a power of attorney attested by a notary and legalized by Apostille or up to the Ecuadorian Consulate if the particular jurisdiction is not a member state at the Apostille Convention.
Foreign applicants are not required to be domiciled in Ecuador.
The application process includes a formal examination, publication in the monthly Industrial Property Gazette, and an examination of distinctiveness against prior trademarks.
The registration process takes approximately between 4-6 months.
National:
The opposition period is 30 working days from the publication date of the application. This period cannot be extended. Oppositions are also possible by owners of trademarks in other member states of the Andean Community in which case a local application needs to be filed to prove a legitimate interest.
Protection is granted from the date of allowance of the registration. Trademark registration is valid for 10 years from such date. 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 a trademark application is USD 208 including the issuance of the title. The official fee for a three-dimensional trademark application is USD 1,002.
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Practical details on trademark licensing are available in our publication
hereOnline 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
Trademark Licensing
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May 22, 2023
Pérez, Bustamante & Ponce, Quito, Ecuador