To file a patent in Bolivia, you must submit your application to the National Services of Intellectual Property (SENAPI), which oversees intellectual property registrations in the country. Keep in mind that Bolivia does not belong to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
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What is a patent in Bolivia?
The Plurinational State of Bolivia, as a member of the Andean Community of Countries since 2000, grants patents as exclusive rights to inventors. An invention qualifies as new when it does not appear in the state of the art—that is, any information made publicly accessible through written or oral description, use, commercialization, or any other form of dissemination, either in Bolivia or abroad, before the patent application date or, if applicable, the recognized priority date.
How to file a patent in Bolivia?
The official language for patent filing in Bolivia is Spanish. The application must be filed with translation of any foreign language; therefore, all the documentation must be in Spanish and the signed documents must be apostilled within ten working days from the date of filing.
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Filing a patent in Bolivia must contain the following documents:
- Full name and address of the applicant, whether an individual or a corporation.
- Full name and address of the Inventors.
- A patent description.
- Abstract of the invention.
- Power of Attorney, duly signed by applicant. The due date is applied after the office action.
- Copy of any amendment made to the patent specifications if it applies.
- Certified copy of the priority document 16 months from the filing date of the Priority application.
It may take up to around 2 to 3 years for the Director of the SENAPI to process an application for registration. The Paris Convention priority can be claimed. Once the registration is complete the Director will issue a Certificate of Registration.
How is the Patent process in Bolivia?
Application Submission: To initiate the procedure, applicants must submit the form along with the complete set of required documentation.
Preliminary Examination: After approximately 30 working days, SENAPI reviews the submitted information to verify that all formal requirements are complete and adequate. If any information or documents are missing, SENAPI issues a notification inviting the applicant to correct or complete the submission within a 60-day term.
Publication: Once the preliminary examination is approved, the applicant must request the publication of the application in the Bolivian Journal of Industrial Property. From that moment on, anyone may access the application and submit comments within the following 60 days. Additionally, applicants may request publication within the first 18 months from the filing date.
Examination: Within 6 months from the date of publication, the applicant must pay the examination fee. Following that, patent examiners perform a search in national and international databases to determine whether the invention meets the legal requirements of patentability.
Patent term:
20 years from the date of filing of the application.
Priority:
The deadline to file the application in Bolivia is 12 months from the earliest priority date.
Grant, validity term and maintenance fees
The average time frame from application to granting of the patent is approximately 5 years. Once the patent in Bolivia is granted, it will be valid for a period of 20 years.
Some Extra Facts
PCT
Bolivia is not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which means national phase filing of a PCT patent is not possible. However, it is possible to claim priority for a PCT application if the national application is made within 12 months and a certified copy of the priority document is provided within 16 months of the filing date of the international application.
Representation by a patent attorney
Foreign patent applicants need to prosecute a patent application in Bolivia through an attorney or agent registered in the country.
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This content may suffer modifications due to updates in the official regulations of Bolivia.
