To run a trademark search in Colombia, use SIPI, the free database of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), at sipi.sic.gov.co: open «Buscar Signos Distintivos», click «Búsqueda Avanzada» and type the mark in «Denominación». Then check the status of every case that comes up, and read the results the way trademark examiners do: how the marks are written, how they sound, what they mean and which goods or services they cover.
This guide is for brand owners, companies and trademark agents abroad who need to check a name before filing or launching it in Colombia. Colombian rules and Andean Community documents have no official English version: quotations on this page are reproduced in Spanish from the official texts, followed in brackets by our unofficial English translation.
Where to search: three official databases
| Database | Provided by | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| SIPI | Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), the Colombian trademark office | Colombian applications and registrations of trademarks and other distinctive signs, including pending applications and designations of Colombia under the Madrid Protocol. Searching is free and needs no account. |
| CAN TMview | Launched in 2021 by the General Secretariat of the Andean Community with the IP Key Latin America project of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) | Trademarks registered in the Andean Community countries. At launch, the data of Colombia and Peru were available, Ecuador was being added and Bolivia was expected to follow. |
| Global Brand Database | World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) | International trademarks under the Madrid System and trademarks from participating national and regional offices, among other collections. |
Start with SIPI: it is the SIC’s own record, and it shows the pending Colombian applications that other tools may not. Then look across the Andean Community, because a mark that exists only in Peru, Ecuador or Bolivia can still matter in Colombia: its owner may, under the conditions of Article 147 of Decision 486, oppose your application here, and use of a mark in any member country, by its owner, a licensee or another authorized person, counts against a non-use cancellation (Article 165). The General Secretariat presented CAN TMview on August 6, 2021, as a first step in meeting Article 270 of Decision 486, which provides that the member countries, with its support, «implementarán un sistema informático andino sobre derechos de propiedad industrial registrados en cada uno de ellos» [shall implement an Andean computer system on the industrial property rights registered in each of them].
For the rest of the world, WIPO’s database is the usual starting point, with a warning from WIPO itself: «Although the Global Brand Database covers a number of large trademark collections, it may be prudent to search also the registers of national/regional intellectual property offices. You may also consult a trademark attorney.»
How to search SIPI, step by step
SIPI has a language switch, but most of its labels and all the case data are in Spanish, so these steps give the Spanish names exactly as they appear in SIPI, version 4.2.3.18529, read on October 16, 2026.
- Go to sipi.sic.gov.co. The buttons «Registrarse» and «Iniciar Sesión» are for filing; you do not need them to search.
- Click «Buscar Signos Distintivos». The first screen only asks for the «Número de expediente» (application number).
- To search by name, click «Búsqueda Avanzada» and type the mark in «Denominación», which takes up to 255 characters.
- If you need to narrow the results, use «Tipo de solicitud», «Tipo de Signo» (for example «Marca», «Lema Comercial» or «Nombre Comercial»), «Naturaleza» («Nominativa» for word marks, «Figurativa», «Mixta» and others), «Clase(s) de productos y/o servicios», «Solicitante/Titular» or «Estado(s)».
- Click «Buscar» and open each case: check the owner, the classes and the goods or services, the dates and, above all, the status.
The help text of the «Denominación» field explains the search rules: «Puede utilizar como comodín los caracteres (*) y ( ?) para ampliar su búsqueda.» [You can use the characters (*) and (?) as wildcards to broaden your search.] It also says: «Utilice AND para realizar búsquedas por combinación de palabras.» [Use AND to search for a combination of words.] and «Utilice OR para realizar búsquedas con alguno de los términos utilizados.» [Use OR to search for any of the terms used.] A search such as *QUESO*, the example given by SIPI, brings marks that contain the word with other letters around it.
Under «Tipo de solicitud», SIPI separates «SD Solicitud de Signos Distintivos», «SD Solicitud de Registro Internacional» and «SD Solicitud de Extensión Territorial». The Madrid Protocol calls the extension of an international registration to a contracting party a request for «extensión territorial» (Article 3ter, in the Spanish text approved in Colombia by Law 1455 of 2011), and the advanced search also has a «Número de Registro Internacional» field.
