translated from Spanish: 1 in 3 entrepreneurs could be risking going to jail for not registering their trademark

On July 5, law 21,355 was published, which establishes new penalties for the misuse of trademarks for the marketing of the same products or services. Specifically, fines for the plagiarism of a trade name can reach up to 50 million pesos and the new Industrial Property Law added penalties of minor imprisonment in its minimum to medium degree, that is, up to three years in prison.
In particular, the registration of a trademark grants the exclusive right to prevent third parties from using similar signs, words or sounds in trade that may cause confusion among consumers when choosing between one or another product or service.
In this regard, according to the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INAPI), there are certain complications when it comes to registering a trademark. Among them are the lack of distinctive signs in a logo, or a name that is descriptive. In turn, misleading names at the time that a customer is going to choose to consume in the trade in question.
In this context, according to a study conducted based on 5,000 searches within the Simplemarcas.cl site, 37.5% of them have important similarities with trademarks already registered, that is to say approximately 1 in 3 brands that would be operating in the market, it does so with brands that already have another owner.
One of the blunders is to inscribe a phonetically similar mark. For this reason it is essential to be sure that a business uses a brand that is not similar or sounds similar to one that is already registered by another. For its part, INAPI’s existing trademark search engine only delivers literal results to your searches.
“Being well informed could help you take timely action, whether it’s protecting your brand by registering it or changing it before you continue to invest in a good that may already belong to someone else.” Says Alejandra Pimentel, Director of Simplemarcas.cl, the first Chilean startup that seeks a solution to this type of complications digitally.
The new law will be in force from the publication of its respective regulations, which has a period of 6 months from its date of publication in the Official Journal.
LAW NO. 21.355 AMENDS LAW 19039 by El Mostrador on Scribd

Original source in Spanish