Judicial Administration Structure for IP Disputes: Panama

The Department for the Registration of Industrial Property (DIGERPI), which comes under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the National Copyright Directorate (DNDA), which comes under the Ministry of Culture, have jurisdiction in administrative proceedings.

DIGERPI was established under Act No. 2 of February 11, 1982, amending Articles 10 and 11 of Cabinet Decree No. 225 of July 16, 1969, under which the Ministry of Trade and Industry was established.

DIGERPI registers industrial property assets and grants protection for them in the form of trademarks, patents, utility models, industrial designs, plant varieties and collective rights.

Administrative decisions by DIGERPI and the Ministry of Trade and Industry may be appealed before the Third Chamber (Administrative and Labor Proceedings) of the Supreme Court, whereby the appellant may seek to have the decision annulled and, where appropriate, to obtain compensation for harmed caused.

DNDA was established under Act No. 47 of 1946. Initially under the Ministry of Education, it was then called the Literary and Artistic Property Registry. It was renamed the General Copyright Directorate under Act No. 15 of 1994 and subsequently attached to the Ministry of Trade and Industry under Act No. 64 of 2012, on copyright and related rights. Finally, pursuant to Article 42 of Act No. 90 of August 15, 2019, the body became known as the National Copyright Directorate (DNDA) and was brought under the Ministry of Culture.

DNDA has registration, deposit, surveillance and inspection roles in the administration of copyright. It may order preventive measures, suspend unauthorized acts of public communication, seize unlawfully reproduced copies, apply administrative sanctions, file criminal complaints, defend the rights of authorship and integrity of works that are in the public domain, and so on.

Decisions by DNDA may be reviewed by the Director of the agency and appealed before the Minister of Culture. Thereafter, they may be appealed before the Third Chamber (Administrative and Labor Proceedings) of the Supreme Court, as described above.

Special courts were established to deal with such matters under Act No. 45 of October 31, 2007, on antitrust, consumer protection and other matters. They include the Third High Court of the First Judicial District, which acts as a court of appeal, and the Eighth and Ninth Civil Circuit Courts, which are lower courts that hear disputes relating to antitrust cases, consumer protection and intellectual property (IP).

Lawsuits involving monopolistic practices, consumer protection, unfair competition, IP (including copyright and related rights), industrial property, trademarks, service marks, trade names, industrial designs, patents, and so on, may be filed with those lower courts. They also hear disputes relating to agency, representation and distribution relationships, and applications for injunctions in matters for which they are competent under the law.

Under Article 181 of Act No. 35 of November 10, 1996, as amended by Act No. 61 of October 5, 2012, the following are considered proceedings involving industrial property:

1. Disputes arising from oppositions to applications for registration.

2. Proceedings to invalidate or cancel industrial property rights.

3. Proceedings relating to the misuse of industrial property rights.

4. Proceedings relating to other matters for which the courts in question are competent under the law.

Court proceedings involving copyright and related rights are governed by Act No. 45 and Article 166 of Act No. 64 of 2012 (Copyright Act), as well as by the rules of ordinary procedure set forth in the Judicial Code. They may lead to a declaratory judgment or conviction, depending on the claim filed by the petitioner, and may involve contractual or extra-contractual liability.

Rulings by the Third High Court of the First Judicial District involving the award of fines in excess of 500,000 balboas (copyright disputes, pursuant to Article 190 of Act No. 45) or 25,000 balboas (industrial property disputes, pursuant to the Judicial Code) may be subject to extraordinary cassation appeal before the First Chamber (Civil) of the Supreme Court. The Civil Chamber also hears appeals regarding orders to end proceedings, opposition rulings, the lifting of injunctions, and rulings to confirm, amend, revoke, approve or reject the award of damages (Articles 1163 and 1164 of the Judicial Code).

