Legal Guide 2026 · Chapter 06 of 7
Intellectual Property
How to protect your trademarks, patents, industrial designs, trade secrets, copyrights, and other intellectual property assets to strategically leverage your intangible assets in Colombia.
Distinctive signs are identifiers that make it possible to distinguish products, services, business activities, or goods associated with a specific geographical origin in the marketplace. Their primary function is to identify the commercial source of goods or services and to prevent confusion among competitors.
These distinctive signs grant their owner the exclusive right to use them, as well as the authority to authorize or prohibit their use by third parties whenever such use may cause confusion or create an association in the marketplace.
In addition to distinctive signs, other forms of intellectual property have become increasingly valuable business assets, making their protection essential for companies seeking to operate, compete, and expand. Colombia offers a robust legal and institutional framework that enables businesses to protect, manage, and leverage these assets in accordance with their strategic objectives and commercial needs.
Trademarks, slogans, trade names, trade signs, and geographical indications that distinguish your business in the marketplace. These assets are protected through registration with the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) for renewable 10-year terms.
Invention patents (20 years) and utility models (10 years) protect novel technical solutions, while industrial designs (10 years) protect the appearance of a product.
Confidential information with commercial value (such as know-how, formulas, and customer lists) that is protected without registration, provided that reasonable measures are taken to maintain its confidentiality.
Plant breeders' rights protect new plant varieties that meet the requirements of Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) for a period of 20 to 25 years.
Protects literary and artistic works, software, and digital content from the moment of their creation. Registration with the Colombian National Copyright Directorate (DNDA) is not mandatory but provides valuable evidence of ownership.
Registration, marketplace, and contractual monitoring to detect potential infringements at an early stage, along with administrative and judicial actions, as well as preliminary injunctions, to enforce and protect your intellectual property rights.
Intellectual property protection is territorial: a registration in Colombia does not automatically confer rights in other countries. Therefore, businesses planning to expand internationally should develop an international intellectual property protection strategy from the earliest stages of their growth.
In this chapter
Chapter 06 contents
6.1 Distinctive Signs
6.2 New Creations
6.3 Trade Secrets
6.4 Plant Varieties
6.5 Copyright and Related Rights
6.6 Intellectual Property Agreements
6.7 Investor Checklist
6.8 Enforcement and Monitoring
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