Trademark registration in Chile procedure is quite simple.
Trademark registration in Chile is a pretty straight forward procedure. It may take anywhere from 6 to 12 months, unless oppositions from INAPI or other trademark owners are issued.
Citizens and companies from other countries are required to use local trademark attorneys.
Trademark searches in Chile are fast
An applicant is advised to conduct a trademark search. Trademark searches in Chile are not very reliable and are conducted by trademark attorneys, since there is no official trademark search offered by INAPI. Reliability is reduced because the registration system is not extremely flexible. However, as you will read below registering a trademark application without a prior search is not very damaging. The results of the trademark searches are issued in 2 or 3 days.
Trademark applications and fees
Once the trademark application is submitted to INAPI the applicant has to pay a registration tax of approx. 80 USD. INAPI will issue a formal examination indicating if all the requested documentation has been properly filed.
If and when the documentation is complete the application will be accepted for registration and shall be published in the Official Gazette within 20 days.
If the observations if INAPI are not complied with or the reply to the observations is not accepted by INAPI, the application is considered as abandoned. In this case a complaint can is issued by the applicant within 20 days. If this doe snot happen, the application is considered as definitively abandoned and therefore rejected. Against this rejection, the applicant can file an appeal with the Industrial Property Tribunal.
After the publication in the Official Gazette any third party which is interested has 30 days to file an opposition.
If no opposition is filed, INAPI performs an examination of the application and indicates if there are causes for the rejection of the application. If the application is accepted the registration tax will have to be paid in the next 60 working days (approx. 160 USD).
Later on, INAPI will issue the Registration Certificate for a 10 years period.
If there is an opposition filed and/or a rejection from the INAPI, the applicant will be notified as having 30 working days to reply to the opposition and/or to the observations. Once this period ends, the INAPI will indicate a final resolution, giving its pronouncement about the acceptance or rejection of the application. If it is accepted, it is necessary to pay the registration official fees within 60 working days.
If faced with the rejection by the INAPI of an application, the applicant can file an appeal before the Industrial Property Tribunal (TPI) and in case that the rejection persists, then there is only the possibility of filing a cassation recourse before the Supreme Court.
Chile is not part of WIPO. Chile is part of the Andean Pact.
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