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No. All contents on the Internet have a creator, which is why it is necessary to verify if they are protected by some type of intellectual property (such as a trademark or copyright) and if they have been published with licenses that allow for free use and the terms under which their use is allowed. Otherwise, it will be necessary to have the license holder’s permission to use them.

Some exceptions that do not require permission from the holder are the following:

  • References to abstract ideas from literary or artistic works, official texts (regulations), news of the day, simple facts or data, as they are not protected by copyright, but if they are reproduced verbatim, the source must be cited.
  • Parodies of works, but a remuneration must be paid to the author.
  • If the copyright protection period has expired (70 years after the author’s death, in most cases), always acknowledging who the author is.
  • Use of third-party trademarks, provided that it is for informational purposes only, for example, if we want to promote the sale of original products or repair services for products of certain brands.

 

We can help you follow all the steps and so, avoid infringing third party rights.

First, we suggest contacting the unauthorized user directly and seeking a direct solution. This way you can save money and time. Always keep written record of this contact and of the efforts you make to seek this solution.

If you do not receive a quick and positive response, you might consider filing a complaint for infringement before INDECOPI or, if the use occurs on a social networking site, you can file a claim directly through the channels implemented by each social networking site.

Please, note that in order to start a claim before INDECOPI, it will be necessary for you to have identified the person or company using your intellectual property without authorization and have proof of the use of your intellectual property in Peru.

We can help you follow all the necessary steps.

Here we share a chart to illustrate those differences:

 CORPORATE NAMECOMPANY NAMETRADE NAMETRADEMARK
Function / UseIt identifies capital-based companies: i) public limited corporation, and ii) limited liability commercial corporation.It identifies partnerships: i) ordinary civil or general partnership; ii) limited liability civil partnership; iii) joint venture; and iv) limited partnership.It is the name by which your customers know you (it identifies the business or the commercial activity).It is the name by which your customers identify your products or services.
SetupAny name/ denomination.Partners’ names.Any distinctive signAny distinctive sign
How do I protect it?Mandatory registration before SUNARP.Mandatory registration before SUNARP.Optional registration before INDECOPI.Mandatory registration before INDECOPI.

Sometimes the corporate name, trade name and trademark may be the same, but it is important to establish a difference between them and know that each one is protected in a different way.

Yes, registration is not mandatory to use a trademark. However, only after registration, will we be able to consider ourselves rights-holders over the trademark and consider it a business asset. Registration will also enable us to prevent third parties from copying it and we will eliminate the risk that any third party may already have it registered in their name or may do so later and try to prevent us from continuing to use it, with the risk of being sanctioned.

i. Identify what you want to protect: a word mark, a mixed mark (isotype + denomination) or a figurative mark (isotype only). If it is a mixed or figurative mark, verify if the colors are relevant or not. If they are, you will have to ask for protection on them.

ii. Identify all the goods and/or services on which you will use the mark and locate the corresponding class(es) in the Nice Classification (consisting of 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services).

iii. We suggest you conduct a phonetic background search on Busca Tu Marca to verify that no one else has registered rights over a trademark identical or similar to the one you are interested in.

iv. Apply for registration before INDECOPI or seek specialized advice to facilitate the full process. We can help you.

Trademark registration gives its owner the following rights:

i) It becomes a company asset which can be monetized for a period of 10 years, renewable indefinitely.
ii) It prevents third parties from using it without prior authorization or registering it in their name in Peru. If you want protection of your trademark in other countries, you will have to register the trademark in the countries of your interest.

 

Yes, it is possible, but we must differentiate the personal right we have over our names and last names from the rights we may have over a trademark. On the one hand, trademarks identify specific products or services in commercial traffic. On the other hand, names and last names identify people in society.

Having rights to our first and last names as part of our identity does not give us automatic rights to them as a trademark.

That is why if you want to use your name or last name as a trademark, it will be important to verify if someone else has already protected this name or last name for the same products or services you are interested in. To do this, you can do a phonetic background search on Busca Tu Marca. This way we will eliminate the risk that any third party may already have it registered in its name or may do so later and try to prevent us from continuing to use it, with the subsequent risk of being sanctioned.

Exceptionally, the names belonging to people widely known by consumers are protected even if they are not registered as trademarks. In these cases, any third party is forbidden from registering trademarks that may affect the identity or prestige of such widely known individuals, without prior authorization from them or, if they are deceased, from their heirs.

It is forbidden to register a famous person’s name in to take advantage of their reputation and reach consumers more easily, as this would be an unfair conduct which may mislead consumers.

I must request a new registration. It is not possible to make modifications to the previous registration. As trademarks evolve over time, it is important to have the latest registered version. This way you will not run the risk of having your trademark registration cancelled due to lack of use because it does not match the version you have protected in the original registration.

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