This page is for foreign trademark owners whose application in Colombia collides with an earlier registration that appears not to be in use, and for owners of Colombian registrations notified of a non-use cancellation action. It explains what Decision 486 of the Andean Community requires for a Colombia trademark non-use cancellation, who must prove what, and what happens after the decision.
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.
The rule: Article 165 of Decision 486
Article 165 provides that «La oficina nacional competente cancelará el registro de una marca a solicitud de persona interesada, cuando sin motivo justificado la marca no se hubiese utilizado en al menos uno de los Países Miembros, por su titular, por un licenciatario o por otra persona autorizada para ello durante los tres años consecutivos precedentes a la fecha en que se inicie la acción de cancelación.» [The competent national office shall cancel the registration of a trademark 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, by a licensee or by another person authorised to do so, during the three consecutive years preceding the date on which the cancellation action is initiated.]
In Colombia, the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) states on its official website that it is the competent national office to administer the industrial property system. The action is brought by an interested person; the period is the three consecutive years before the action is initiated; use in any one of the Member Countries is relevant, not only in Colombia; use by the owner, a licensee or another authorised person counts; and non-use must be without justified reason: the same article states that «El registro no podrá cancelarse cuando el titular demuestre que la falta de uso se debió, entre otros, a fuerza mayor o caso fortuito.» [The registration may not be cancelled when the owner proves that the lack of use was due, among other causes, to force majeure or fortuitous event.]
There is also a minimum waiting period: «no podrá iniciarse la acción de cancelación antes de transcurridos tres años contados a partir de la fecha de notificación de la resolución que agote el procedimiento de registro de la marca respectiva en la vía administrativa» [the cancellation action may not be initiated before three years have elapsed from the date of notification of the resolution that exhausts the registration procedure of the respective mark at the administrative level]. The count runs from that notification, not from the filing date.
Partial cancellation and cancellation as a defence in an opposition
Cancellation does not have to cover the whole registration. Under Article 165, «Cuando la falta de uso de una marca sólo afectara a uno o a algunos de los productos o servicios para los cuales estuviese registrada la marca, se ordenará una reducción o limitación de la lista de los productos o servicios comprendidos en el registro de la marca, eliminando aquéllos respecto de los cuales la marca no se hubiese usado» [When the lack of use of a mark affects only one or some of the goods or services for which it is registered, a reduction or limitation of the list of goods or services covered by the registration shall be ordered, eliminating those for which the mark has not been used], and «para ello se tomará en cuenta la identidad o similitud de los productos o servicios» [for this purpose, the identity or similarity of the goods or services shall be taken into account].
For an applicant facing an opposition, the same article adds: «La cancelación de un registro por falta de uso de la marca también podrá solicitarse como defensa en un procedimiento de oposición interpuestos con base en la marca no usada.» [Cancellation of a registration for non-use may also be requested as a defence in an opposition proceeding brought on the basis of the unused mark.] Under Article 148, once an opposition is filed the office notifies the applicant, who has thirty days to present arguments and evidence; on request, the office grants once an additional thirty days to submit the evidence supporting the answer.
What counts as use of the trademark
Article 166 defines use: «Se entenderá que una marca se encuentra en uso cuando los productos o servicios que ella distingue han sido puestos en el comercio o se encuentran disponibles en el mercado bajo esa marca, en la cantidad y del modo que normalmente corresponde, teniendo en cuenta la naturaleza de los productos o servicios y las modalidades bajo las cuales se efectúa su comercialización en el mercado.» [A mark shall be understood to be in use when the goods or services it distinguishes have been placed on the market or are available on the market under that mark, in the quantity and manner that normally corresponds, taking into account the nature of the goods or services and the ways in which they are marketed.]
Exports count, with a condition: «También se considerará usada una marca, cuando distinga exclusivamente productos que son exportados desde cualquiera de los Países Miembros, según lo establecido en el párrafo anterior.» [A mark shall also be considered used when it distinguishes exclusively goods exported from any of the Member Countries, in accordance with the preceding paragraph.] Export use is thus assessed as established in the first paragraph.
