What is the duration of each of these intellectual property rights? What procedures exist to extend the life of registered rights in appropriate circumstances? Trademarks, including trademark renewals, have a life span of 15 years from the date of registration or the date of renewal, as applicable, and may be renewed indefinitely. Renewal requests may be filed six months prior the trademark expiration date. Prior to Venezuela’s withdrawal from the Andean Community, the duration of trademarks and trademark renewals was for a period of 10 years. Under current Venezuelan law, patents of invention have a 20-year life span, whereas industrial design patents have a 10-year life span, each as of the date of the grant of the application. Patents granted prior to October 1, 2020, have shorter durations and cover terms beginning as of the date of filing of the patent application. In order to maintain the validity of patents, annuities must be paid in advance of the anniversary of the grant of the application. Venezuelan law does not contemplate patent renewals. Copyright protection extends from the date of creation to 60 years after the death of the author, pursuant to the Copyright Law of 1993. Who can apply for registration of these intellectual property rights and, briefly, what is the procedure for registration? Any inventor or owner, including assignees or entities owning the rights to an invention, are eligible to apply for a patent. The filing requirements for patents, including design patents 32 LAWYER MONTHLY JUNE 2024 Under current Venezuelan law, patents of invention have a 20year life span, whereas industrial design patents have a 10-year life span, each as of the date of the grant of the application. requires the submission of the (i) name, domicile and citizenship of the inventor/ designer and representing party, where applicable, (ii) original, apostilled declaration of inventorship (with assignment, where applicable), (iii) specifications, claims and drawings, if applicable, of the invention, including drawings showing different views of the design, and (iv) any applicable priority information, including jurisdiction, registration number and date. If priority is claimed, the applicant must provide a certified hard copy of the priority application filed in a foreign jurisdiction, or alternatively, a digital copy of such priority application signed by the applicable foreign patent office, within three months of the patent application date. Priority applications must be filed in Spanish. Any translation of such documents must be executed by a locally certified translator. Such applications must be accompanied by an original, notarized and apostilled power of attorney in the name of the applicant. Trademark and commercial name applications require the applicant to file their name, domicile and citizenship. Applications must be accompanied by an original, notarized and apostilled power of attorney in the name of the applicant. If the trademark is a logo or a logo composite mark, applicants must submit such image in a .jpg format, subject to other size specifications. If priority is claimed, the applicant must provide a certified hard copy of the priority application filed in a foreign jurisdiction, or alternatively, a digital copy of such priority application signed by the applicable foreign patent office. Priority trademark and commercial name applications do not need to be apostilled. Any translation of such documents into Spanish must be executed by a locally certified translator. Copyright applications require the applicants to submit the following to the Venezuelan PTO: (i) the author’s name, citizenship and address, (ii) the
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