This page is for intellectual property firms and trademark agents in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa who need a correspondent in Colombia for their clients’ marks. It explains how ADALET LEGAL S.A.S., a Colombian law firm, works with you, agent to agent, and what Andean Community Decision 486 requires at each stage, from filing to renewal.
Colombian rules and Decision 486 have no official English version. Quotations on this page are reproduced in Spanish from the official text, followed in brackets by an unofficial English translation.
What we need from you to file a national application
Under Article 273 of Decision 486, the competent national office is the «órgano administrativo encargado del registro de la Propiedad Industrial» [administrative body in charge of industrial property registration]; in Colombia that is the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), as Decree 729 of 2012 records. Article 138 of Decision 486 provides that the application «se presentará ante la oficina nacional competente» [shall be filed with the competent national office] and lists, among its requirements, «c) los poderes que fuesen necesarios» [c) the powers that may be necessary] and proof of payment of the fees.
Under Article 139, the request form includes the request for registration; the applicant’s name and address; its nationality or domicile and, for a legal entity, its place of incorporation; where applicable, its legal representative’s name and address; the mark, when purely a word mark without lettering, form or colour; the express indication of the goods or services and the class or classes to which they belong; and the signature of the applicant or its legal representative. Decision 689 of 2008 allowed Andean Member Countries, through their domestic rules, to establish multi-class trademark registration, and SIC Resolution 6167 of 2026 sets a fee «por cada clase adicional en una misma solicitud» [for each additional class in the same application].
Under Article 7 the request must be filed «en idioma castellano» [in Spanish]. Under Article 8, other documents must be in Spanish or accompanied by «una traducción simple en dicho idioma» [a simple translation into that language], although the office may waive translations. Formalities for a power signed abroad are explained on our page on powers of attorney for Colombia.
Article 140 fixes the filing date as the date the office receives the application, provided it contains at least the elements that article lists, among them the express indication of the goods or services and proof of payment of the fees. Under Article 140 of Decision 486, if any is missing, the application is not admitted for processing and receives no filing date.
Claiming priority and the telle quelle certificate
Under Article 9, the first trademark application validly filed in another Member Country, or before a national, regional or international authority with which the Member Country is bound by a treaty establishing an analogous priority right, confers on the applicant or its successor a priority right to apply for the same subject matter, with the scope and effects provided in the Paris Convention. For marks, the term counted from the filing date of the earlier application, which Decision 486 describes as non-extendable, is «b) seis meses para los registros de diseños industriales y de marcas» [b) six months for registrations of industrial designs and trademarks]; Decision 689 of 2008 allows Member Countries, through their domestic rules, to provide for its restoration for no more than two months.
Article 10 requires a declaration invoking the priority, stating the filing date of the earlier application, the office where it was filed and, when known, its number. For marks, the declaration and documents may be filed with the application or within a non-extendable term of nine months from the filing date of the earlier application, together with a copy of that application certified by the authority that issued it and a certificate of its filing date issued by the same authority, and proof of payment of the fee where applicable. Article 11 is strict: «El incumplimiento de los plazos, de la presentación de los documentos o del pago de la tasa, acarreará la pérdida de la prioridad invocada.» [Failure to meet the terms, to submit the documents or to pay the fee shall result in loss of the priority invoked.]
Where your client wishes to rely on Article 6quinquies of the Paris Convention, Article 142 requires it to file the certificate of registration in the country of origin within three months following the filing date of the application.
Formal examination, office actions and how terms are counted
Under Article 144, the office «examinará, dentro de los 15 días contados a partir de la fecha de presentación de la solicitud, si las mismas cumplen con los requisitos de forma» [shall examine, within 15 days from the filing date, whether they meet the formal requirements]. If they are not met, «la oficina nacional competente notificará al solicitante para que complete dichos requisitos dentro del plazo de sesenta días siguientes a la fecha de notificación» [the competent national office shall notify the applicant to complete those requirements within sixty days following the date of notification], and if they are not completed «la solicitud se considerará abandonada y perderá su prelación» [the application shall be deemed abandoned and shall lose its precedence].
Unless the Decision provides otherwise, terms subject to notification or publication run from the following day (Article 4), and «cuando los plazos se señalen por días, se entenderá que éstos son hábiles» [where terms are set in days, they shall be understood to be business days] (Article 5).
