A Patent in Colombia must be applies to the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), a state agency responsible for the application of the industrial property protection laws.
What is a patent in Colombia?
A patent in Colombia is an exclusive right granted by the Colombian State as a property title of new creations and procedures, which allows to generate profits around that invention for 20 years in Colombia.
An invention patent is a right that the State grants the inventor to exercise exclusivity over his invention. It enables it to prevent third parties, without authorization, from performing acts of manufacture, use, offer for sale, sale or import of the patented product or procedure.
How to file a patent in Colombia?
The official language for patent filing in Colombia is Spanish. The application may be filed in any other 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.
The approximate time from application to granting (for a prosecution without an opposition) is from 3 to 5 years.
Filing a Patent in Colombia 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.
- Claims.
- Drawings if applicable.
- Abstract of the invention.
- Power of Attorney, duly signed by applicant. It is requested by means of a formal Office Action.
- Copy of any amendment made to the patent specifications if it applies.
- Copy of the priority document, PCT application number or ISR (International search report) if it applies.
How is the Patent process in Colombia?
- Application submission: The procedure can be initiated by submitting the form and the complete documentation using:
-Online Portal
-Personally at the SIC. The procedure will not be considered received until payment of the corresponding fee is made. - Preliminary Examination: From an administrative process it is verified (after 30 working days) that the information on the forms is complete and adequate. It is also verified that the abstract filed correctly describes the invention to be patented. Further, the Patent Office will review the necessary documents.
If any of the requirements are not complete on the submission form, the SIC will issue a notification to complete the missing information/documents within a term which is extendable upon request. - Publication: After the preliminary examination, the application must request publication. From that moment anyone can access its content and submit comments within the next 60 days. The observations made by third parties function as recommendations to be evaluated by the examiners. Within the first 18 months the application can be requested to be published.
- Examination: the term to pay the Exam fee is 6 (six) months from the date of Publication. Patent examiners conduct a search in national and international databases to determine if the application meets the requirements of patentability.
Patent term:
20 years from the date of filing of the application or the international filing date for National Phases.
Priority:
The time limit for the PCT national phase entry is 31 months from the earliest date of priority and 12 months for non-PCT application.
Grant, validity term and maintenance fees
After the patent is granted, the first maintenance fee must be paid before the last day of the month in which the Colombian application was filed. If not paid on time, late payment is possible within a 6-month grace period provided that the surcharge is paid.
Some Extra Facts
Representation by a patent attorney
Foreign patent applicants need to prosecute a patent application in Colombia through an attorney or agent registered in the country.
Check out our blog for more information in Intellectual Property.
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This content may suffer modifications due to updates in the official regulations of Argentina.
