Brand registration is an extremely important procedure because it protects the exclusive right to a brand, which means that only you will be able to make decisions and determinations; this right to the brand corresponds to a period of 10 years. The registration is renewable over time and is a process that must be carried out before the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC).

However, in Colombia there are different types of trademarks, the four most common ones being defined in the manual of the SIC are:

• Nominative, nominal or verbal: they consist only of letters, i.e. the name of the product or company and are subdivided into:

-Fantasies: they have no meaning, it is a term invented by the applicant.

-Arbitrary: there is no connection between the meaning and the product to be identified.

-Suggestive or evocative: they have a conceptual connotation related to the product or brand.

• Figurative: they consist of an image or logo and do not include letters, numbers or signs.
• Mixed: combines several elements either nominative or figurative (i.e. includes letters and images).
• Three-dimensional: when the shape of the product is protected (wrapping, packaging or container).

Now you have a little more clear that there are several types of trademarks; now it is time to register it, for this we will consider three (3) steps:

1) Review the background to validate that the trademark is not registered and verify that there are no phonetic, graphic or other elements that generate confusion and may prevent registration.

2) Pay to the SIC, please note that this price varies each year; for the year 2022 the official fees for trademark registration application (first or only class) is 1’003.500 Colombian pesos if done online, and 1´220.000 if it is in a physical form; to apply for registration of a trademark in (additional class in the same application) it is 501.500 online and from 579.500 for other official rates, click here to see the other official rates here.

3) Fill out the form SIC adding information of the applicant, data of the attorney-in-fact, sign to be registered, class according to the Nice International Classification, signature of the applicant and attorney in case you have one; it is also necessary to attach some documents such as the receipt of payment, files with the arts or designs to be registered and power of attorney in case you have one.

Finally, it is important to point out that, in order to register a trademark, it is not mandatory to have a lawyer, however, there are 3 very valuable reasons to have the assistance of a professional:

1. When a trademark registration process is to be initiated, the products and services must be classified in one or more of the 45 classes that exist in the Nice International Classification, and a professional in the field will be able to define them correctly.
2. The professional is able to carry out an analysis prior to the registration request to validate if there are any antecedents that could jeopardize the process.
3. Un profesional puede prestar el servicio de vigilancia de la marca lo que quiere decir que cada 10 días que salga la gaceta de propiedad industrial el abogado puede eventualmente informar al cliente qué está ocurriendo y así defender la marca y evitar que se generen registros que atenten contra la suya o que se diluya la marca porque comienzan a registrar varios signos que sean similares o parecidos.(Gaceta de propiedad industrial. Es el information media of the SIC that discloses applications filed and titles granted in connection with trademarks and other distinctive signs).

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