Use in a slightly different form is protected: «El uso de una marca en modo tal que difiera de la forma en que fue registrada sólo en cuanto a detalles o elementos que no alteren su carácter distintivo, no motivará la cancelación del registro por falta de uso, ni disminuirá la protección que corresponda a la marca.» [Use of a mark in a form that differs from the form in which it was registered only in details or elements that do not alter its distinctive character shall not give rise to cancellation for non-use, nor diminish the protection corresponding to the mark.] Differences that alter the distinctive character fall outside this rule.
Burden of proof and the owner’s answer
Article 167 places the burden on the owner: «La carga de la prueba del uso de la marca corresponderá al titular del registro.» [The burden of proving use of the mark shall lie with the owner of the registration.] It adds that «El uso de la marca podrá demostrarse mediante facturas comerciales, documentos contables o certificaciones de auditoría que demuestren la regularidad y la cantidad de la comercialización de las mercancías identificadas con la marca, entre otros.» [Use of the mark may be demonstrated by commercial invoices, accounting documents or audit certifications showing the regularity and quantity of the marketing of the goods identified with the mark, among others.] The list of means is open.
Under Article 170, once a cancellation request is received, the office notifies the owner so that «dentro del plazo de sesenta días hábiles contados a partir de la notificación, haga valer los alegatos y las pruebas que estime convenientes» [within sixty business days from notification, it may submit the arguments and evidence it deems appropriate]. When the terms expire, the office decides by resolution whether or not to cancel the registration and notifies the parties.
The preferential right of the party that obtains cancellation
Article 168 provides: «La persona que obtenga una resolución favorable tendrá derecho preferente al registro.» [The person who obtains a favourable resolution shall have a preferential right to registration.] And: «Dicho derecho podrá invocarse a partir de la presentación de la solicitud de cancelación, y hasta dentro de los tres meses siguientes de la fecha en que la resolución de cancelación quede firme en la vía administrativa.» [That right may be invoked from the filing of the cancellation request until three months after the date on which the cancellation resolution becomes final at the administrative level.]
How we handle non-use cancellations
For applicants, we review the conflicting registration file, check that three years have passed from the notification of the resolution that exhausted its registration procedure at the administrative level, and assess the available information on use. We then advise whether to file a cancellation action, to raise cancellation as a defence in an opposition, or both, whether to seek total or partial cancellation, and how to invoke the preferential right of Article 168.
For owners who receive a cancellation action, we identify evidence of use in the three consecutive years before the action was initiated, including use by licensees or authorised persons, in other Member Countries, through exports or in a form that does not alter the mark’s distinctive character, and prepare the answer within the term of Article 170. Where the mark was not used, we examine whether a justified reason applies.
We report in English or Spanish. The decision belongs to the SIC. Fees are agreed in writing before any work begins.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a trademark have to be unused before it can be cancelled in Colombia?
Under Article 165 of Decision 486, when without justified reason it 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 before the action is initiated. The action cannot be initiated before three years from notification of the resolution that exhausted the registration procedure at the administrative level.
Who has to prove use in a trademark non-use cancellation in Colombia?
The owner of the registration, under Article 167 of Decision 486. Invoices, accounting documents or audit certifications showing the regularity and quantity of the marketing of the goods are among the means listed.
Does use by a licensee count as use of a trademark in Colombia?
Yes. Article 165 refers to use by the owner, by a licensee or by another person authorised to use the mark.
Can I cancel a Colombian trademark only for some goods or services?
Yes. When non-use affects only some of the goods or services, Article 165 provides for reducing or limiting the list, eliminating those for which the mark was not used and taking into account the identity or similarity of the goods or services.
How long does a trademark owner have to answer a non-use cancellation in Colombia?
Article 170 of Decision 486 gives the owner sixty business days from notification to submit arguments and evidence.
What happens after a trademark is cancelled for non-use in Colombia?
Under Article 168 of Decision 486, the person who obtains a favourable resolution has a preferential right to registration, which may be invoked from the filing of the cancellation request until three months after the cancellation resolution becomes final at the administrative level.
Contact us
If an unused registration is blocking your application in Colombia, or you have been notified of a cancellation action, write to us on WhatsApp with the registration details and the dates you have.
Related pages
Trademark oppositions and appeals in Colombia · Trademark registration in Colombia · Provisional refusal under the Madrid Protocol in Colombia · Trademark licensing and franchise attorneys in Colombia · Colombian lawyer for clients abroad · Oposición y apelación de marcas ante la SIC (Spanish) See also Colombia trademark search. See also Andean trademark opposition in Colombia.