Trademark litigation is commonplace; large and medium-sized brands are constantly in charge of the brands that identify them. Multinationals such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Apple, McDonald’s and Rolex are constantly taking care of their brands, and are known as cases such as Appel Corps, the Beatles’ music company vs. Apple Computer, Marvel and DC Comics for the word “superhero”, fashion designer Louis Vuitton vs South Korean fried chicken restaurant Louis Vuiton Dak.
But Colombian ones also have great value, as is the case of the traditional Águila, which is perhaps the most valuable beer brand in Colombia and is among the 10 in Latin America.
The most recognized law firms have teams specialized in the defense of their clients’ brands, ready to approach nascent companies or ventures that seek to associate their names with already positioned labels.
The fight is fought before the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce – SIC, in this regard. The most recognized law firms in intellectual property are the national Brigard Castro, founded in 1934 as a practice area in intellectual property matters of Brigard Urrutia, which later, due to the relevance of these issues, is consolidated as a specialized firm that has been associated since 1976 to Brigard Urrutia; Lloreda Camacho founded by José Lloreda Camacho in 1941, Cavelier Abogados founded by Germán Cavelier in 1953, Olarte Moure & Asociados founded by Carlos R. Olarte in 2003 for legal service in the areas of intellectual property, the North American Baker McKenzie and Gómez Pinzón founded in 1992 and is part of the Affinitas alliance.
New technologies have been a challenge in the management of intellectual property by these law firms. Now, in addition to the classic protections of brand, image, phrase, design and copyright, several of the consultancies are focused on issues such as protection. of the distinctive signs in the metaverse, NFTs (Non-Fungible Token), artificial intelligence and digital fashion. And this does not mean abandoning the monitoring of the brand to lose it to the different attacks of the market.
These law firms are responsible for handling arbitrations and conciliations, negotiation of transaction agreements, complaints, complaints and criminal defenses associated with Intellectual Property and Competition, sanctioning and judicial processes before the Superintendency of Companies, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce – SIC , before the ICA and INVIMA. They also have to be very aware of the Free Trade Agreements, as these can affect the intellectual property chapters with Europe or the United States.
Among cases that recognized that these law firms have had to work as a possible unfair competition between brands and consumer confusion could be mentioned: the multinational Coca-Cola represented by Brigard Castro vs. the indigenous Nasa with their Coca Pola beer, a case that Fabiola Piñacué of the community of Las Calderas after relying on the cultural issue; Brigewood Capital Inc of Barbados against Akmios of Samuel Tcherassi for the rights to the EPK children’s clothing brand that after six years the SIC ruled in favor of the Barranquilla businessman.
Also Grupo Éxito with the Exitennnis brand that Almacenes Éxito won; Falabella with its sign Tottus vs Totto that Falabella lost; Actualidad Panamericana vs. Panamericana Librería y Papelería, where the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Bogotá ruled in two instances for the continuation of the use of the word digital media and the SIC allowed the trademark registration of the satirical portal Actualidad Panamericana, in one of the four judicial fronts that the publisher initiated with the objective of erasing its opponent from the map, and which is now being fought before the Council of State.
You may also be interested in: The failed attempts of the owner of Panamericana to disappear to Actualidad Panamericana
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