A Panamanian lawyer will complete the Panama Trademark Registration process for you, according to the law.
We are a Panamanian law firm, so the international client deals directly with the lawyer who will register or renew his trademark. We are members of the bar association.
Panama is today one of the most important places for the registration and protection of trade names and trademarks. The registration of trademarks and trade names is managed by the Department of Industrial Property.
A lawyer is fundamental in the registration of a mark in Panama as well as in litigation matters related to a brand in Panama.
We advise and support you throughout the process of trademark registration in Panama.
The first step in registering a trademark in Panama is to investigate its availability at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
6 brand labels (mark stickers).
The Panamanian government owes the following payments after five or ten years:
If protection is sought, registration is required for 10 years.
B/.104.50 in MEF
B/.19.20 in the MTI-DIGERPI
Total payment for ten years of protection: 123.70
If you apply for 5 years, you must cancel:
54.50 in MEF
B. 19.20 in the MTI-DIGERPI
Total payment for ten years of protection: 73.70
You can change many things in a product, such as its physical characteristics, make many updates to the product, make changes in the formula or packaging, choose other colors, or modify the price. But its name cannot be changed without starting from the beginning.
Due to the needs of the current system, it is necessary to differentiate products of the same type, with very similar characteristics, from competing products.
The brand plays an important role in product advertising because it provides a unique identity. A successful product is a high-value brand. A successful product of very good quality is an unstoppable brand.
It is a group of symbols that revolve around something and highlight it as a unique image.
The brand leads people to identify the product and maintain a memory of it.
Product reputation, quality, and reliability are reflected in the brand.
An unknown brand is a question for anyone.
A well-known brand generates trust and credibility. Many times, the largest companies in the world enjoy these two principles—trust and credibility—even though there are better options on the market. They already enjoy fame and prestige for having a world-renowned brand.
The logo is the seal that represents the brand; it can be simple on many occasions.
It is proven that very simple logos today are multi-million dollar brands with great global recognition. Like, for example, the Nike brand. Who would have thought that a simple and simple design would be a global icon and one of the most recognized logos in the world and throughout history? I don’t think even its own designer would have imagined it.
This example shows us that a brand loaded with designs is not necessary, since even something simple and basic is more recognizable to people.
I remember the last time I was at Disney with my son and my wife. It was Christmas Eve, and the place was so packed that there were thousands of people at the Magic Kingdom. The place was so packed that the lines to go to the attractions were very long. We spent two hours lining up to go on an attraction called Space Mountain, only to be told at the end that it was closed due to damage. We spent the entire day forming long lines; my son was only able to ride four rides. What we paid at the entrance was 500 dollars for the three of us. But Disney is a recognized global brand and a company that makes billions of dollars a year.
Just like the previous case that we described, we can mention hundreds of similar cases. For example. Large hospitals that enjoy a notable reputation often follow traditional medicine when it has been proven that alternative medicine is often more effective and without side effects. Many times, the doctors in these hospitals do not know the basics of finding the cause of the problem. They simply look for alternative measures such as chemotherapy and other methods that really are not the solution.
The symbol is usually graphic in nature and shows the category of the product.
Using the symbol, the receiver, who in this case is the client, relates to it and can identify it.
For example, if it is a law firm, the logo could contain symbols that represent lawyers. Something characteristic of a law firm. If it is an architectural firm, it could also contain different elements that characterize it.
The brand image is a combination of elements. If it is for physical appearance, it must have originality. If it is due to the issue of representation, it must meet a series of characteristics, for example: the product must have very good quality so that it can compete with other similar products.
Advertising has a lot of influence on a brand and its image.
There are brands so good and so successful that, unfortunately, there will always be a number of people trying to imitate or copy them.
They will try to follow the product and copy it to make it identical to the original. Since copying a product is the most difficult part, these pirates and opportunists will try to copy the logo with a design that often breaks the law because even the design is registered. This is where we and the authorities come in to determine if one design infringes on another. On these topics, suspicions are often true because there is no reason for the design of one logo to resemble the other, especially when it comes to the fact that both have to do with a similar product.
But of all the ways to infringe a trademark, without a doubt, the worst of all is when the same design has been copied in its entirety. This is a crime punishable in many countries, including Panama. Trademark infringers are generally subject to criminal proceedings for trademark infringement where they have the opportunity to defend themselves, but generally the culprit is whoever imports or brings the trademark into the country. Because the person who made the counterfeit brand of both the product and the logo is generally located in a very distant country, in this case, due to jurisdiction and competence, he would not be responsible in Panama.
The continent that remains number one when it comes to brand counterfeiting is Asia. Countries like China and India top the list as the top two in these matters.
Large seizures of counterfeit products by customs authorities in our country are common, as is the entry of the prosecutor’s office in these cases to prosecute the crime.
Brand crimes are more common than people think. The toy-smuggling market is an illegal industry that moves millions of dollars a year. Likewise, the losses resulting from the illicit activities of these criminals are very high for companies.
We represent our clients in all types of trademark processes; some of the processes that we see the most, for example, are those that have to do with customs problems.
The authority that has to do with trademark registration is the Ministry of Commerce and Industries https://mici.gob.pa/
If you want to register a trademark or have any type of problem regarding a registered trademark, do not hesitate to contact us.
