Electronic publication of trademark applications likely to reduce registration costs

Legislative Decree No 1212, which reinforces the mechanisms related to the elimination of bureaucratic barriers in order to encourage competitiveness, was published on September 24 2015. The decree's objective is to strengthen the faculties of the Peruvian Commission of Bureaucratic Barriers, so that it may identify and eliminate any rules or measures imposed by any public entity that may constitute a barrier that is illegal or lacks reasonability.

With respect to proceedings for the registration of trademarks in Peru, Chapter III, Provision 6 of the decree states that, once the examiner has verified that a trademark application fulfils the formal requirements for registration (according to the rules established by Andean Community Decision 486 - the Trademark Law Statute), the Peruvian Trademark Office (PTO) will publish, only once, that application in the Electronic Gazette.

Electronic publication will also be applicable to proceedings for the registration of other industrial property rights covered by Andean Decision 486, such as trade names, slogans, patents and certificates of origin.

The Electronic Gazette will be managed by the PTO and is due to be implemented in the following months.

Currently, according to Legislative Decree 1075°, once a trademark application has been filed and the examiner has confirmed that all the formal requirements have been fulfilled, the PTO issues a written order for publication. The applicant, after paying the publication fees, must then publish an extract of the trademark application in the Official Newspaper, an entity that is independent and separate from the PTO.

Therefore, the decree derogates from Provisions 30, 53, 85 and 90 of Legislative Decree 1075°, which establish the current rules for publication in the Official Newspaper.

It is expected that, once the Electronic Gazette has been implemented, the costs for publication of trademark applications will probably be reduced. Therefore, the total costs for registering a trademark in Peru should decrease.

Adriana Barrera, BARLAW - Barrera & Asociados, Lima