“Copyright according to the National Registry: ‘It is one of the branches that contemplates Intellectual Property, with the aim of protecting original intellectual creations (…) The protection of Copyright covers the expressions, creative, ingenious, original, unique form of the author in expressing themselves, but not the ideas. Ideas are free to use.’
Works protected by copyright include:
– Plays, musicals, and art
– Books, pamphlets
– Letters and other writings such as poems
– Films
– Computer programs
– Novels
– Paintings
– Architectural and photographic works
– Sculptures, etc.
Within Copyright, there is also a branch called Related Rights, which applies to individuals who participated in the creation, production, recording, or broadcasting of a work.
Duration of copyright:
The person who registers their work through Copyright will enjoy it throughout their life, but upon death, the rights will pass to those who legitimately acquire them, for a period of 70 years. After that time, the work becomes public domain.
Registration of works in the National Registry:
ERP Lawyers & Associates will take care of renewing your work or registering it for the first time. All we need is for you to present the work to be registered or renewed, and indicate whether it is denominative or with logos (for the latter, you must provide a sketch).
Before making the formal application for registration or renewal of the intellectual property of the work with the Registry, we will conduct a study of the already registered trademarks to ensure that yours is not similar and prevents its registration.
Once confirmed that your work does not have similarities with another, we proceed with the formal process:
1. Fill out the registration form that bears your signature, authenticated by a lawyer.
2. Presentation of a copy of the work.
3. Payment of registration fees.
The Registry will verify the requirements, and your work will be registered in 1 or 2 days if it is unpublished. If the work has already been disclosed or published, it will be necessary to publish a notice in the Official Gazette La Gaceta; after the publication and a period of 30 business days without opposition from a third party, the Registry will register the work.
In cases involving trademarks (Industrial Property), it will be necessary to fill out or submit:
1. A form examination: personal data of the applicant, address, legal representative, the trademark to be registered and the translation if it is in a language other than Spanish, a list of products or services where the trademark will be used, proof of payment of the established fee, and a place to receive notifications.
2. A substantive examination: a study that will determine if the trademark is contained within any legal prohibition.
Once the form and substantive studies are passed, it will issue a notice to be published three times in La Gaceta, to announce the request. After the publications, a two-month period will be given for third parties to have the opportunity to oppose, ‘considering that the sign (trademark) in process is immersed in some prohibition.’
‘Once the deadline for oppositions has expired and in the absence of any, the Industrial Property Registry will proceed with the registration of the trademark.’
If opposition from third parties occurs, it will be notified to the applicant so that ‘within a period of two months, they pronounce on the objection raised. Then the Registry will define the matter through a reasoned resolution where it grants or denies the registration.'”
