Trademark Infringement in Dominican Republic
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Dominican Republic is a member to the Paris Convention and its modifications including the TRIPS. Furthermore the local trademark law 20-00 provides imprisonment penalties to Trademark Infringement actions such as counterfeiting; this applies to counterfeiters, importers and retailers, owners of warehouses, and everyone involved in the commercialization or use of the product in Dominican Republic of a fake product and also provides the reimbursements of damages to the plaintiff.
In the event of a trademark infraction, WDA International Law firm http://www.wdalaw.com will immediately start a process before the Intellectual Property Section of the District’s Attorney Office in Santo Domingo filing all corresponding evidence justifying the lawful ownership of the trademark by the plaintiff and providing reasonable proof of the counterfeit. The District Attorney would request a judge to issue a restraining order to customs for not allowing the entrance of any counterfeit product bearing the trademark in question; the judicial process should be started immediately against the parties involved and the plaintiff should deposit a bail as a guarantee in the event the suit is dismissed by the judge.
In the event the products are already in the country these can be seized and destroyed upon obtaining of a final decision from a court of law.
Simultaneously damages can be claimed before civil court in Dominican Republic; on this concern, you should be aware that the party is not held liable for damages until a final ruling is granted by the judge at the criminal jurisdiction.
In order to gather information and evidence to be used in a court of law we should use investigator’s from outside the office; this investigator has previous experience on market research for counterfeiting cases.
International trademark owners do not always have in hand all needed information about the names of parties involved in trademark infringement or counterfeiting thus the investigator will have the task to complete all reference information about:
Importer
Distributor
Retailers
Depending on the cities where infractions are being made, investigation may take from several days to several months.
Usually is not a good idea to prosecute small retailers for they might be unaware of the illegitimacy of their actions and they are the only source of information as to the suppliers/importers/wholesalers. Once we have pertaining information in hand, the process will be followed as provided by the criminal process law on the basis of trademark Act, which provides felony penalties for infringement cases.
As regards to retailers, in order to start the process in an amicable way, we could send to small retailers (supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores) bailiff-served cease and desist letters including all legal provisions for such an infringement with a deadline for stopping the sell of the products. In the event your company wants such merchandise ceased, then it would be necessary an order from a judge and the process would be needed to be taken to the prosecutor’s office for obtaining the order. This merchandise is not destroyed of course, until a final judge’s ruling on the case is granted.
BORDER MEASURES:
As for the border’s measures before custom authorities in Dominican Republic, it is necessary to have an order from a judge; while filing a request for such an order, we should present to the court strong and sufficient evidence of infringement as to proof that there is an imminent harm to be caused to the trademark’s lawful owner/licensee. In such cases a deposit in moneys is to be provided by the plaintiff with the court (calculated three times the value of the goods to be seized) as a bail for guaranteeing the defendant rights or damages claim.
This order for customs to refrain from allowing the entrance of counterfeit products can be started before, at the same time, or after the legal claim is filed with court but if started before, the action should take place within next 10 days.
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT PENALTIES
Penalties provided by the law to counterfeiters/importers/retailers/warehouse owners/sales person include:
Article 166 of our Trademark act 20-00 provides imprisonment from three months to two years and a fine of ten (10) to one hundred (100) minimum monthly wages (currently around US$180.00);
Article 168 of our Trademark act 20-00 provides damage claim to the plaintiff/owner of a trademark counterfeited.
Furthermore, article 175 of our Trademark Act 20-00 gives the formula to be used to calculate the damages as follows:
As for the benefits that the rightful owner could have received if there was not unfair competition by the counterfeiter/infractor;
As for the amount of benefits obtained by the counterfeiter as a result of the infraction;
As for the amount of moneys the infractor/counterfeiter would have had to pay to the rightful owner for a license of use, having into account the commercial value of the goods and any license the rightful owner might already have agreed.
WDA LEGAL SERVICES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
These type of cases involve intense legal expertise, personal actions of our attorneys going to the places of counterfeit, visiting ports, retailers, and most importantly, taking full responsibility on the cease of counterfeit actions by parties involved and sometimes even risking personal safety. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
1) TARGETING RESPONSIBLES OF COUNTERFEITING; INVESTIGATION ON THE SPOT
2) REMITTANCE OF CEASE AND DESIST LETTERS
3) INITIAL PROSECUTOR´S OFFICE ACTIONS AND CUSTOMS INJUNCTION
2) FIRST INSTANCE COURT CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ACTIONS PER INFRINGER
3) COURT OF APPEALS ACTIONS
4) SUPREME COURT ACTIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WENDY DIAZ, MIP JURIS DOCTOR
Education: Supreme Court Certified Translator (1996); Technological University of Santiago (Juris Doctor, 1998); Pedro Henriquez Urena University (LL.M., Intellectual Property, 2001); University of Caribbean (Diploma on Real Estate, 2006); Certificates of attendance to continuing education courses from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Practical experience: 2002-Present. Managing partner to WDA international Law Firm, Legal representative to U.S., Europe and Asia multinational companies and individuals doing business in Latin America and Caribbean; Representative in court on high-profile Intellectual Property counterfeiting cases; international commerce; corporate law; international Family law; business and individual immigration; 1998-2002 Head of Intellectual Property departments of major Law firms in Dominican Republic. 1991-1997: Paralegal.
