PATENTS

Patent Overview

Conditions for grant of a patent as provided for in the Patent Act, No. 8 of 1999 and the Patent Regulations S.O.R. No. 43 of 2008

The invention must be new. This means that the invention must not have been disclosed to the public anywhere in the world by oral or written description, by use, or in any other way; 

It must involve an inventive step. This is it must be a sufficient advancement to the prior invention.  It must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the filed concerned;

It must be capable of industrial application. It is capable of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry including agriculture, fisheries, handcraft and services;

An invention is not patentable if it is:

A discovery (things that exist in nature which are discovered).

A scientific theory or mathematical method.

Method for the treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body.

Grant of Patent

Where the requirement of the Act has been satisfied the Registrar will publish in the Journal a notice of the grant and issue a certificate of the grant of the patent to the applicant. The grant takes effect on its publication date.

Duration of Patent

A patent expires 20 years after the filing date of the application.  

Maintaining a Patent

In order to maintain a patent or patent application, the owner of a patent or the applicant must pay in advance to the Registrar for each year starting one year after the filing date of the application for the grant of the patent, the prescribed annual fee as seen in on the fees page.

A patent shall lapse or a patent application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn if the annual fee is not paid.

TRADEMARKS

Registration Process

An applicant who residence or principal place of business is outside Dominica must be represented by a legal practitioner resident and practicing in Dominica.

The Application must contain:

A request that the mark be registered;

A reproduction of the mark; and

A list of the goods or services for which registration of the mark is requested, listed under the applicable class or classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services

An accepted application is published in the Journal of Intellectual Property.  Any person wishing to oppose the registration of the mark may within two months of the publication of a trade mark give notice

Answer to Opposition

An applicant who wishes to answer the notice of opposition shall within one month from the date of receipt of the Notice of Opposition file in duplicate a Notice of Answer. After the expiration of two months from the date of advertisement in the Journal of Intellectual Property and where the requirements for the registration of a mark is fulfilled and registration of the mark has not been opposed within the time limit or the opposition to registration of the mark has been decided in the applicants favor the mark will be registered as of the date of receipt of the application.

Validity

The registration of the mark shall expire ten years from the filing date of the application for registration but may be renewed for consecutive periods of ten year.

Renewal of Registration

A registered owner of a mark may any time within six months of the expiration of the registration of a mark make an application for the renewal of the registration of the mark