Trademark registration in Venezuela

The trademark office and official links

Trademarks in Venezuela are registered by the Servicio Autónomo de la Propiedad Intelectual (SAPI).

• Trademark office: Servicio Autónomo de la Propiedad Intelectual (SAPI)
• Online filing: official e-filing portal
• Trademark search: official trademark database
• Law: Ley de Propiedad Industrial (Industrial Property Law) of 1955, published 1956

Official fees in Venezuela

The office does not publish an up-to-date fee schedule we could verify. Ask firms that cover Venezuela for a quote that shows official and professional fees separately — post a request or compare packages.

How to register a trademark in Venezuela

1. Run phonetic and graphic searches through SAPI's WEBPI system and pay the search fees.
2. Prepare Form FM-02 for one class, with the mark image (5 x 5 cm) and the list of goods or services.
3. File the application with SAPI, through an industrial property agent with an authenticated power of attorney where the applicant does not act directly.
4. After the formal review, the application is published, and third parties have 30 working days to oppose.
5. If unopposed, SAPI examines registrability and publishes the grant or refusal in the Boletín de la Propiedad Industrial.
6. Pay the registration fee within 30 working days of the Bulletin's publication to obtain the certificate.

Examination, publication and opposition

• Examination: SAPI conducts a formal review (with 30 days to correct defects) and, after the opposition period, a substantive examination.
• Publication: Boletín de la Propiedad Industrial (SAPI); applications are first published in the press (SAPI digital press), and grants or refusals are also published in the Bulletin
• Opposition period: 30 working days from publication
• Typical timeline: About 8 to 12 months if there are no delays (SAPI estimate)

Protection, renewal and use

• Term: 15 years from the registration date, renewable.
• Use requirement: a registration can be challenged after 2 years of non-use.
• Rights system: first to file.

Filing from abroad

• Local agent: Procedures must be handled by the applicant or by an authorised industrial property agent registered with SAPI; foreign applicants in practice act through a local registered agent.
• Power of attorney: An authenticated (notarised) power of attorney, translated by a sworn interpreter and legalised or apostilled; SAPI keeps the numbered original on file.
• Language: Spanish; foreign documents need translation by a sworn public interpreter and legalisation or apostille

Firms on TrademarksHub that cover Venezuela can act as your local agent — see firms.

Madrid Protocol

Venezuela is not a member of the Madrid System, so an international registration cannot cover it. You need a national filing, usually through a local agent.

Trademark classes

Nice Classification; the 1955 law contains its own classification list, but SAPI applies the Nice Classification in practice. Each application covers one class, so file one application per class. Not sure which classes you need? See all 45 classes or classes by business type.

How Venezuela compares

• Opposition: 30 working days from publication — compare all countries
• Renewal: every 15 years — compare all countries
• Foreign owners: required — rules in every country

Guides: registering in any country · costs by country · Madrid

Good to know in Venezuela

• Registrations last 15 years, renewable for further 15-year periods, which is longer than the usual 10 years.
• Each application may cover only one class, so multi-class protection needs separate applications.
• The registration fee must be paid within 30 working days after the grant is published in the Bulletin, or the application lapses.
• SAPI requires phonetic search reports (and graphic search reports for figurative or mixed marks) to be attached to the application.
• Under the 1955 law, a registration lapses if the mark is not used for two consecutive years.

Questions