COSTA RICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Maricruz Villanea Villegas, Roberto Arguello, Edna Lopez and Leyla Harper-Dominique, IDEAS IP
authorisation for derivative works and adaptations, and protection covers a programme’s expression regardless of form. In practice, such claims would rely on expert evidence and analogy to general copyright principles – the outcome is untested and uncertain. 3.9 Collective Management and Licensing The Association of Composers and Musical Authors of Costa Rica ( Asociación de Compositores y Autores Musicales de Costa Rica – ACAM), affiliated with the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers ( Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d ’ Auteurs et Compositeurs – CISAC), han- dles public performance and broadcasting rights for musical works. FONÓTICA ( Asociación de Produc- tores de Fonogramas de Costa Rica ) collects neigh- bouring rights royalties for phonogram producers. Both societies set and enforce tariffs; disputes over royalties are subject to general civil proceedings. Costa Rica has no developed compulsory licensing framework for copyright. 4. Industrial Designs and Trade Dress 4.1 Legal Framework and Protectable Subject Matter Industrial designs are governed by the Law on Pat- ents, Utility Models and Industrial Designs (Law No 6867). Two categories are protected: industrial draw- ings (combinations of lines or colours) and industrial models (three-dimensional forms giving a product a special appearance). Purely functional features are excluded. There is no separate trade dress statute; product get-up and packaging are protected as three- dimensional marks under the Trademarks Law (Law No 7978). The two regimes may overlap, and design protection does not exclude rights under other laws, including copyright. 4.2 Requirements for Protection For industrial designs, the Patents Law requires nov- elty (no prior disclosure worldwide before the filing date), originality (appearance resulting from the crea- tor’s own effort, not a mere colour change or trivial variation) and independent creation. Purely functional features are excluded. For three-dimensional marks,
the Trademarks Law requires distinctiveness sufficient to identify commercial origin. Costa Rica is registration-based: unregistered indus- trial designs receive no protection under the Patents Law. Limited alternatives exist – an unregistered design may qualify for copyright protection if it meets the originality threshold for artistic works, and the Trademarks Law protects well-known marks whether registered or not. Formal registration remains the most reliable route. 4.3 Registration and Term Applications are filed before the Industrial Property Registry. Required documents include applicant details, the creator’s name, five graphic or photo- graphic representations (maximum 15 × 15 cm), a description of up to 100 words and proof of fee payment. The Registry conducts formal examination only – there is no substantive novelty examination. Once requirements are met, a notice is published in the Official Gazette; trade mark opposition rules apply by reference. Registration takes approximately 6–12 months absent complications. Official fees are USD75 per class at filing and USD30 for an opposition; no annual maintenance fees apply. Protection lasts ten years from the date of registration with no renewal – owners seeking longer protection Infringement under the Patents Law occurs when a third party, without consent and for commercial pur- poses, manufactures, sells or imports articles incor- porating a copy or substantially similar copy of the protected design. For trade dress protected as a trade mark, infringement follows the Trademarks Law’s like- lihood-of-confusion standard. Civil remedies include cessation orders, seizure and destruction of infringing goods, and damages (calcu- lated as lost profits, infringer’s profits or a reasonable royalty). Precautionary measures – cease orders and seizure – are available on application with a bond; if obtained before suit, the lawsuit must be filed within one month. Border measures under Law 8039 allow must rely on trade mark or copyright. 4.4 Enforcement and Remedies
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