Publication, oppositions and the Andean opposition
If the application meets the formal requirements, Article 145 provides that the office «ordenará la publicación» [shall order publication]. Under Article 146, «Dentro del plazo de treinta días siguientes a la fecha de la publicación, quien tenga legítimo interés, podrá presentar, por una sola vez, oposición fundamentada que pueda desvirtuar el registro de la marca.» [Within thirty days following the date of publication, whoever has a legitimate interest may file, only once, a reasoned opposition capable of defeating the registration of the mark.] On request, the office grants once an additional thirty days to submit evidence. Under Article 148, an opposed applicant has thirty days from notification to present arguments and evidence, with one additional thirty days for evidence on request.
Article 147 extends legitimate interest to oppose in the other Member Countries to the owner of an identical or similar mark for goods or services in respect of which use of the mark may mislead the public, and to whoever first applied for that mark in any Member Country. In both cases the opponent must prove its real interest in the market where it opposes, «debiendo a tal efecto solicitar el registro de la marca al momento de interponerla» [and to that end must apply for registration of the mark when filing the opposition]. See our page on the Andean opposition in Colombia.
Under Article 150, the office then examines registrability and, where oppositions were filed, rules on them and on grant or refusal by resolution. For appeals, see trademark oppositions and appeals in Colombia.
Designations of Colombia under the Madrid Protocol
According to WIPO Lex, Colombia acceded to the Madrid Protocol on May 29, 2012, and the Protocol entered into force for Colombia on August 29, 2012. We answer provisional refusals of Colombian designations in Spanish; see our page on provisional refusal in Colombia under the Madrid Protocol, and the choice of route on Madrid Protocol or national filing in Colombia.
Renewals and non-use cancellations
Article 152 provides that «El registro de una marca tendrá una duración de diez años contados a partir de la fecha de su concesión y podrá renovarse por períodos sucesivos de diez años.» [The registration of a mark shall last ten years from the date of grant and may be renewed for successive periods of ten years.] Under Article 153, the owner, or whoever has a legitimate interest, must request renewal within the six months before expiry, with a grace period of six months from expiry, enclosing proof of payment of the established fees and paying the corresponding surcharge if domestic rules allow it; the registration remains fully in force during that period. «A efectos de la renovación no se exigirá prueba de uso de la marca» [No proof of use of the mark shall be required for renewal], and the owner may reduce or limit the goods or services.
Under Article 165, the office shall cancel a registration at the request of an interested person when, without justified reason, the mark has not been used in at least one of the Member Countries, by its owner, a licensee or another authorised person, during the three consecutive years preceding the date the action is initiated. Under Article 170, the owner has «sesenta días hábiles contados a partir de la notificación» [sixty business days from notification] to submit arguments and evidence. We act for either side; see trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia.
How we work with foreign IP firms
ADALET LEGAL has more than 20 years of practice and more than 3,000 trademarks handled before the SIC. We take your instructions in English, file in Spanish and report in English. Before filing, we can give a search and registrability opinion; see Colombia trademark search.
We work on fixed fees for each stage, agreed in writing before any work begins, and we quote in writing the same day. Official SIC fees are separate. We do not promise outcomes or timeframes; the decision belongs to the SIC.
Frequently asked questions
What information is needed to file a trademark application in Colombia?
Article 139 of Decision 486 lists the content of the request form, including the applicant’s name, address and nationality or domicile, the express list of goods or services and the class or classes to which they belong, and the signature of the applicant or its legal representative. Article 138 adds the necessary powers and proof of payment of the fees.
How long do I have to claim priority for a trademark in Colombia?
Under Article 9 of Decision 486, six months from the filing date of the earlier application. Under Article 10, the declaration and documents may follow up to nine months from that date. Missing a term, a document or the fee means loss of the priority (Article 11).
How long is the trademark opposition period in Colombia?
Thirty days from publication, under Article 146 of Decision 486, with one additional thirty days to submit evidence on request.
Is Colombia a member of the Madrid Protocol?
Yes. According to WIPO Lex, Colombia acceded on May 29, 2012, and the Protocol entered into force for Colombia on August 29, 2012.
When can a Colombian trademark registration be renewed?
Within the six months before expiry, or within a six-month grace period after it, under Article 153 of Decision 486. No proof of use is required for renewal.
Contact us
Send us your client’s mark, the goods or services, the classes and any priority date on WhatsApp, and we will reply with a written quote.
Related pages
Trademark registration in Colombia · Andean opposition in Colombia · Provisional refusal under the Madrid Protocol in Colombia · Trademark oppositions and appeals in Colombia · Trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia · Colombia trademark search · Power of attorney for Colombia · Renovación de marca (Spanish)