To register a trademark, it must meet certain requirements, including being sufficiently distinctive. However, as always, there are exceptions. In this episode of "A Lo Legal En Par Minutos," Partner Edwin Cortés and Intellectual Property (IP) attorney Ana María Rodríguez explain one of the most important special cases: acquired distinctiveness.
They highlight that one of the main reasons that Colombia's Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) typically denies a trademark registration is a lack of distinctiveness. However, when a company can show that it has used its mark, for example, for a long period of time and that it has become widely recognized in the market, it may successfully argue before the SIC that the sign is no longer perceived in its original meaning and is instead associated directly with the business.
