Peru simplifies procedures and reduces costs for obtaining trademarks and patents

By Francisco Espinosa Reboa

The National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) launched the Electronic Gazette of Industrial Property, a digital tool for the publication of trademark and patent applications.

The tool simplifies procedures and reduces costs for obtaining trademarks and patents, putting Peru at the global forefront in strengthening and protection of IP: it could imply the possibility of obtaining a trademark in a worldwide record time of 45 working days, although actual times for obtaining a registration may take more than that since a thorough registrability analysis has to be make after the opposition period of 30 working days, and the initial formal review of the application as well as the confirmation of the final disposition of goods and services with the applicant may also take some time at the beginning of the application. 180 working days is the maximum legal term to grant a registration that did not receive opposition

Access to the Electronic Gazette is easy and simple for Peruvian entrepreneurs, inventors and the general public, as it can be done from a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Ray Meloni, director of the Distinctive Signs Direction of Indecopi, explained that until the appearance of the Electronic Gazette, the applications were physically published in the official newspaper El Peruano, for which a payment was needed by the applicant. The publication of applications on the Electronic Gazette is now free of charge.