UK trademarks in Colombia: Madrid through the IPO, SIC filing with UK priority, and apostille after Brexit

A trade mark registered with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) gives no rights in Colombia.

Register a UK trademark in Colombia: key facts

Six steps for a UK brand

1. Search the Colombian register: identical and similar marks at the SIC, including applications still pending, because official fees are not returned once the procedure starts under Decision 486 (Article 277).
2. Choose the route: an international application through the IPO based on your UK mark, which the Protocol routes through the office of the basic mark (Article 2(2)), or a direct SIC filing within six months of the UK filing to keep that date (Decision 486, Article 9).
3. File: the IPO receives form MM2 with form FS4, certifies the application against the UK base and passes it to WIPO, which notifies Colombia (Protocol, Article 3(1)); a direct application reaches the SIC with its petition in Spanish and the goods or services classified under Nice (Decision 486, Articles 7 and 151).
4. Gazette and opposition: once the SIC publishes the application, anyone with a legitimate interest may oppose within thirty business days (Decision 486, Article 146); a Colombian refusal of a Madrid designation, including one after an opposition, travels through WIPO (Protocol, Article 5).
5. Decision: the SIC decides by resolution (Decision 486, Article 150); against a refusal, reconsideration or appeal must be lodged within ten days of notification, under Article 76 of Law 1437 of 2011; and a designation with no refusal notified in time enjoys the protection of a SIC registration (Protocol, Article 4(1)(a)).
6. Maintenance: renew a SIC registration at the SIC every ten years from the grant (Decision 486, Articles 152 and 153), or the international registration at WIPO every ten years (Protocol, Article 7), and use the mark in the Andean Community (Decision 486, Article 165).

The detail of each route follows below: filing through the IPO and filing at the SIC with your UK priority date.

The Trade Marks Act 1994 grants exclusive rights that are infringed «by use of the trade mark in the United Kingdom without his consent» (section 9(1)), and the IPO’s own guidance says that a registered UK trade mark «does not provide protection overseas». Colombian law makes registration with the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) the way to acquire the exclusive right to use a mark (Decision 486 of the Andean Community, Article 154). A British business can reach that register in two ways: by designating Colombia in a Madrid Protocol application filed through the IPO, or by applying to the SIC directly and, if it does so within six months of its first UK filing, keeping that UK date as its priority date.

ADALET LEGAL S.A.S., a Colombian law firm, prepared this guide for companies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that are beginning to sell goods or services to Colombian buyers, and for the UK trade mark attorneys who look after their portfolios. The rules shared by every foreign applicant are in trademark registration in Colombia; here we deal with what changes when the first filing, the company documents and the commercial history of the brand are British.

About the quotations: Decision 486 is quoted in the Spanish published by the Andean Community, with our own unofficial English rendering in brackets. UK legislation is quoted from legislation.gov.uk, guidance of the IPO and of the Legalisation Office from GOV.UK, and the treaties from the English texts on WIPO Lex and on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

Where the UK and Colombia stand in the treaties

Four treaties shape the way a British mark obtains protection in Colombia. The table shows the date on which each one entered into force for each country, as listed in October 2026 by WIPO Lex and, for the Apostille Convention, by the HCCH status table.

In practice: both countries belong to the Madrid system, which WIPO Lex counts at 117 members, so Colombia can be named in an international application filed in the UK. Both apply the Paris Convention, the source of the six-month priority. The UK has been bound by the Nice Agreement since 1963 and Colombia is not a party to it, yet the SIC classifies goods and services under that same Nice Classification because Decision 486 requires the Andean countries to use it (Article 151). And Colombia joined the Apostille Convention by accession, which takes effect only towards states that did not object to it (Article 12); the HCCH table records Colombia’s accession without the mark it uses for an objection, so the Convention applies between the UK and Colombia.

Brexit and the base for your international application

Leaving the European Union did not change UK-registered trade marks, the IPO notes, but it changed what an EU trade mark does for a British company. Since January 1, 2021, EU trade marks are no longer protected in the UK, and on that date the IPO created a comparable UK trade mark for every registered EU mark. According to the IPO, each comparable mark is recorded on the UK register and has «the same legal status as if you had applied for and registered it under UK law», keeping the filing and priority dates of the EU mark it came from.

For Colombia, that leaves two possible bases. A UK application or registration goes through the IPO, and a comparable mark qualifies as a UK registration, since the IPO records it on the UK register with that legal status; the Protocol lets the IPO act as Office of origin when the holder is a UK national, is domiciled in the UK or has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the UK (Article 2(1)(i)). An EU trade mark can still serve as the base, but the IPO points out that this «must be done through EUIPO», and that route is open only to a holder who is a national of an EU member state or is domiciled, or has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, in the Union (Article 2(1)(ii)). A British company without that foothold in the Union uses its UK mark as the base. Owners of an EU mark who do qualify will find the EUIPO route in trademark registration in Colombia from the European Union.

