PATENTS

A patent is the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention for a specified period of time. It is the legal title granted to protect an invention. An invention is a product or process that provides a new ay of doing a particular thing, or provides a new technical solution to a problem.

The primary benefit of a patent is that it protects a patent owner from the commercial exploitation of his or her invention without the patent owner's consent. The patent owner may grant permission to someone or authorize him or her to exploit his or her invention by granting a patent license. The patent owner may also enforce his or her patent rights in the local courts of Belize.

A patent may be granted in Belize only for an invention which satisfies the following conditions.

• The invention must be new - it must not have been made public anywhere in the world, before the date on which the patent application is being filed. It must not be known to the body of existing knowledge in its relevant technical field.
• The invention must involve an inventive step - it must not be obvious to a person with a good knowledge and experience of the subject, when compared with what is already known.
• The invention must be capable of industrial application - it must be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry.
• An invention is not patentable if it is -
  
  • a discovery;
  • a scientific theory or mathematical method;
  • an aesthetic creation such as a literary, dramatic or artistic work;
  • a scheme or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business;
  • the presentation of information, or a computer program;
  • a method of treatment for the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, as well as diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body;
  • a new animal or plant variety.

All products or processes are classified in accordance with the 7^th Edition of the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (IPC).

Requirements to apply for a Grant of Patent

You are required to submit to our firm the following documents for your application:

• Completed Petition for Patent
• Description
• All Drawings / Specifications (where applicable)
• One or more claims
• Abstract
• Application for an Address for Service
• Power of Attorney to Agent - which is to be completed and signed by the authorized signatory of the Applicant Company. Legalization or notarization is not required.
• Sequence listing part of description (where applicable)
• Translation (where applicable)
• Priority Documents - where the priority of an earlier application (national, regional, or international) is claimed - may be furnished until the date of international publication.

A Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) national phase applicant may file the petition without submitting copies of the relevant specification, international application, international search report and international preliminary examination report.

The specification must include the background and a description of the invention. The description must be written in clear language and must include enough detail so that an individual with an average understanding of the field could use or reproduce the invention.

Please contact us for the patent application fees and our legal fees to assist with your application.

We are able to assist you with the following patent services:

• Withdrawal of a Patent Application
• Opinions with regards to a Belize Patent
• Surrendering a Belize Patent
• Restoration of a Belize Patent
• Opposing the registration of a Patent in Belize
• Maintenance of a Belize Patent
• Assignment of a Belize Patent
• Amending a Belize Patent
• Recording a license contract
• Recoding of sublicense contract
• Application for change of Agent

We can also provide you with information regarding the following services:

• Registration of Industrial Designs
• Copyright Infringement
• Utility Model Certificates
• Domain Name Registration (.bz)