Useful links for doing business in Costa Rica

By on March 18, 2014   /   Uncategorized  

Useful links for doing business in Costa Rica

In recent years, the Costa Rican Government has been pushing its institutions to provide more online services to increase efficiency, transparency and reduce bureaucracy. While there is still a lot of work to be done, many useful tools are already available.

Here we present some examples of free-to-access government websites that are essential for daily business in Costa Rica:

Laws and Regulations

http://www.pgr.go.cr/Scij/ – Official web site of the Republic’s General Procurator. It publishes laws, regulations, judicial and administrative decisions

http://www.asamblea.go.cr/ – Official web site of the Legislative Assembly. It contains information on recently approved laws and bills under discussion

http://costarica.eregulations.org/ – e-Regulations.org. Government-sponsored online database for investment-related procedures, including government procurement, real estate, operating licenses, social security, exports, imports, etc.

Consumer protection and competition

http://www.meic.go.cr/ – Official web site for the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce. Contains information on consumer protection, labeling requirements, unfair competition and others.

National Registry

http://rnpdigital.com – Official web site for the National Registry. Records transactions pertaining to legal persons (including corporations and LLC’s), real estate, movable property (namely, vehicles), trademark, patents, and others. This is an invaluable resource for everyday business in Costa Rica. Free registration is required, although certain services do have a cost (payable with credit card).

Costa Rican Consulates abroad, Apostille, Certified Translators

http://www.rree.go.cr – Official web site for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Amongst other things, contains information on Costa Rican Consulates abroad, document apostille procedures, official translators, and document legalization.

Others

http://poder-judicial.go.cr/ – Official web site for Judicial Courts of Costa Rica

http://www.hacienda.go.cr/ – Official web site for the Tax Ministry 

http://www.ccss.sa.cr/ – Official web site for the Social Security System

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Costa Rica increases publication fees for trademark applications

By on March 18, 2014   /   Intellectual Property, Trademark  

As of February 25, 2014, the official Gazette increased publication fees for trademark applications 

Registered Symbol

As frequent filers of trademark applications in Costa Rica know, official fees for trademark registration in the country are divided into two main categories. The first are filing fees, which are payable to the Industrial Property Registry at the time of filing. The second ones are publication fees, payable to the official Gazette after a successful formal and substantive examination of the application by the Trademark Office. Publication fees are often more expensive than registration fees.

As of February 25, 2014 the Administration Board of the Gazette increased in approximately $20 the minimum publication fees for trademark applications. In addition, applications that include a figurative element (such as a design, logo, stylized font or typeface, etc.) or cover an exceedingly long description of goods and services may also pay a publication surcharge.

Recently, the Gazette discontinued physical publication and the document is now only available online at: http://www.gaceta.go.cr/gaceta/

This publication is meant solely for general information and should not be regarded as legal advice. If you would like additional information, please contact:

For more information:

Luis D. Acuña
tel. 00 (506)  2221-9058
LDAcuna@AcunaLegal.com

 

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