To follow a specific case, use its application number. For cases filed after July 18, 2016, SIPI asks for the letters SD, NC, IT or DPI, depending on the type of case, followed by the year, a slash and the seven digits of the sequence, as in its own example «SD2016/0000001»; for cases filed between 1993 and June 30, 2016, eight digits, as in «14000001». If you have the registration certificate number instead, the advanced search has the field «Certificado de Registro N°».
What each case status means
The status tells you more than any other field. SIPI’s «Estado(s)» selector lists 46 statuses across its request types and marks each one as active or not: «Bajo Examen Formal», «Publicada» and «Suspendida» are active, and «Desistida» is not. These are the statuses you will see most often on a trademark application:
| Status in SIPI | What it means | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Bajo Examen Formal | The SIC is checking the formal requirements. If something is missing, the applicant has sixty days from notification to complete it. The application already counts as an earlier mark. | Decision 486, Article 144 |
| Publicada | The application was published in the Industrial Property Gazette. Anyone with a legitimate interest can oppose within thirty business days: if it conflicts with your mark, this is the time to act. | Articles 145, 146, 4 and 5 |
| Con oposición | Someone opposed. The applicant has thirty days from notification to answer, and the SIC decides the opposition and the registration in the same resolution. | Articles 148 and 150 |
| Bajo Examen de Fondo | The SIC is examining whether the mark can be registered. It is still a live earlier application. | Article 150 |
| Registrada | The mark was granted. The registration lasts ten years from the grant and is renewable; check its expiry date and its classes. | Article 152 |
| Negada | The SIC refused the registration, in whole or in part, and the decision can be challenged. A refused mark does not prove that yours is clear: look at why it was refused. | Article 150; Law 1437 of 2011, Article 76 |
| Abandonada | The applicant did not complete what was required in time, so the application was deemed abandoned and lost its precedence. | Article 144 |
| Desistida | The applicant withdrew the application. SIPI marks this status as not active. | SIPI status list |
| Suspendida | The case is on hold; the reason is in the case actions. One example: an Andean opposition based on an earlier application in another member country suspends the later application until the first one is granted. | Article 147 |
A pending application counts as much as a registration. Literal a) of Article 136 refers to a mark «anteriormente solicitada para registro o registrada» [previously applied for or registered], so «Bajo Examen Formal», «Publicada», «Con oposición» and «Bajo Examen de Fondo» are all earlier rights. An expired registration is not necessarily free either: the owner can still renew within a six-month grace period, and under Article 153 «Durante el plazo referido, el registro de marca mantendrá su plena vigencia.» [During that period, the trademark registration shall remain fully in force.]
The statuses on the first page of the SIPI selector, and whether each is active, were read in SIPI on October 16, 2026; the others come from Colombian cases that we consulted in SIPI in October 2026.
How to read phonetic and visual similarity
The legal test is in Article 136 of Decision 486, which provides that «No podrán registrarse como marcas aquellos signos cuyo uso en el comercio afectara indebidamente un derecho de tercero, en particular cuando:» [Signs whose use in trade would unduly affect a third party’s right may not be registered as trademarks, in particular when:], and its literal a) covers signs that «sean idénticos o se asemejen, a una marca anteriormente solicitada para registro o registrada por un tercero, para los mismos productos o servicios, o para productos o servicios respecto de los cuales el uso de la marca pueda causar un riesgo de confusión o de asociación» [are identical or similar to a trademark previously applied for or registered by a third party, for the same goods or services, or for goods or services in respect of which use of the mark may cause a risk of confusion or association]. A search limited to identical marks leaves out the similar ones.
How similarity is measured is set out in the Manual for the Examination of Trademarks in the Andean Countries, first edition, December 2023, published by the General Secretariat of the Andean Community with the sponsorship of WIPO. It describes four kinds of similarity between conflicting signs:
- Spelling: «Se refiere a la semejanza en la escritura de los signos en conflicto desde el punto de vista de su composición» [It refers to the similarity in the writing of the conflicting signs from the point of view of their composition], taking into account, among other things, «el orden o la secuencia de las letras, con especial atención en las vocales, la longitud de la o las palabras, el número de sílabas, las raíces o terminaciones comunes de los signos en conflicto» [the order or sequence of the letters, with special attention to the vowels, the length of the word or words, the number of syllables, and the roots or endings the conflicting signs have in common].
