21,000 names registered in 6 years and 4 patents issued in 4 years

SD. Six thousand, five hundred product names, both national as well as foreign, are registered each year in the country while the registration of commercial names is around 21,000, which shows a strong movement in the area.

Each month, the National Office of Intellectual Property (ONAPI) registers an average of 500 brands and some 1,800 business names, a tendency that has remained fairly consistent over the past ten years. I the judgment of Juan Jose Baez, the Onapi director, these numbers "indicate that we have a fairly dynamic economy." "Which is to say there are business prospects (in the country) because nobody registers a commercial name, pays the fees in order not to do business," he said.

For this year, a small increase is expected in the registration of brands, with expectations to go over 7,000. According to Baez, in the 10 years that Onapi has existed, the dynamic has been changing. Initially it was 30% national brands and 70% international, but now it is more even, with 55% national and 45% foreign. In the case of commercial names, 90% are for businesses that are established in the country and 10% are for international firms.

Baez said that he understands that the increase has to come about because people are becoming aware of the importance of having their registration clear. "When you register, you avoid problems further along. You acquire a right further along, because you do not know the value that your brand is going to have in the market in time and since it is important for your sales strategy that the people can identify that brand with the quality of the product that you are selling," he stresses.

Equally important is the speed with which Inapi works and the prices, which are affordable for anyone. To register a name costs RD$3700 more or less, plus the cost of publication which is some RD$900 and the whole process takes about five days. The registration of a brand costs RD$11,000 and takes three months. This is because they have to carry out an investigation in order to see if the elements contained in the brand do not coincide with those of other products already registered in the country. To register a name is the country is an easy process and does not require an exhaustive investigation or a whole lot of documents. It can even be done over the Internet, on the Onapi webpage (www.onapi.gov.do).

In the case of brand names, there is a serious investigation by Onapi and the long-time use of a brand name can be recognized. This means that if a person has "x" numbers of years using a brand name and can prove it, it is registered and recognized.

With the application of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) this month, which is part of the DR-CAFTA treaties, it is expected that these processes are speeded up even more, since the intention of the agreement is to try and simplify the requirements for presenting requests of the registration of brands, renovations, changes and modifications in the registration of brand names.

International registration

For now, the registration of a brand name in the country is territorial. Nevertheless, at the present time in Congress there is a proposal to adhere to the Madrid Treaty, through which the international registration of a brand name could be validated in other countries.

Regarding this legislative proposal, the Dominican Association of Intellectual Property (Adopi) has warned that its approval will be dangerous for the local brands.

The registration of brands and names is good for 10 years, and so the owners have to be attentive to pay the fees for maintaining their names and in order to keep their acquired rights.

If they go past three years and are not using the name, and someone shows this, they can lose the right to the use of the name.

Industrial property includes the registration of commercial names, trademarks, patents, models of use and industrial designs, denominations/certificates of origin, logos and geographical indications.