Registering a trademark in the Dominican Republic is only the first step toward securing its legal protection. A critical part of the brand defense process is exercising the right of opposition before the National Office of Industrial Property (ONAPI) against applications filed by third parties for trademarks that are identical or confusingly similar to your own.
Trademark opposition is a legal mechanism that enables the owners of registered or pending trademarks to defend their market position, commercial reputation, and avoid consumer confusion.
Timely filing of an opposition allows you to prevent:
- Confusion regarding the business origin of goods or services..
- Dilution of the brand's value and distinctiveness.
- Unfair advantage by a new mark leveraging the reputation of an existing one
- Costly legal disputes in the future.
Law No. 20-00 clearly outlines the legal framework for the trademark opposition procedure, particularly:
- Article 125 grants any third party the right to oppose the registration of a trademark within the legal timeframe.
- Article 126 allows oppositions to be based on prior registered or pending rights,
- Article 120 establishes grounds for refusing registration, including marks that may mislead or confuse consumers due to similarity with earlier marks.
Together, these provisions protect both the exclusive use of a mark and its core distinguishing function in the marketplace.
The main goal of an opposition is to prevent ONAPI from registering a conflicting mark that may lead to confusion or mistaken association. This is achieved by demonstrating that the published mark infringes upon the opponent's prior rights due to:
- Phonetic, graphic, or conceptual similarity.
- Competitive connection between the conflicting marks.
- Well-known status or reputation of the earlier trademark.
- Risk of confusion or association that may weaken the distinctiveness or misappropriate the goodwill of the prior mark.
To successfully file an opposition, you must:
- Be within the legal deadline: 45 business days from the date of publication in ONAPI’s Official Bulletin.
- Base the opposition on prior rights (registered or pending).
- Pay the applicable government fee.
- Submit a formal written opposition to ONAPI, including supporting documentation and evidence.
Filing an opposition is not optional it is a legal necessity. Anyone with a registered or pending trademark must actively monitor ONAPI’s publications. An effective opposition safeguards your brand investment, protects your commercial identity, and helps avoid future litigation.
At LawyerIP Com Abogados, we offer full trademark surveillance, comparative analysis, and formal opposition services before ONAPI, backed by legal precedent and technical expertise.
October 24, 2025.