Background

This is a historical review of the creation of the Industrial Property Registry.

The history of the Registry goes back to 1889, and the first registries for marks, when the Brand Office was a part of the Treasury and Commerce Secretariat. The Costa Rican Industrial Property Registry was created on June 30, 1896 through Law No. 40, whose 4^th Chapter regulates inventions as property. All of the previous laws related to marks were amended through Law 559, of June 24, 1946. During the 1960s, the Industrial Property Registry was a part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock; during the 1960s it belonged to the Ministry of Industries, whose name was later changed to the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. The Central American Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property became effective in 1975 (Decree 4543 of March 18, 1970), which was adopted to establish a uniform legal regime for marks, trade names and publicity-related expressions or signs. Later on this Registry became a part of the Ministry of the Interior, which was also responsible for the National Registry, and currently belongs to the Ministry of Justice and Grace. Pursuant to the Patents for Inventions, Industrial Models and Utility Models Law, number 6867 of April 5, 1983 and the Marks and other Distinctive Signs Law, number 7978, of February 1, 2000, the Industrial Property Registry is the Official Entity of the National Registry for the concession and registration of industrial property rights (patents, industrial designs, utility models, industrial marks, and other distinctive signs).

The physical location of the Registry has changed several times through the years. Between the 1960s and 1981, it was located in downtown San José, next to the Librería Universal, and then moved to the facilities it currently occupies in the National Registry in Zapote.

The Industrial Property Registry currently consists of the Industrial Marks Office, the Inventions, Industrial Models and Utility Models Office, and the Cattle Brands Office. The Patent Office became a part of the Industrial Property Registry at the end of the 1960s; it was previously part of the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation. During the 1960s, the Cattle Brand Office belonged to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and then continued became a part of the Industrial Property Registry, as mentioned previously.