Legal & Regulatory > Panama > Patents and Trademarks

All about patent and trademarks in Panamanian Pharma. Prepared in association with AFRA, a leading global law firm, this is an extract from The Pharma Legal Handbook: Panama, available to purchase here for GBP 75.

1. What are the basic requirements to obtain patent and trademark protection?

The basic requirements for obtaining a patent are the following:

• Power of attorney granted by the applicant; no legalization nor notarization required
• Assignment Document legalized by Panamanian Consulate or Apostille
• Specifications, claims, abstract and drawings (if applicable).
• If the applicant is a natural person: Complete name, nationality, complete domicile and his/her ID Card Number.
• If the applicant is a juridical person: Complete Name, country where constituted and complete address.
• For companies with an address outside of Panama, a Panamanian Address must be designated for administrative and judicial notifications concerning the trademark application/registration.
• If priority is to be claimed, indication of the country and office where the priority application was filed, its date and number.
• The title of the patent is necessary

The basic requirements for obtaining a trademark registration are the following:

• Power of attorney granted by the applicant; no legalization nor notarization required.
• If the applicant is a natural person: Complete name, nationality, complete domicile and his/her ID Card Number.
• If the applicant is a juridical person: Complete Name, country where constituted and complete address.
• For companies with an address outside of Panama, a Panamanian Address must be designated for administrative and judicial notifications concerning the trademark application/registration.
• Name and/or description of the mark.
• Colour and elements of the mark to be claimed.
• Detailed description of goods or services to be covered by the mark with its corresponding class. Our legislation accepts multi-class applications.
• Information regarding the use of the mark, to determine if it has been used or will be used in the commerce in Panama or in international commerce.
• If priority is to be claimed, indication of the country and office where the priority application was filed, its date and number.
• Translation of the mark (when necessary)
• Transliteration of the mark (when necessary)
• If the mark consists of or has a design, two (2) labels thereof, exactly as it is or will be used in commerce.

2. What agencies or bodies regulate patents and trademarks?

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry through the Industrial Property Department.

Panamanian Court (District Judges) handle oppositions, cancellation actions as well as unfair use.

See the Chapter: Directory Local Institutions below for more information available on the website.

3. What products, substances, and processes can be protected by patents or trademarks and what types cannot be protected?

TRADEMARKS

The following elements among others may constitute trademarks:

• words or combinations of words, including those that serve to identify persons;
• images, figures, symbols and graphic material;
• letters, figures and combinations thereof where they consist of distinctive elements;
• three-dimensional shapes, including the wrappers, packaging or shape of the product, the presentation thereof and holograms;
• colors in various combinations;
• sounds;
• odors and flavors;
• any combination of the elements non-exhaustively listed in the foregoing subparagraphs.
• geographical indications that consist in any sign or combination of signs that can identify a good or service as original of the territory of a country, region or locality of said territory when a determined quality, reputation or any other characteristic of the good or service is mainly attributable to the geographical origin, notwithstanding the relative dispositions related to geographical indications contained our trademark law.

Panamanian legislations prohibits the registration as a trademark or elements thereof the following:

