Category: Intelectual Property

🛡️ Trademark in Costa Rica: Guide After the Company Name Reform

With the 2025 reform in Costa Rica, registering your trademark and your commercial name has become essential to protect your brand identity and business entity legally.

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✅ What Is a Trademark in Costa Rica?

In Costa Rica, a trademark is any word, logo, image, figure or sign—or combination thereof—that distinguishes goods or services in the marketplace. The registration process is conducted through the Industrial Property Registry.

• Word marks (denominative)
• Figurative marks (logos)
• Mixed marks (word + image)
• Three-dimensional or olfactory marks

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🔎 Why You Must Register Both Trademark and Commercial Name

Post-reform, newly formed companies can no longer include a trade name in their articles of incorporation—making registration of a commercial name the only legal way to protect your company identity.

A trademark protects your products and services, while a commercial name protects the business entity itself—whether it’s a physical store or an online venture.

• 🛡️ Exclusive legal protection
• 🌎 Clear market identity
• 💰 Intangible asset with commercial value
• 📄 Enables licensing, franchising and regional expansion

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📝 Trademark vs. Commercial Name: Key Differences

Feature	Trademark	Commercial Name
Object	Products/Services	Business or Company
Registry	Industrial Property Registry	Industrial Property Registry
Length	10 years (renewable)	Unlimited while in use
Protection	Against similar marks	Against confusingly similar names

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🏛️ How to Register Your Trademark in Costa Rica

AG Legal recommends professional legal assistance before investing in branding, packaging or advertising. Our IP team handles:

1. Prior search in the National Registry
2. Filing application with Industrial Property Registry
3. Publication in La Gaceta for two months
4. Handling objections or appeals
5. Issuance of ownership certificate

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📚 Legal Basis & Name Protection

Under Article 2 of the Trademark Law, a commercial name identifies and distinguishes a business. Article 66 allows enforcement actions against confusingly similar names.

With the Company Name Reform of 2025, legal protection of your commercial name is essential to maintain exclusivity in the marketplace.

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💼 AG Legal: Your IP Partner in Costa Rica

AG Legal offers comprehensive legal services for trademark and commercial name registration, protection against infringements, and regional filings across Central America.

🛡️ Brand Protection in Costa Rica: Safeguard Your Trademark from Counterfeit Products

Your company has invested time, money, and effort building a unique brand—a strong identity through marketing, advertising, web presence, and consumer trust. Yet in Costa Rica, counterfeiters may be exploiting your brand by printing your mark on illegal products.

These counterfeit items are not just unlawful—they are dangerous. Made with substandard materials, they mislead consumers, harm your brand’s reputation, and undermine the quality your customers expect.

Counterfeiters show no regard for labor laws, taxes, or product safety—they only profit off your brand’s reputation with toxic, cheaply-made goods.

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✅ Why Brand Protection in Costa Rica Matters

• Registering your mark grants you exclusive legal rights to its use.
• Prevents unauthorized use and safeguards your quality standards.
• Mitigates risks of unfair competition and preserves consumer trust.

🚨 Raids on Counterfeit Sellers and Associated Crimes

Costa Rican authorities with support of our legal team have conducted raids on retail stores selling counterfeit goods—especially counterfeit athletic sneakers bearing top-brand logos. These interventions aim to eradicate the black market and address related crimes such as customs corruption, human trafficking, drug distribution, and employment without social security or safety insurance.

Counterfeit products often contain toxic materials. Studies show they cannot be safely recycled—even for items like school desks—due to hazardous chemical composition. Risks include deformities in developing children’s feet, injuries in adults from poor shoe design, and longer-term toxicological harm.

While these products may seem inexpensive, the societal, environmental, and health costs far outweigh any short-term savings.

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⚖️ Legal Framework: Counterfeiting as a Criminal Offense

Costa Rica’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Act classifies the counterfeiting, sale, storage, or distribution of fake products as a criminal offense. Convictions may result in penalties of up to five years in prison.

Although it’s a public offense, prosecutions require a formal complaint from the victim—typically the trademark owner or its legal representative—to activate the process.

To file a complaint, your trademark must be registered and you must present evidence proving that the product is counterfeit. You don’t need to know the identity of the infringer—Costa Rican prosecutors will investigate with the authority provided by law.

🔍 Collaboration: Brand Owners & Prosecutors

• The trademark owner must formally submit a complaint to initiate prosecution.
• AG Legal works closely with authorities to conduct civil and criminal proceedings.
• This partnership strengthens enforcement and better protects consumers and rights holders.

📝 Trademark Registration & Enforcement Process

1. Register your trademark with the Industrial Property Registry.
2. Conduct prior clearance searches for similarity conflicts.
3. File the application and maintain follow-up until grant.
4. Monitor marketplace to detect counterfeit use.
5. Bring administrative, civil, or criminal enforcement actions as needed.

AG Legal delivers integrated brand protection strategies from registration to enforcement and operational support.

💡 Frequently Asked Questions

What health risks do counterfeit products pose?

They often contain toxic substances leading to foot deformities, injuries, and environmental hazards.

Can I file a trademark complaint without naming the infringer?

Yes—if your mark is registered and you provide evidence, prosecutors can investigate and identify the infringer.

Do raids on counterfeit sellers work?

Yes—these operations dismantle illicit networks, curb consumer risk, and enforce brand integrity.

🤝 Why Choose AG Legal as Your Brand Protection Partner?

• Over 15 years’ experience protecting global brands.
• Direct coordination with Costa Rican prosecutors and officials.
• Bilingual legal team with international IP litigation expertise.