When what sells a product is the way it looks, that appearance can be protected in Colombia. The shape of a bottle, the outline of a piece of furniture, the design of a garment, a package or an industrial part can be registered as an industrial design before the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), giving the owner the right to stop others from making, importing or selling products that use the same design. We are industrial design attorneys in Colombia: we assess whether your design can be registered, prepare the application with the right graphic representation, file it before the SIC and defend it through to registration.
What an industrial design is under Colombian law
Industrial designs in Colombia are governed by Decision 486 of the Andean Community. Under Article 113, an industrial design is the particular appearance of a product resulting from any combination of lines or colours, or from any two- or three-dimensional external shape, line, contour, configuration, texture or material, without changing the purpose of the product. It protects appearance, not function: if what you want to protect is how the product works, the route is a patent or utility model; if it is the name or logo it is sold under, it is a trademark.
Novelty: register before you launch
Under Article 115, only new designs can be registered, and a design is not new if it was made available to the public anywhere, at any time, before the filing or priority date, by description, use, sale or any other means. A design is also not new merely because it shows secondary differences from earlier designs. In practice, launching the product, posting it online or showing it at a trade fair before filing can destroy the registration. Article 116 also excludes designs whose appearance is dictated entirely by technical considerations, with no arbitrary contribution from the designer.
How registration works at the SIC
The application is filed with the request, a graphic or photographic representation of the design and proof of payment of the fee. What is protected is exactly what the representation shows, so its quality matters. The SIC carries out a formal examination within fifteen days of filing (Article 120), then publishes the application, and anyone with a legitimate interest may oppose within thirty days of publication (Article 122). Under Article 124, the office does not examine novelty on its own initiative unless an opposition is based on a prior right or lack of novelty, which is why a prior search makes a registration much stronger.
Term and rights
A registration lasts ten years from the filing date (Article 128). Under Article 129, it gives the owner the right to act against anyone who, without consent, manufactures, imports, offers, places on the market or commercially uses products incorporating or reproducing the design, and also against products whose design shows only secondary differences from the protected design or whose appearance is the same. The copier does not have to reproduce the design exactly for the owner to act.
Fashion, packaging and consumer products
Industrial design registration is the natural tool for fashion, footwear, furniture, packaging and consumer goods brands, whose products live on their appearance and are the most frequently copied. A collection can protect the pieces that identify it, and a package can protect its shape in addition to the trademark printed on it. Where there is also an original drawing or illustration, copyright protection may apply as well. The right strategy usually combines trademark, design and copyright, and it has to be decided before the product reaches the market.
Extending a foreign design to Colombia
Under Article 9 of Decision 486, a first design application filed abroad gives a right of priority of six months to file in Colombia while keeping the original filing date. It is a short period, so foreign companies planning to sell in Colombia should decide early.
Costs and how we work
Under the 2026 fee schedule set by SIC Resolution 6167 of 30 January 2026, an industrial design application filed electronically costs COP 942,500. Unlike a patent, there is no substantive examination fee and no annual fee. Professional fees and, where needed, the design drawings are added. You show us the product in confidence and we tell you whether the design can be registered, whether it should be combined with a trademark, a patent or copyright, and what it will cost. With more than 20 years of practice in industrial property before the SIC, we know that the time to protect a design is before the launch, not after finding the copy.
Frequently asked questions
Can a design be patented in Colombia?
In Colombia a design is not patented but registered as an industrial design before the SIC. The registration lasts ten years from filing and has no annual fees.
How long does industrial design protection last in Colombia?
Ten years from the filing date of the application, under Article 128 of Andean Decision 486.
Can a foreign company claim priority for its design in Colombia?
Yes. It can file in Colombia within six months of its first application abroad and keep the original filing date, under Article 9 of Decision 486.
What is the difference between a utility model and an industrial design?
A utility model protects a shape or arrangement that improves how an object works or is used; an industrial design protects its appearance without changing its purpose. If the shape gives a technical advantage, it is a utility model; if it gives a distinctive appearance, it is an industrial design. Both last ten years in Colombia.
What if the product has already been launched?
If the design was made available to the public before filing, it has in principle lost novelty. Other routes may still apply, such as a three-dimensional trademark, copyright or an unfair competition action against the copy.
Talk to an attorney
Write to us on WhatsApp before you launch your product and we will tell you whether your design can be registered and what it will cost.