• Reproductions or imitations of coats of arms, flags and other emblems, acronyms, names or abbreviated names of any State or national or international organization, without due authorization;
• marks that together constitute descriptive indications of the nature, characteristics, use or application, type, quality, quantity, purpose, value, place of manufacture or origin or time of production of the product or rendering of the service concerned, or expressions that constitute the usual or generic designation of the product or service, with the exception of descriptive or generic marks that have become distinctive or special through use and the collective or certification marks which refer to the place of manufacture or origin and according to the legal establish terms;
• figures or three-dimensional shapes or word marks capable of deceiving or misleading the public, understood as being those that convey a false impression as to the nature, components or properties of the goods and services that they are intended to cover;
• marks that can mislead or confuse the public in regard to the origin or attribute of the product that intends to distinguish in Panama a geographical indication or origin indication or origin indication;
• signs that are contrary to morality, public policy or proper practice;
• names, pseudonyms, signatures and portraits of persons different from the one applying for registration, without the consent of those persons or, if they are deceased, that of their heirs; except for portraits or names of historical figures;
• the designs on coins, banknotes, hallmarks denoting control or warranty used by the State, seals, stamps or tax imprints in general;
• marks that include or reproduce medals, awards, diplomas and other elements that give the impression that recognition has been received for the corresponding goods or services, except where such awards have been genuinely presented to the applicant for registration or to the person to whom the entitlement has been assigned, and where the fact is proved when registration is applied for;
• marks that are identical, similar or comparable in orthographic, graphic, phonetic, visual or design terms to another mark that is used or known and has been registered or is undergoing registration on behalf of another person to distinguish goods or services that are the same or of the same type as those to be covered by any trademark or similar to them, provided that the similarity or identity of the one and the other are liable to cause errors, confusions, unintentional substitutions or misapprehensions in the mind of the public with respect to those goods or services or the source thereof. Excluding the mark that has been authorized by the owner of a registered trademark. The goods or services are not considered to be similar to each other solely on the basis that any other registration or publication are classified under the same Nice Classification. The goods or services are not considered dissimilar to each other solely on the bases that any other registration or publication are classified under different Nice Classification. In the case of related goods or services, a person who considers himself affected may oppose registration on the basis of the provisions of this item;
• marks that are identical or similar to a famous or renowned trademark in Panama, registered or not, and are intended for application to any good or service; or known or well-known signs for application to specific goods or services according to the group of consumers to which they are addressed, as well as the ones that can cause dilution to a famous or well-known mark;
• proper or common geographical denominations, maps, and also nouns and adjectives, including gentilics, where they denote the source of the goods or services and are liable to cause confusion or mistakes regarding that source; however, can be subject to registration as trademark the national or foreign geographical names, as long as in its use does not mislead the true place of origin and are arbitrary enough respect the goods and services that are applied for. Excepting from the application of this item the collective and certification mark application;
• marks that consist basically of the Spanish translation of another mark that is already used, known, registered or undergoing registration to distinguish identical or similar goods or services;
• marks that are total or partial reproductions, imitations, translations or transcriptions liable to deceive, confuse or mislead the public of a nationally or internationally known trade name belonging to a third party and in use prior to the date of the application for registration as a trademark;
• three-dimensional shapes that lack such originality as will readily distinguish them, and the usual and everyday shape of goods or that which is dictated by their nature or industrial functions;
• animated or changing names, figures or three-dimensional shapes that are expressed by movement, even where they are visible;
• the titles of literary, artistic or scientific works and fictional or symbolic characters, except with the author’s consent where, in accordance with the relevant law, the said author retains full possession of his rights, and characteristic human figures where their conformity is not assured;
• letters, numerals or colors in isolation, except where they are combined with or constituted or accompanied by elements such as signs, designs or denominations that give them distinctive character;
• words, letters, characters or signs that are used by indigenous or religious communities or associations without gainful intent to distinguish the manner of processing goods or finished goods or services and those that constitute expressions of their culture or customs, idiosyncrasies or religious practices, except where the application is formulated on their behalf by one of the communities or associations provided for in this item;
• marks that use, as a basis for their design, references to national historical monuments and sites that are recognized as such by Law. Unless the authorization for its nonexclusive use is given by the correspondent government entity;
• Technical or scientific denominations, the name of plant varieties, OMS recommended common denominations and the ones that indicate a therapeutically action when applied to goods or services related with the object thereof.

PATENTS

It can be patentable any new invention, resulting from an inventive activity that it is susceptible of industrial application.  Panamanian legislation prohibits to be patentable the following:

• theories or scientific principles;
• discoveries that consist in publicizing or revealing something that already existed in nature, even where previously unknown;
• plans or methods relating to mental activities, games, principles pertaining to economics or business; • computer programs per se;
• methods of presenting information;
• aesthetic creations and artistic or literary works;
• methods of surgical, therapeutic or diagnostic treatment applicable to the human body and to animals. This provision shall not apply to the products, notably the substances or compositions, or to inventions of apparatus or instruments for the implementation of such methods;
• the juxtaposition of known inventions or the mixing of known products, orthe alteration of the form, dimensions or materials thereof, except if the new inventions, that are the result of an inventive step and susceptible of industrial can be proven;

The following inventions relating to live material are excluded from patentability:

• plants, animals and essentially biological means of breeding thereof in so far as for them not to be non-biological or microbiological means;
• plant species and animal species and breeds;
• biological material as encountered in nature;
• live material that forms part of the human body;
• plant varieties.

4. How can patents and trademarks be revoked?

Patents can be revoked by a judicial process initiated before the Panamanian Court to declare the nullity on the following cases:

1. When the patent was granted to a person who is not the inventor or assignor;
2. When the granting or registration was done against the patent law and its requirements.

Trademark registrations can be revoked by a non-use cancellation or nullity action file at the Panamanian Court.

5. Are foreign patents and trademarks recognized and under what circumstances?

Yes, foreign patents and trademarks are recognized in accordance with the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty which Panama is a member of but, these treaties are only for defending in process or claiming priority. The principle of territoriality applies for trademarks and patents. Therefore, it is mandatory to obtain registration in Panama in order to be able to claim exclusive use.

6. Are there any non-patent/trademark barriers to competition to protect medicines or devices?

No, to the best of our knowledge but, it is necessary to declare the distributor at the time to request sanitary registration to marketing the product. There is no patent linkage in Panama.

7. Are there restrictions on the types of medicines or devices that can be granted patent and trademark protection?

Please see Question 3.

8. Must a patent or trademark license agreement with a foreign licensor be approved or accepted by any government or regulatory body?

No, in Panama, is not mandatory to submit the registration or the government approval of the license agreement.