- Sound: «Se refiere a la semejanza de los sonidos de las letras, números, sílabas o palabras que conforman los signos en conflicto.» [It refers to the similarity of the sounds of the letters, numbers, syllables or words that make up the conflicting signs.] It depends, among other elements, «de la identidad en la sílaba tónica o de la coincidencia en las raíces o terminaciones de las palabras» [on the identity of the stressed syllable or on the coincidence of the roots or endings of the words].
- Meaning: similarity «Se configura entre signos que evocan una idea y/o valor idéntico y/o semejante.» [arises between signs that evoke an identical and/or similar idea and/or value.]
- Graphic or figurative: «Se refiere a la semejanza de los elementos gráficos de los signos en conflicto, tomando en cuenta los trazos del dibujo, el objeto que representan o el concepto que evocan» [It refers to the similarity of the graphic elements of the conflicting signs, taking into account the lines of the drawing, the object they represent or the concept they evoke].
The same manual sets the general rules of the comparison: it is made «sin descomponer los elementos que los conforman» [without breaking down the elements that make them up]; it must be «sucesivo (uno y después el otro) y nunca en forma simultánea» [successive, one and then the other, and never simultaneous], against the memory one has of the earlier mark; and the examiner must stand «en el lugar del consumidor y su grado de percepción, conforme al tipo de productos o servicios de que se trate» [in the place of the consumer and their degree of perception, according to the type of goods or services concerned]. According to the manual, the Colombian office first examines whether the signs are identical or similar and then whether the goods or services are related, what it calls «conexidad competitiva».
In practice, when we read a SIPI result we ask whether the earlier mark shares the stressed syllable, the root or the ending of yours; whether a Spanish speaker would say both the same way even if they are spelled differently; whether they mean the same thing, also in translation; whether the dominant figurative element is the same; and whether the goods or services are related, even if they sit in another class. On that last point, Article 151 adds: «Las clases de la Clasificación Internacional referida en el párrafo anterior no determinarán la similitud ni la disimilitud de los productos o servicios indicados expresamente» [The classes of the International Classification referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not determine the similarity or dissimilarity of the goods or services expressly indicated].
The SIC’s background search service
Besides the free search in SIPI, the SIC offers a paid trademark background search. Its step-by-step trademark guide, published on its electronic office (sedeelectronica.sic.gov.co), says that «La solicitud de antecedentes marcarios, únicamente se puede realizar mediante la plataforma SIPI.» [The request for a trademark background search can only be made through the SIPI platform.] and lists the type of search for each kind of mark: «Solo palabras: Fonético.» [Words only: phonetic.], «Una imagen: Figurativa.» [An image: figurative.] and «Palabras e imagen: Figurativa y Fonética.» [Words and image: figurative and phonetic.] In 2026 it costs about USD 9 per sign and about USD 5 for each additional class of the same sign, both for the word part and for the figurative part, filed online (SIC Resolution 6167 of 2026, items 1.1.3.1 to 1.1.3.4; the SIC charges in Colombian pesos, COP 29,500 and COP 16,500, converted at the market representative rate of October 16, 2026, COP 3,170.46 per US dollar, published on datos.gov.co).
Why your own search does not replace a registrability study
The SIC itself warns, in the same guide, «que el resultado no garantiza que su marca sea protegida» [that the result does not guarantee that your mark will be protected]. A database search shows what is on the register. It does not tell you:
- Whether two marks are confusingly similar. That is decided by the SIC in the registrability examination, applying the criteria above (Article 150); no database decides it for you.
- What you did not type: a variant you did not think of, a translation or a similar sound spelled another way.
- Every trade name in use. Under Article 191, «El derecho exclusivo sobre un nombre comercial se adquiere por su primer uso en el comercio» [The exclusive right to a trade name is acquired by its first use in trade], so a trade name that was never deposited may not be in SIPI and can still block your mark where there is a risk of confusion or association (Article 136, literal b).
- Marks that exist only in other Andean countries. The owner of an identical or similar mark in another member country, for goods or services for which its use could mislead the public, and whoever first applied for that mark in any of them, can oppose in Colombia, provided they prove a real interest in the Colombian market by applying here when they oppose (Article 147).
