Trademarks

Trademarks

1. A brand is a sign that is apt to distinguish a product or service in the market.

   • When said trademark has been registered with the government entity, it is usually referred to as a "registered trademark"
     • A registered trademark determines the graphic / physical / operational identity of a product or service.
       • It includes its own graphic-visual elements that differentiate the article from its competitors, providing it with a certain identity in the commercial sector. In addition, it is a registered identity, protected by the corresponding laws that can be used exclusively.
   • which is abbreviated with the icons
     • The registration of a trademark gives its owner the possibility of authorizing or prohibiting the use of the same to third parties.
   • The sign of a brand can be a word or a combination of words, an image or a design, three-dimensional shapes, sounds and some countries, smells, textures and any other that meets the requirements of distinctiveness and possibility of being represented in writing or graphically.
     • States generally grant legal protection tools (civil and criminal proceedings) to trademark owners to defend them against unauthorized copies.

2. Types of brands

   • Denominative
     • They are the marks that identify a product or service from a word or a set of words. These marks must be phonetically distinguished from the products or services of the same species. That is, they should not be similar to brands that belong to products or services of the same class.
   • Figurative
     • They are images or logos that visually distinguish a brand. That is, they are distinctive figures that cannot be phonetically recognized, only visually.
   • Mixed
     • They are the result of the combination of types defined in the two preceding paragraphs. In most cases they are combinations of words with designs or logos. A live example of this could be a simple brand with a logo.
   • Auditory
     • They are brands that are composed of a sound or melody. The graphic representation can be done in several ways, including presenting a pentagram. An example: Intel's auditory brand.
   • Three-dimensional
     • It is a distinctive sign that occupies a space. In other words, it is a sign that is represented in three dimensions. As an example of these signs we have, the Coca Cola bottle, the shape of the Toblerone chocolates.

3. In Colombia, the entity that regulates trademarks is the superintendence of industry and commerce

   • Currently (year 2019) the official SIC rates for the online trademark registration procedure are as follows:
     • Application for trademark or commercial motto registration (first or only class) $ 925,000 (Colombian pesos).
     • Trademark application or commercial motto (additional class in the same application) $ 462,000 (Colombian pesos).
   • The application for trademark registration must be filed with the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, through the form detailed in section 2.6. of the previously developed section. Once the trademark application is filed, it has a right of priority, from the date and time of its presentation, against subsequent trademark applications.