Intellectual Property Ep. 4: Publishing legal notices in Costa Rica’s Official Journal – La Gaceta, to formalize your trademark registration.

Logos, symbols, and trademarks are an essential part of your corporate identity. They form the core of your business, strengthening consumer trust, attracting new investors, and consolidating your company’s legitimacy and reputation. Protecting them as a valuable asset is essential.

Continuing with the last three articles in our Intellectual Property Series, we have finally completed the initial steps after weeks of procedures and reviews by the Registro Nacional de Costa Rica Institution. The Costa Rican National Registry Institution has confirmed that everything is in order, and we are now ready to publish the legal notices (edictos) in the Costa Rican Official Journal, La Gaceta.

Publishing the legal notices in La Gaceta

Publishing the legal notice in La Gaceta is an indispensable requirement for the successful registration of your trademark. Through this publication, interested parties are informed about your trademark, the products and services you intend to protect, and your intention to register them under your name.

If third parties believe they may be affected in any way, they may file the corresponding objections within the established timeframe. However, if the prior research and initial steps were carried out correctly, it is unlikely that any individual or company will submit an objection.

Steps to the publishing process

The National Registry Institution will send the legal notice (edicto) to your email if you completed the process online, or it will notify you that the notice is ready to be picked up at the National Registry offices if you completed the process in-person.

At the National Registry facilities in Zapote, there is a branch of the National Printing Office where you can request a quotation for the publications and complete the process immediately. Remember that the legal notice must be published three times on different days.

Publishing Legal Notices Online

To publish the legal notices online, you must first create a user account on the Costa Rican National Printing Office website. You may register using a digital signature or by requesting a user account with your email address and a password.

Once inside the system, you must complete and update your personal information and billing details. Next, in the tools column on the left, look for the Create New Request tab and click on it. The system will immediately assign you a service number. At this point, you must upload the legal notice to be published and select the document type. In this case, you should choose Trademark (3 times). You may also add a comment if you consider it necessary.

A small tip: At the beginning of the first part of the request process, there is a link to a virtual tour that provides a step-by-step guide to the process.

Once the third publication of the legal notice has been completed, a two-month period will begin during which interested third parties may submit objections. If no objections are filed, the Registro Nacional de Costa Rica will proceed with the registration of your trademark. Your trademark will then be protected for a period of 10 years, and you will receive the certificate by email.

If you completed the process in person, you must keep track of the deadline and retrieve the certificate yourself, as the Costa Rican National Registry Institution will most likely not notify you of the positive outcome.

Registration mission accomplished

After weeks of long and tedious procedures, your trademark is finally registered and protected, helping to ensure the success of your company, products, and services. If you would like more information or assistance with registering your trademark, do not hesitate to contact the experts in Costa Rica. At Endemic Media, we are ready to collaborate on your new project.