IP OVERVIEW OF BOLIVIA

As a member of the Andean Pact Organization (APO), Bolivia signed on December 1, 2000 the Decision 486 ACN-Common Regulations on Industrial Property, which allows a contracting party to provide protection for industrial property through bilateral treaties or domestic legislation.

The Bolivian Trademark Law, which follows the principle of first to apply and imposes no restrictions on the qualifications of an applicant, protects goods mark, service mark, collective mark, certificate mark, short advertisement words and color mark. Bolivia adopts the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purpose of the Registration of Marks, was revised and renewed on June 15, 1957.

Bolivia is a contracting party of the Cartagena Agreement, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industry Property. Bolivia ratified the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 2003. The government is undertaking steps to modernize both its legislation and enforcement capabilities regarding the protection of IPR. In early 1999, the Bolivian government established an independent National Intellectual Property Rights Service (SENAPI), uniting under one authority the previously disparate offices in charge of enforcing patents, trademarks and copyrights. This effort has brought new coherency to government efforts to protect IPR effectively.

Major intellectual property law

Decision 345: Common system for the protection of plant breeders' rights (1993) Law No. 1.334 of May 4, 1992: Regarding the Appellation of Origin (1992) Law No. 1322 of April 13, 1992: Copyright (1992) Law No. 15/01/1918: on Trademarks and Industrial and Commercial Records (1918) Industrial Patent Law of December 2, 1916: Rules concerning the Application and Use of It in the Republic (1916)

Patent

Bolivia's definition of patents is a new invention and new creation that is beneficial to society, and all adopt a more convenient registration system.

Presently, patent registrations are reviewed for form rather than for substance. A notice of the proposed patent registration is then published in the Official Gazette. If there are no objections within 60 days, a patent will be granted for a period of 20 years and Industrial Designs for 10 years, counting from the application date. There’s no use requirement for a patent to be valid.

Classification 1. Bolivian utility model The Bolivian utility model refers to improvements to existing tools that enable them to be optimally used. Because the registration materials are used, the application process is simpler than in China. The application process is: patent application, formal examination, early disclosure, patent authorization.

2. Bolivian Industrial Design Bolivian industrial design refers to new creations that can be used as industrial production models with simple aesthetics.

Trademark

The period of oppositions takes 30 working days from the publication. Trademarks are valid for 10 years, counting from the granting date. No trademark becomes canceled if the owner could prove it was used in any of the Andean countries (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia) within 3 years before the cancellation was filed. There are presently no laws protecting either trade secrets or computer works.

According to the Bolivian Trademark Law, trademark registration is based on the principle of prior application. Trademark law protects trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks, advertising phrases and color marks. The registration process is a trial announcement- practical-registration, which takes 10-12 months to register.

Copyright

The 1992 Bolivian Copyright Law provides IPR protection for literary, artistic and scientific works for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years.

It protects the rights of Bolivian authors, of foreign authors domiciled in Bolivia, and of foreign authors published for the first time in Bolivia.

Foreigners not domiciled in Bolivia enjoy protection under the Copyright Law to the extent provided in international conventions and treaties to which Bolivia is a party. Bolivian copyright protection includes the exclusive right to copy or reproduce a work; to revise, adapt or prepare derivative works; to distribute copies of the work; and to communicate the work publicly.

Although the exclusive right to translate the work is not explicitly granted in the Copyright Law, it does prevent unauthorized adaptation, transformation, modification and editing. The Copyright Law also provides protection for software and databases.

Provided by Landivar & Landivar.