Filing through the IPO

The IPO’s guidance on international applications sets out the UK side. The application is made on form MM2, which the IPO website provides and the WIPO website can also generate, together with form FS4. The IPO charges a handling fee of GBP 50 on top of WIPO’s fees. The international application can go in at the same time as the UK application or at any later date, and its details «must be identical to your UK trade mark application or registration if you apply through the UK office», and the Office of origin has to certify that they match the base (Protocol, Article 3(1)).

On top of that, WIPO collects a basic fee of 653 Swiss francs, or 903 where the mark is reproduced in colour, and Colombia’s individual fee: 276 Swiss francs for a single class plus 138 for every further class, according to the table of individual fees that WIPO last updated on October 8, 2026. The international registration «shall bear the date on which the international application was received in the Office of origin» if WIPO receives it within two months of that date, and otherwise the date of WIPO’s receipt (Article 3(4)). From that date, the protection of the mark in Colombia is the same as if it had been filed directly with the SIC (Article 4(1)(a)). A UK owner whose international registration did not name Colombia can add it later; that later designation is effective from the day WIPO records it, not from the original date (Article 3ter(2)).

Five years tied to your UK mark

For the first five years from the international registration date, the Colombian designation depends on the UK base. If within that period the UK application is withdrawn or refused, or the UK registration lapses, is surrendered, revoked or declared invalid, for all or part of the goods and services, Colombia loses the same goods and services; so it does when an appeal, an opposition or a cancellation action against the UK base begins inside the five years and the final decision against the base comes after them (Protocol, Article 6(3)). An opposition or an invalidity claim against a young UK mark is therefore also a threat to your Colombian protection.

Losing the base does not erase the Colombian date if you move fast. Within three months of the cancellation of the international registration at the IPO’s request, a new application to the SIC for the same mark, limited to goods or services that the designation of Colombia covered and complying with Colombian law and fees, keeps the international registration date, or the date Colombia was added if it was added later, and any priority it had (Article 9quinquies). When Madrid is worth it and when it is not is discussed in Madrid Protocol or national filing in Colombia.

Filing at the SIC with your UK priority date

The IPO reminds UK applicants that they may be able to claim priority from a UK application when they file abroad within six months of the UK filing date. Colombia gives effect to that claim through Decision 486: the first application validly filed before an authority of a country bound to Colombia by a treaty with an equivalent priority right, as the UK is through the Paris Convention, gives its applicant or successor six months, which cannot be extended, to file for the same mark in Colombia (Article 9).

The paperwork has fixed deadlines. The SIC needs a declaration giving the date, the office and, once known, the number of the UK application; a copy of that application certified by the IPO and a certificate of its filing date from the IPO; and the priority fee, about USD 96 per class in 2026. Declaration and documents may go in with the Colombian application or later, but never after nine months from the UK filing date (Article 10), and missing any of these steps loses the priority (Article 11). Because the IPO documents are in English, Article 8 applies: «deberá acompañarse una traducción simple en dicho idioma» [a plain translation into that language, Spanish, must be attached], unless the SIC dispenses with it. On the Madrid route there is no such file to build: the Protocol grants every international registration the Paris priority and dispenses with the formalities of Article 4, Section D, of the Paris Convention (Article 4(2)).

Use of the mark: five years in the UK, three in Colombia

UK owners are used to five years. Under the Trade Marks Act 1994, a UK registration may be revoked if, «within the period of five years following the date of completion of the registration procedure», it has not been put to genuine use in the UK (section 46(1)(a)), and use in the UK includes «affixing the trade mark to goods or to the packaging of goods in the United Kingdom solely for export purposes» (section 46(2)).

In Colombia the clock is three years, and it runs across the Andean Community: an interested party can ask the SIC to cancel the registration when, with no justified reason, neither the owner nor a licensee nor anyone else the owner authorized used the mark in any of the Andean member countries during the three years in a row that precede the request. The action cannot start until three years after notice of the resolution that ended the registration procedure, and non-use may also be raised as a defence when the unused mark is invoked in an opposition (Decision 486, Article 165). Use, for these purposes, means that the goods or services carrying the mark have been put on sale, or are available, under that mark, in the quantity and manner normal for that kind of product (Article 166).

Goods labelled in Britain and sold only in Britain, or anywhere outside the Andean Community, do not count; goods sold in Colombia under your mark by an importer, distributor or licensee you have authorized do, so keep the written authorisation and the Colombian invoices. A non-use cancellation costs the person who brings it about USD 846 for one class in 2026. The action is explained in trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia, and agreements with Colombian distributors in trademark licensing and franchising in Colombia.

