The system for trademark protection in Honduras includes:

• Registration

Honduras belongs to the following international treaties:

• Paris Convention
• Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks

The benefits of registering a trademark in Honduras include:

• It is the only form of protection available for trademarks
• It entitles the proprietor to bring an infringement action

Service marks

Yes

Defensive marks

Yes, there is no definition of a Defensive Mark per se in the law, but because of the possibility of registering a trademark without the need to use it, it can be registered as a defensive mark.

Collective marks

Yes, three copies of the regulations of the use of the trademark are required.

Certification marks

No

Well-known marks

Yes, the same requirements as a traditional trademark, but needs to be well-known in the country.

Series marks

No

Marks in a different language or characters other than Roman characters

Yes, the same requirements as a traditional trademark.

Non-traditional marks: Sound marks

Yes, the same requirements as a traditional trademark and the sound in a digital format, the musical pentagram and spectrogram.

Non-traditional marks: Smell marks

No

Non-traditional marks: Position marks

Yes, it is represented in the application by showing the mark from different perspectives.

Non-traditional marks: Color marks (i.e. registration of a single color or a combination of colors, e.g. Cadbury's purple color)

No

Non-traditional marks: Shape or three-dimensional marks

Yes, the same requirements as a traditional trademark and a representation of the three-dimensional figure. 

Documents and information required to file a trademark application in Honduras include:

• Name and address of the applicant
• Representation of the trademark
• Certificate of Incorporation (if the applicant is a company) 
• Power of Attorney
• Other: All documents must be translated into Spanish and legalized by the Apostille.

No, multi-class applications are not permitted in Honduras.

Yes, there is substantive examination of trademarks in Honduras on the following grounds:

• Substantive grounds
• Relative grounds

Absolute grounds for refusal of a trademark in Honduras include:

• Mark has direct reference to the character or quality of the goods or services
• Mark is not distinctive

Relative grounds for refusal of a trademark in Honduras include:

• There is a prior application for registration or registration for an identical or confusingly similar mark in relation to the same goods or services as the subject mark
• There is a prior application for registration or registration for an identical or confusingly similar mark in relation to similar goods or services (although in a different class) as the subject mark
• Well-known mark: There is a well-known mark that is identical or so nearly resembling the subject mark for the same goods or services as the subject mark
• Well-known mark: There is an earlier registered mark that is well-known for different goods or services and the use of the subject mark would indicate a connection between goods or services covered by the subject mark with the proprietor of the well-known mark.

The time period from application to registration in Honduras is between 6-12 months.

Yes, late renewal of a trademark registration is permissible in Honduras. There is a six-month grace period after the trademark has expired. 

No, evidence of use does not need to be submitted to the trademark office in order to maintain an application for registration or registration of a trademark in Honduras.

No, trademark licensees are not required to record themselves with the Registrar in Honduras, however, it is recommended. 

Available enforcement methods in Honduras include:

• Civil enforcement
  • Infringement action
• Criminal enforcement
• Administrative enforcement

In Honduras, there is a rehabilitation fee for trademarks that are not being used.