COSTA RICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Harry Zurcher, Marco López Volio and Kristel Faith Neurohr, Zurcher, Odio & Raven
4.4 Application Requirements The trade mark application requirements are as follows. • The name and address of the applicant, or if it is a legal entity, the place of incorporation. • The trade mark whose registration is request - ed. • A reproduction of the trade mark, in the case of word marks with special graphics, shapes or colours, or figurative, mixed or three- dimensional marks with or without colour. • A translation of the trade mark, when it is constituted by some denominative element with a meaning in a language other than Spanish. • A list of the goods or services for which the trade mark is or will be used, grouped by classes according to the Nice International Classification. Both single class, as well as multi-class applica - tions are allowed. The filing fee is USD50. Individuals, legal entities, trade bodies and foreign applicants can register a trade mark. A notarised power of attorney granted by the applicant is required. 4.5 Use in Commerce Prior to Registration No evidence of use must be filed with a trade mark application. However, if a registered trade mark is not in use for five consecutive years, any third party can request its cancellation. A trade mark is considered in use when the products or services that it protects have been placed on the market with that trade mark, in the quantity and in the manner that normally cor -
responds, taking into account the dimension of the market, the nature of the products and the modalities under which they are commercialised. A trade mark is also considered in use, regarding exported products or services provided abroad from Costa Rica. 4.6 Consideration of Prior Rights in Registration The only prior rights that could be raised in Cos - ta Rica are: • claiming priority based on an application filed in a country that is part of the Paris Conven - tion; or • if the trade mark has been declared famous and/or notorious. No other prior rights are considered when exam - ining an application. Costa Rica applies very strict criteria based on the fact that each appli - cation is independent and must be analysed independently. In general, Letters of Consent and/or Coexist - ence Agreements are not authorised, and their use is extremely restricted. The exception is when both companies belong to the same eco - nomic group and the relationship can be demon - strated by means of a capital stock certification where it is determined that both are related. 4.7 Revocation, Change, Amendment or Correction of an Application In Costa Rica, changes, amendments or correc - tions can be made during the registration pro - cess of a trade mark or even once registered, if this amendment does not imply a significant modification of the trade mark, and regarding the list of goods or services, if this is a limita -
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