Watching the Colombian gazette

Protection also depends on objecting in time. Once an application is published, anyone with a legitimate interest has thirty days to file a reasoned opposition, «por una sola vez» [once only], and on request the SIC grants, also once, thirty more days to submit the evidence (Decision 486, Article 146). In 2026 the SIC charges about USD 194 per class for an opposition and about USD 63 for the extra term. Owners who also hold the mark in Peru, Ecuador or Bolivia, the other Andean Community countries, should read Andean trademark opposition in Colombia.

UK documents: Companies House certificates, powers of attorney and the apostille

The UK and Colombia are both parties to the 1961 Hague Convention that abolished the legalisation of foreign public documents. A UK public document used in Colombia is therefore spared consular legalisation, and Colombia may ask for nothing more than an apostille, issued by the competent authority of the country the document comes from, to vouch for the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signer acted and, where there is one, the seal or stamp (Articles 2 and 3). In the UK, apostilles are issued by the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

GOV.UK lists what the Legalisation Office can apostille: documents issued by a court and sealed with a wet ink court seal, by a public registry, such as «a company certificate issued by Companies House», by a government department or by a registered doctor; and other documents, such as a power of attorney or a contract, as long as they have been «certified by a UK ‘public official’, such as a UK notary or solicitor». It issues paper apostilles and electronic ones, the e-Apostille, on PDF files electronically signed by a UK notary or solicitor, and GOV.UK warns that the person who asked for the document may require the paper version, so check with us which one the Colombian authority receiving it needs before you apply. The Legalisation Office does not legalise documents issued outside the UK; those are legalised in the country that issued them.

An apostille says nothing about what the document contains, and the SIC reads Spanish, so an English power of attorney, certificate of incorporation or priority document is filed together with a simple translation, unless the SIC waives it (Decision 486, Article 8). Before you sign anything, we tell you which documents the route needs and which of them must pass through a UK notary and the Legalisation Office; powers of attorney signed abroad are covered in more detail in power of attorney for Colombia.

SIC fees in 2026, in US dollars

The SIC charges in Colombian pesos under Resolution 6167 of January 30, 2026. Converted at COP 3,174.67 per US dollar, the market representative rate (TRM) that datos.gov.co publishes for October 17 to 19, 2026, and rounded to the dollar, the fees for the SIC’s online channel that matter most to a UK owner are:

If you designate Colombia through Madrid, no SIC application fee is paid: WIPO collects Colombia’s individual fee instead, along with its basic fee, and the IPO adds its GBP 50. Resolution 75972, signed on September 23, 2026, replaces Resolution 6167 from January 1, 2027, so these figures hold until December 31, 2026. Our professional fees are not part of the table: trademark work is billed at a flat fee that we put in writing the same day you request it, and oppositions and appeals are quoted separately.

Timing, from our own files rather than from any statute: a national application at the SIC usually reaches a decision in six to ten months if nobody opposes it, twelve or thirteen months with an opposition, and an appeal against a refusal takes about eleven months more. Our measurements on a sample of real SIC files are published in Spanish in the SIC timing study.

Who handles your file

Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrez, founding partner of the firm, leads every UK file: he reviews the search results, agrees the route with you and remains your point of contact until the file is closed. He has practised law for more than 20 years, has directed the registration and defence of more than 3,000 trademarks before the SIC, and the legal content of this site’s trademark guides is his responsibility. He holds two postgraduate specialisations: Commercial Law (Universidad del Rosario) and Public Management and Administrative Institutions (Universidad de los Andes).

His trademark work runs from availability searches and registrability opinions to SIC filings, oppositions brought or answered, appeals against refusals and non-use cancellations, and on to coexistence agreements, assignments, renewals, the watch of whole portfolios and the Madrid Protocol. On the commercial side he drafts distribution, franchise and supply contracts and handles company incorporations and amendments, which is where a British brand usually meets its Colombian importer or subsidiary.

How we take a UK brand into Colombia

We start by searching the SIC register for identical and similar marks and giving you a written opinion on registrability before any official fee is paid. Then we agree the route: a designation through the IPO, a later designation of Colombia in an international registration you already hold, or a direct SIC filing with UK priority while the six months are open, in each case with a list of goods and services drafted for Colombia. After filing, we follow the application until it is decided and review with you, before the opposition term runs out, any similar Colombian application published in the meantime. UK trade mark attorneys who need a Colombian correspondent can see how we work with firms in Colombia trademark agent for foreign IP firms.

Parts of this you can handle alone. A first availability check needs only the SIC’s public database, and Colombia trademark search walks through it. On the Madrid route, silence works in your favour: when no refusal reaches WIPO within the time the Protocol allows, Colombia must protect the mark as though the SIC had registered it (Article 4(1)(a)). Where you do need Colombian counsel is a provisional refusal or an opposition, both answered in Spanish and under Colombian procedural rules; provisional refusal in Colombia covers that stage.

