Market Intelligence
Industries Peru Intellectual Property Rights Trade Practices

Peru Trademark Registration

In Peru, a party can register trademarks, slogans, trade names, collective and certification marks with the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI). In Peru, trademarks can be denominative, mixed, 3D or figurative distinctive signs.

Follow these steps to register a trademark in Peru:

  • Make sure that your mark complies with Andean Community Decision No. 486. The main restrictions are:
  • The mark shall not consist solely of shapes, signs or statements;
  • The mark shall not consist of a color in isolation, without any demarcation to give it a specific shape;
  • The mark shall not contain a protected appellation of origin for wines and spirits or consist of a national or foreign geographical indication liable to cause confusion;
  • The mark shall not reproduce, imitate or include the denomination of a plant variety protected in a member country or abroad.
  • Classify your good and/or service according to Nice International Classification. This is a system used to classify goods and services for registering marks. Classes 1 to 34 include goods, and classes 35 to 45 include services.
  • Search for existing distinctive signs that might impede you from filing your application. This is an optional step. INDECOPI has a database where applicants can conduct phonetic searches and search trademarks by holder/applicant. This service costs approximately $250.
  • Fill out the application form online and attach the original design.
  • Pay the registration fee (approximately $140) for each trademark classification.

If the application is successful, (i.e. there are no oppositions to your registration) the trademark will be published in the INDECOPI IP Gazette.

Peru is not member of the Madrid International Trademark System – which allows for protection in up to 124 countries with one application. In the Latin American region, only Brazil, Colombia, Mexico (and soon Chile) are member states. Latin American Countries are contracting parties of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. According to this convention, an applicant from one contracting party can use its first filing date, in one of the contracting States, as the effective filing date in another contracting State if the applicant files a subsequent application within six months from the first filing.

Counterfeit and pirated goods are a major problem nationwide. For this reason, country border measures are established to protect and enforce copyrights and trademarks. These measures may be initiated ex parte or ex officio through the National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (SUNAT). This mechanism allows the right holder to register with SUNAT and request the suspension of an importation process if the goods are presumed to be pirate or have fake or confusingly similar trademarks. Such requests are filed so that INDECOPI may conduct an inspection of the goods and seize them if they infringe the law.

For more information email office.lima@trade.gov.