The Second Chamber (Criminal) of the Supreme Court may hear cassation appeals concerning criminal cases that involve copyright and related rights (IP crimes provided for under Title VIII, Chap. VI, Sects. 1 and 2, Arts. 262-279 of the Criminal Code). Such appeals are heard under the adversarial system of criminal justice (investigation by the Office of the Public Prosecutor and judicial review of the trial conducted by the lower court, its ruling and safeguards put in place by it).

The Third Chamber (Administrative and Labor Proceedings) of the Supreme Court may hear challenges to the validity of orders issued by DIGERPI and DNDA.

The Supreme Court sitting en banc may, on the basis of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, quash IP rulings handed down by the Third High Court of the First Judicial District or lower courts that deal with antitrust and consumer affairs and rule on the administrative contracts of the relevant authorities.

The foundation of industrial property law is Act No. 35, as amended by Act No. 61, and its implementing regulations, as set forth in Executive Decree No. 85 of July 4, 2017. Copyright and related rights are governed by the Copyright Act, for which implementing regulations have not yet been passed.

Under Article 124(3) of Act No. 45, the circuit courts of the civil branch of the First Judicial District are exclusively and solely competent to hear IP disputes, including with regard to copyright and related rights, trademarks, service marks and patents.

In Panama, the aim of Act No. 20 of June 27, 2000, on special IP rules concerning the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples, along with other provisions, is to protect and defend the cultural identity and traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and their collective IP rights to their creations, including inventions, models, drawings and designs, innovations contained in images, figures, symbols, graphics, rock carvings and other details. The aim is also to protect their rights to the marketable cultural elements of their history, music, art and traditional artistic expressions through a special registration, promotional and marketing system, and thereby to highlight the sociocultural values of Indigenous cultures and ensure social justice.

Statistics on cases filed with and resolved by the Third High Court of the First Judicial District for the years 2021 to 2024 follow:

Case flow in the Third High Court of the First Judicial District: Years 2021-2024

Cases	2021	2022	2023	2024
Cases filed	239	446	484	340
Cases resolved	210	375	517	421
Cases pending	116	187		69
Proportion of cases resolved	88%	84%	107%	124%
Judgments handed down	94	126	174	139
Total number of rulings issued	116	249	343	282
Cases filed by type of proceeding	239	446	484	340
Complaint	7	-	3	-
De facto appeal	6	56	39	19
Recusal	-	-	25	34
Other	8	236	265	82
Appeal	218	154	152	205

Statistics for the Eighth and Ninth Civil Circuit Courts (antitrust and consumer affairs) are as follows:

Case flow in the Eighth Civil Circuit Court (antitrust and consumer affairs): 2021-2024

Cases	2021	2022	2023	2024
Cases filed	260	273	167	186
Cases resolved	177	235	213	177
Cases pending	254	292	246	255
Proportion of cases resolved	66%	86%	128%	95%
Judgments handed down	115	160	127	111
Total number of rulings issued	62	75	86	66
Cases filed by type of proceeding	260	273	167	186
Industrial property	150	136	78	109
Consumer protection	92	100	73	73
Antitrust	-	-	1	1
Unfair competition	-	2	1	-
Agency, representation and distribution relationships	-	2	1	-
Intellectual property	16	33	13	2
Other	2	-	-	1

Case flow in the Ninth Civil Circuit Court (antitrust and consumer affairs): 2021-2024

Cases	2021	2022	2023	2024
Cases filed	260	282	166	186
Cases resolved	219	309	246	237
Cases pending	319	292	212	161
Proportion of cases resolved	84%	110%	148%	127%
Judgments handed down	81	107	108	109
Total number of rulings issued	138	202	138	128
Cases filed by type of proceeding	260	282	166	186
Industrial property	147	146	80	108
Consumer protection	94	100	71	72
Antitrust	-	-	1	1
Unfair competition	1	2	-	1
Agency, representation and distribution relationships	1	2	-	-
Intellectual property	16	32	14	3
Other	1	-	-	1

The national case law database in Panama: https://consultafallos.organojudicial.gob.pa/

WIPO Lex – Panama