Sources read in October 2026 for this page: on legislation.gov.uk, sections 9 and 46 of the Trade Marks Act 1994; on GOV.UK, the IPO’s guidance on protecting a trade mark abroad and on comparable UK trade marks and the Legalisation Office’s guidance; on WIPO Lex, the Madrid Protocol and the lists of states bound by it, by the Paris Convention and by the Nice Agreement; WIPO’s tables of Madrid fees; on the HCCH website, the Apostille Convention with its status table; Decision 486 and the member list on the Andean Community’s website; the two SIC fee resolutions of 2026, numbers 6167 and 75972; and the exchange-rate (TRM) series published on datos.gov.co.

Frequently asked questions

Is a UK trademark valid worldwide?

No. Under the Trade Marks Act 1994, a registered UK trade mark gives exclusive rights that are infringed by use of the mark in the United Kingdom without the owner’s consent (section 9(1)), and the IPO states that it does not provide protection overseas. Colombian law makes registration with the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) the way to acquire the exclusive right to use a mark (Decision 486, Article 154). A UK owner can obtain it by designating Colombia in a Madrid Protocol application filed through the IPO, or by filing with the SIC and claiming the UK filing date as priority if the Colombian application is made within six months.

Is the UK part of the Madrid Protocol?

Yes. WIPO Lex records that the United Kingdom ratified the Madrid Protocol on April 6, 1995 and has been bound by it since December 1, 1995; Colombia has been bound since August 29, 2012. A business with UK nationality, a UK domicile or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the UK can file an international application through the IPO, based on its UK application or registration, and name Colombia in it (Madrid Protocol, Article 2(1)(i)). In October 2026 WIPO Lex counted 117 members of the Protocol.

How do I file an international trademark application with the UKIPO?

Through the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), on form MM2 together with form FS4. The application must be based on a UK application or registration, must be identical to it, and can be filed at the same time as the UK application or later. The IPO charges a GBP 50 handling fee; WIPO adds its basic fee (653 Swiss francs, rising to 903 when the mark is in colour) and an individual fee per designated country; Colombia’s is 276 Swiss francs covering a single class plus 138 per further class. The international registration takes the date the IPO received the application if WIPO receives it within two months (Madrid Protocol, Article 3(4)).

Does an EU trademark still cover the UK?

No. Since January 1, 2021, EU trade marks are no longer protected in the UK. On that date the IPO created a comparable UK trade mark for every registered EU trade mark, recorded on the UK register with the same legal status as a mark applied for and registered under UK law and with the original filing and priority dates. Neither the EU mark nor the comparable UK mark covers Colombia. To use an EU mark as the base for an international application, the IPO says it must be done through the EUIPO, and only holders with a link to the Union qualify: the nationality of a member state, a domicile in the Union, or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment there (Madrid Protocol, Article 2(1)(ii)).

Is the trademark non-use period in Colombia the same as in the UK?

No. In the UK, a registration can be revoked if it has not been put to genuine use in the five years following the completion of the registration procedure (Trade Marks Act 1994, section 46(1)(a)). In Colombia, the SIC cancels a registration, at the request of an interested party, when without justified reason nobody (the owner, a licensee or someone else the owner authorized) used it in any Andean Community country during the three years in a row before the request, which cannot be made until three years after notice of the resolution that closed the registration procedure (Decision 486, Article 165). Sales in the UK do not count; sales by you, a licensee or another authorized person in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador or Bolivia do. In 2026 the SIC charges about USD 846 for a non-use cancellation in one class.

Do UK documents need an apostille for Colombia?

Yes, when they are public documents to be produced in Colombia, such as a company certificate issued by Companies House or a power of attorney certified by a UK notary or solicitor. Colombia waives legalisation for them and may require only the apostille of the issuing country’s competent authority as proof of the signature, of the signer’s capacity and of any seal or stamp (Apostille Convention, Articles 2 and 3); in the UK, the Legalisation Office of the FCDO issues it on paper or as an e-Apostille. The HCCH status table gives January 24, 1965 as the Convention’s entry into force for the UK and January 30, 2001 for Colombia, and shows no objection to Colombia’s accession. For the SIC, documents in English also go with a simple Spanish translation unless the SIC waives it (Decision 486, Article 8).

Contact us

Send us on WhatsApp your mark, its UK application or registration number (or your international registration number) and what you plan to sell in Colombia; we will tell you which route fits and send you a flat-fee quote the same day.

Related pages

Trademark registration in Colombia · Madrid Protocol or national filing in Colombia · Provisional refusal under the Madrid Protocol in Colombia · Andean trademark opposition in Colombia · Colombia trademark agent for foreign IP firms · Power of attorney for Colombia · Trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia · Trademark licensing and franchising in Colombia · Registering an Indian trademark in Colombia · Registering a Chinese trademark in Colombia · Registering an EU trademark in Colombia