- Applications not yet filed in Colombia. A mark first filed in another Andean country, or before a national, regional or international authority with which Colombia is bound by a treaty that grants a similar priority right, can be filed here within six months and keep that earlier date, if the declaration, documents and fee required by Articles 10 and 11 are in order (Articles 9 to 11).
- Whether your mark can be registered in itself. A sign that consists exclusively of a description of the goods or services, of their generic or technical name, or of a designation that is or has become common or usual for them in everyday language or in the usage of the country, can be refused even if no similar mark exists (Article 135, literals e, f and g).
Searching is collecting information; a registrability study is deciding with it. We search the SIC database for the word elements of your sign and, where it has graphic elements, for its figurative elements; because classes do not determine similarity, we review the goods and services you intend to cover, not only the class number, and we include earlier applications still in process. You receive a written opinion in English or Spanish that identifies the earlier marks that may conflict, analyses each one under Article 136 and sets out the options: filing as planned, adjusting the sign or the list of goods and services, or examining whether a conflicting registration could be challenged. The opinion assesses risk; the decision belongs to the SIC.
Who handles your search
Your search is handled by Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrez, founding partner of ADALET LEGAL S.A.S., a Colombian law firm. He is a lawyer with more than 20 years of practice and has led the registration and defense of more than 3,000 trademarks before the SIC. He is a Specialist in Commercial Law (Universidad del Rosario) and in Public Management and Administrative Institutions (Universidad de los Andes), and he is responsible for the legal content of the trademark guides on this site. He works with Kerlly Díaz, an associate lawyer of the firm who prepares and files trademark applications and runs trademark background searches before the SIC. Full profile, in Spanish: Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrez, trademark and commercial lawyer.
If you decide to file, we can handle the application; the full procedure, with the 2026 official fees, is in trademark registration in Colombia. We quote a flat fee in writing before you instruct us.
Frequently asked questions
How do I do a trademark search in Colombia?
Go to sipi.sic.gov.co, click «Buscar Signos Distintivos», then «Búsqueda Avanzada», type the mark in «Denominación» and click «Buscar». Use the wildcards (*) and (?) to catch variants, check the status of each case and read the results against Article 136 of Decision 486, which reaches similar marks, not only identical ones.
What is the trademark office in Colombia?
The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), which administers the National Industrial Property System. Its SIPI system covers patents, utility models and layout designs, distinctive signs such as trademarks, and industrial designs.
Is there a Colombia trademark database search I can use myself?
Yes. SIPI, at sipi.sic.gov.co, is free and needs no account to search. CAN TMview covers trademarks of the Andean Community countries, and WIPO’s Global Brand Database covers international registrations and the collections of participating offices.
How much does a trademark search cost in Colombia?
Searching SIPI yourself is free. The SIC’s background search service costs about USD 9 per sign and about USD 5 for each additional class of the same sign, for the word part and again for the figurative part, at 2026 rates. Our search and registrability opinion is quoted as a flat fee in writing before we start.
Is a trademark search mandatory before filing in Colombia?
No. The requirements of Articles 138 and 139 of Decision 486 do not include a prior search, and the SIC presents its background search as an option. It is still the cheapest way to avoid paying a filing fee that is not refunded for a mark that will be opposed or refused.
Can a trademark in a different class block my application in Colombia?
It can. Under Article 151 of Decision 486, Nice classes do not determine the similarity of goods or services, and Article 136, literal a), reaches goods or services for which use of the mark may cause a risk of confusion or association.
Can a pending application block my trademark in Colombia?
Yes. Article 136, literal a), covers marks previously applied for, not only registered ones, so an application under formal examination, published, opposed or under substantive examination is an earlier right.
Contact us
Send us the mark and the goods or services you sell on WhatsApp; we will tell you whether it is worth filing and send you a flat-fee quote the same day.
Related pages
Trademark registration in Colombia · Trademark registration in Colombia for foreign companies · Madrid Protocol or national filing in Colombia · Trademark oppositions and appeals in Colombia · Andean trademark opposition in Colombia · Trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia · Colombian lawyer for clients abroad · Consulta de marcas registradas en Colombia (Spanish)