(1) Publication of applications is to take place eighteen months from the application date.

(2) Patents granted under the new law will have a term of 20 years from the filing date of the application giving rise to them, subject to the payment of annual maintenance fees.

(3) Contractual licenses to exploit a patent should be recorded with the National Authority and will be effective against third parties only after they have been recorded.

(1) Service marks, collective marks and certification marks may be registered.

(2) The term of a trademark registration has been reduced from 20 years to 10 years, and registrations may be renewed for additional 10-year periods.

(3) An applicant who has been using a trademark in the Dominican Republic continuously and in good faith for more than 6 months shall have a preferential right to registration.

(4) Applications for renewal must be supported with an Affidavit of Use showing the frequency and form of use as well as evidence of such use.

(5) The grace period for belated renewals has been increased to 6 months following the expiration date.

(6) An action for cancellation based on a prior right may be commenced within 5 years from the date of registration. However, such action may be filed at any time if the registration was obtained in bad faith or was granted contrary to the law.

(7) The period of uninterrupted and unjustified non-use rendering a registration vulnerable to cancellation has been increased from 1 year to 3 years preceding the date on which the action is commenced.

(8) The International Classification of Goods and Services has been adopted.

(9) The term of a commercial name registration runs for the same 10-year period as that of a trademark, and is renewable for additional 10-year periods.

(10) A commercial name is considered abandoned when it ceases to be used in commerce by its owner without justification for more than 5 consecutive years.