Recording Your Trademark with Dominican Customs: The DGA Rights-Holder Registry

Customs officers can only stop what they can recognize. That is the premise behind the Dominican Customs Registration of Owners of Intellectual Property Rights, created by Resolution 01-2010 of August 4, 2010, to facilitate the inspection and withholding of merchandise in customs transit suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.

The registry streamlines border measures and strengthens the protection that Chapter XV of DR-CAFTA, the free trade agreement among the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic, promises to rights holders. Once a brand is recorded, inspectors have the reference they need to flag suspect shipments without waiting for the owner to learn of them first.

Recordation is open to owners of intellectual property rights registered before the Dominican Industrial Property Office (ONAPI) or the National Copyright Office (ONDA), and to licensees acting with the owner’s permission. Each recordation is valid for two years and renewable. A copyright owner without an ONDA registration certificate may instead submit sufficient proof of ownership.

The recurring oversight is the calendar: a recordation that quietly expires leaves the brand exactly as exposed as one never filed. Treat the two-year renewal like a trademark renewal, diarized, delegated and never discovered late.

Our professionals register and protect intellectual property rights before ONAPI, ONDA and the Dominican Customs Administration, including keeping the renewals from becoming anyone’s surprise.

Do you want more information about our Dominican Intellectual Property Customs Registration Services? Contact Us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felipe Castillo is a Partner leading the Foreign Investment, Real Estate & Tourism areas at Arthur & Castillo Advisers and Consultants in the Dominican Republic. He specializes in foreign investment, real estate and international business (Master in International Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. & Masters in International E- Business in Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona) with more than 20 years of experience in Foreign Investment, Free Trade Zones, International Business and Cross Border Real Estate practice. He is a Certified Business Bankruptcy Expert and English and Spanish Interpreter.

Email: fcastillo@aclaw.com

Disclaimer: This publication is not intended to provide advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as individual situations will differ and the situation may have changed since publication. For specific advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.

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