Copyright WDA International Law Firm
More information about WDA International Law Firm
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
In the event the products are already in the country these can be seized and destroyed upon obtaining of a final decision from a court of law.
Simultaneously damages can be claimed before civil court in Dominican Republic; on this concern, you should be aware that the party is not held liable for damages until a final ruling is granted by the judge at the criminal jurisdiction.
In order to gather information and evidence to be used in a court of law we should use investigator’s from outside the office; this investigator has previous experience on market research for counterfeiting cases.
International trademark owners do not always have in hand all needed information about the names of parties involved in trademark infringement or counterfeiting thus the investigator will have the task to complete all reference information about:
Importer
Distributor
Retailers
Depending on the cities where infractions are being made, investigation may take from several days to several months.
Usually is not a good idea to prosecute small retailers for they might be unaware of the illegitimacy of their actions and they are the only source of information as to the suppliers/importers/wholesalers. Once we have pertaining information in hand, the process will be followed as provided by the criminal process law on the basis of trademark Act, which provides felony penalties for infringement cases.
As regards to retailers, in order to start the process in an amicable way, we could send to small retailers (supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores) bailiff-served cease and desist letters including all legal provisions for such an infringement with a deadline for stopping the sell of the products. In the event your company wants such merchandise ceased, then it would be necessary an order from a judge and the process would be needed to be taken to the prosecutor’s office for obtaining the order. This merchandise is not destroyed of course, until a final judge’s ruling on the case is granted.
BORDER MEASURES:
As for the border’s measures before custom authorities in Dominican Republic, it is necessary to have an order from a judge; while filing a request for such an order, we should present to the court strong and sufficient evidence of infringement as to proof that there is an imminent harm to be caused to the trademark’s lawful owner/licensee. In such cases a deposit in moneys is to be provided by the plaintiff with the court (calculated three times the value of the goods to be seized) as a bail for guaranteeing the defendant rights or damages claim.
This order for customs to refrain from allowing the entrance of counterfeit products can be started before, at the same time, or after the legal claim is filed with court but if started before, the action should take place within next 10 days.
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT PENALTIES
Penalties provided by the law to counterfeiters/importers/retailers/warehouse owners/sales person include:
Article 166 of our Trademark act 20-00 provides imprisonment from three months to two years and a fine of ten (10) to one hundred (100) minimum monthly wages (currently around US$180.00);
Article 168 of our Trademark act 20-00 provides damage claim to the plaintiff/owner of a trademark counterfeited.
Furthermore, article 175 of our Trademark Act 20-00 gives the formula to be used to calculate the damages as follows:
As for the benefits that the rightful owner could have received if there was not unfair competition by the counterfeiter/infractor;
As for the amount of benefits obtained by the counterfeiter as a result of the infraction;
As for the amount of moneys the infractor/counterfeiter would have had to pay to the rightful owner for a license of use, having into account the commercial value of the goods and any license the rightful owner might already have agreed.
WDA LEGAL SERVICES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
These type of cases involve intense legal expertise, personal actions of our attorneys going to the places of counterfeit, visiting ports, retailers, and most importantly, taking full responsibility on the cease of counterfeit actions by parties involved and sometimes even risking personal safety. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
1) TARGETING RESPONSIBLES OF COUNTERFEITING; INVESTIGATION ON THE SPOT
2) REMITTANCE OF CEASE AND DESIST LETTERS
3) INITIAL PROSECUTOR´S OFFICE ACTIONS AND CUSTOMS INJUNCTION
2) FIRST INSTANCE COURT CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ACTIONS PER INFRINGER
3) COURT OF APPEALS ACTIONS
4) SUPREME COURT ACTIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WENDY DIAZ, MIP JURIS DOCTOR
Education: Supreme Court Certified Translator (1996); Technological University of Santiago (Juris Doctor, 1998); Pedro Henriquez Urena University (LL.M., Intellectual Property, 2001); University of Caribbean (Diploma on Real Estate, 2006); Certificates of attendance to continuing education courses from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Practical experience: 2002-Present. Managing partner to WDA international Law Firm, Legal representative to U.S., Europe and Asia multinational companies and individuals doing business in Latin America and Caribbean; Representative in court on high-profile Intellectual Property counterfeiting cases; international commerce; corporate law; international Family law; business and individual immigration; 1998-2002 Head of Intellectual Property departments of major Law firms in Dominican Republic. 1991-1997: Paralegal.
Copyright WDA International Law Firm
More information about WDA International Law Firm
View all articles published by WDA International Law Firm
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
