Publication of the application will take place 18 months after filing. Published applications are open to opposition for a period of 2 months after publication. The new law for the first time creates a new type of right in the form of a utility model to provide protection for innovations that are insufficiently inventive to qualify for patent protection. Utility models do not have to meet the requirement of the use of inventive activity, as is required for patent protection, and have a maximum duration of 10 years from filing. Designs Protection for designs requires only novelty.
Protection is initially for a period of ten years which can be renewed for a further five years.
Additionally, industrial designs enjoy protection automatically without registration for the first two years after disclosure in Panama. The definition also requires that sufficient steps be taken in order to preserve the confidentiality and restricted access to such secrets. The law prohibits the illegal acquisition, disclosure or use of an industrial or trade secret by a party, or through a third party. Violations of the trade secret provisions may result in a claim for damages or criminal sanctions. Registrable marks are defined as any mark, sign, word, or combination thereof, which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one party from those of others, and may include, inter alia , personal names, three-dimensional shapes, colors or combinations of colors.