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Print articleTrademark Classification and Their Treatment in the Niaraguan Trademark Regime
November, 2005 - Darlis Gordon Arana
The first idea that we may conceive only by reading the title of the present article is: What signals may constitute a trademark?, the answer to this question is given by section 3 of the Law No. 380 “General Law on Trade Marks and Other Distinctive Signs”, published in The Gazette No. 70, of April 16 th 2001, which is the norm regulating this matter. The mentioned section reads as follows:
“Trademarks shall consist of, among others, words or set of words, slogans and advertising phrases, letters, amounts, monograms, figures, photographs, labels, shields, patterns, vignettes, borders, lines and stripes, and combinations and provision of colors, sounds and other perceptible signs. They shall also consist in the form, presentation or conditioning of the products or their packing or wrapping, or of local means for shops of the corresponding products or services.”
In spite the wide classification proposed by the previous article, there are some prohibitions limiting the registration of a specific sign based on: a) lack of sufficient distinctive aptitude with respect to the product or service to which it is applied; b) be contrary to the law, public order and moral; c) consist in the usual or ordinary form of the product to which it is applied or its container; d) be an ordinary sign which in the common language serves to designate the product; e) considered isolated colors; f) offends or makes ridicule of persons, ideas, religions or symbols; g) causes confusion on the geographic origin; h) is a reproduction of a shield, flag or symbol of a State; i) reproduces national or foreign coins or bills; j) the sign is similar to another registered trademark or in process of registration in the country or infringes rights acquired by third parties, among others. (Section 7 and 8 of the Law).
Once the previous prohibitions are assessed by the creator of the trademark, this one could request the registration of any sign, but when filling the application, it must observe the following classifications which are accepted by our legislation:
Products Trademarks: are those which are directed to protect a specific product. For these effects, there is an international products classifier, Niza Agreement, through which the universe of things which may be object of a commercial trademark are classified, enunciating them in a list which is not an exclusive list, distinguishing 34 classes of products.
Services Trademarks: The object protected in these trademarks is a particular service. The services are also classified, adding ten classes to the classifier ending with 43 classes.
According to its nature, we distinguish them in:
Denominatives: are those composed solely and exclusively by words or numbers and their combinations.
Figurative: are those which are formed by figures or designs. They are different from the industrial designs protected by patents, basically because they are bi-dimensional.
Mixed: are those integrated by denominative and figurative elements at the same time.
Finally, there is also in our legislation the possibility to protect collective trademarks which owner is a collective entity grouping authorized persons for the use of the trademark and certification trademarks which is the one applied to products or services which characteristics or quality have been certified by the proprietor of the trademark.
“Trademarks shall consist of, among others, words or set of words, slogans and advertising phrases, letters, amounts, monograms, figures, photographs, labels, shields, patterns, vignettes, borders, lines and stripes, and combinations and provision of colors, sounds and other perceptible signs. They shall also consist in the form, presentation or conditioning of the products or their packing or wrapping, or of local means for shops of the corresponding products or services.”
In spite the wide classification proposed by the previous article, there are some prohibitions limiting the registration of a specific sign based on: a) lack of sufficient distinctive aptitude with respect to the product or service to which it is applied; b) be contrary to the law, public order and moral; c) consist in the usual or ordinary form of the product to which it is applied or its container; d) be an ordinary sign which in the common language serves to designate the product; e) considered isolated colors; f) offends or makes ridicule of persons, ideas, religions or symbols; g) causes confusion on the geographic origin; h) is a reproduction of a shield, flag or symbol of a State; i) reproduces national or foreign coins or bills; j) the sign is similar to another registered trademark or in process of registration in the country or infringes rights acquired by third parties, among others. (Section 7 and 8 of the Law).
Once the previous prohibitions are assessed by the creator of the trademark, this one could request the registration of any sign, but when filling the application, it must observe the following classifications which are accepted by our legislation:
Products Trademarks: are those which are directed to protect a specific product. For these effects, there is an international products classifier, Niza Agreement, through which the universe of things which may be object of a commercial trademark are classified, enunciating them in a list which is not an exclusive list, distinguishing 34 classes of products.
Services Trademarks: The object protected in these trademarks is a particular service. The services are also classified, adding ten classes to the classifier ending with 43 classes.
According to its nature, we distinguish them in:
Denominatives: are those composed solely and exclusively by words or numbers and their combinations.
Figurative: are those which are formed by figures or designs. They are different from the industrial designs protected by patents, basically because they are bi-dimensional.
Mixed: are those integrated by denominative and figurative elements at the same time.
Finally, there is also in our legislation the possibility to protect collective trademarks which owner is a collective entity grouping authorized persons for the use of the trademark and certification trademarks which is the one applied to products or services which characteristics or quality have been certified by the proprietor of the trademark.
