Patent registration in Dominica. Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. In recent years, the Commonwealth of Dominica has become a major international financial hub and is quickly becoming one of the largest banking centers in the world. The country is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Dominica.
Patent in Dominica
A patent in Dominica is a kind of certificate for IP rights bestowed upon the patentee. With this right, the IP rights holders will have the exclusive rights to use, make, or sell the invention for a limited period and at the same time, prevent other parties to conducts such actions.
With a patent, the patentee has the right to exploit the invention commercially or grant licence to others to do so.
Requirements for inventions to be patent in Dominica:
- The invention must be new, meaning that the invention must not have been disclosed to the public anywhere in the world;
- The creation of the invention must involve an inventive step, meaning that the invention must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the related field;
- The invention must be capable of industrial application, meaning that it must have the capability to be made or used in any kind of industry including agriculture, fisheries, handcraft, and services.
On the other hand, the subjects that aren’t patentable are:
- A discovery (things that exist in nature which are discovered);
- A scientific theory or mathematical method;
- Method for the treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Dominica
The necessary documents for patent registration in Dominica include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Dominica
To obtain a patent in Dominica, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Dominica (CIPO).
If the patent application has no errors and the subject of the application is patentable in Dominica, it will be published in the Journal.
The notice of the grant will be issued and later, a certificate of the grant of the patent will be sent to the applicant. The grant takes effect on its publication date.
In Dominica, a patent has a validity date of 20 years from the filing date.
To maintain the validity period, the applicant needs to pay the maintenance fees yearly starting 1 year after the filing date of the application for the grant of the patent.
A patent shall lapse or a patent application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn if the annual fee is not paid.
In Dominica, patent infringement is subject to penalties ranging from 6 months to 3 years in prison. Administratively, the infringer may receive a fine ranging from 50 to 1000 times the legally-established minimum monthly salary, and civil damages.
You can see a list of Dominica IP firms here.