Patents protect inventions, including apparatuses, machines, equipment, mechanisms, devices, and other tangible products, as well as any substance, composition, or material, including those of a biological nature, as expressly provided in Article 3 of the Regulations to the Law on Patents of Invention, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs currently in force in Nicaragua.
Patents in Nicaragua have a non-renewable term of twenty years from the filing date of the application. During this period, the patent holder must pay an annual fee to maintain the patent in force. Failure to pay such fee results in the automatic lapse of the patent.
An extension of the patent term may be granted where there is a proven delay in the grant of the patent attributable to the Intellectual Property Registry. Such extension must be requested by the applicant and may not exceed 550 days.
Once the twenty-year term established by law has expired, the patent holder’s exclusive rights cease. The invention then enters the public domain; as a result, third parties may use it freely upon the expiration, lapse, or cancellation of the patent.
Given the importance of ensuring patent protection and preventing improper use by third parties, our Intellectual Property team offers advisory services in patent registration processes, as well as in other areas of intellectual property, in Nicaragua, Central America, and the United States.
