Infographic | Trademark applications with asian characters

16 January, 2025
trademark application with asian characters
caracteres asiaticos
In recent years, the Colombian Trademark Office (SIC) has introduced significant changes in how it interprets and grants trademarks that include characters that do not belong to the Latin alphabet. This report aims to detail these modifications and their implications, particularly in comparison with the guidelines that were previously in force.
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until

2022

The SIC followed the trademark registration examination instructions from the China Trademark Office (CTO), which stipulated that when a trademark consisted entirely or partially of non-Latin characters or non-Arabic or non-Roman numbers, the examiner had to verify the nature of the trademark as indicated by the applicant.

word marks

Additionally, the Examiner had to ensure that the transliteration of non-Latin characters into Latin characters or Arabic numbers was provided. In the absence of such transliteration or translation, the Examiner issued an office action requesting clarification.
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word marks

tianjin pharma

Although there is no recent binding position on the SIC’s guidelines for decision-making, the behavior observed in the reports from recent publications in the Official Gazettes shows a clear and repeated trend in the filed trademarks.
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Trademarks that include non-Latin characters are now registered as word & design marks (if the sign includes letters from the Arabic alphabet) or as design trademarks if the sign only includes Asian characters, which may be a significant indicator that now the Examiner considers these characters as a design part of the sign, rather than a word element.

in the european union and the united states

It is evident that trademarks containing non-Latin characters are registered only as
design marks. This is because such characters are not easily understandable by the average consumer, preventing these signs from conveying a clear message.
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figurative marks
caracteres asiaticos
From the consumer’s perspective, unfamiliarity with non-Latin characters can create confusion and make it difficult to identify the trademark and its origin. The distinctiveness of a trademark depends on its ability to be recognized and remembered by consumers. When a trademark uses unknown or difficult-to-interpret characters, it fails to fulfill this essential function. This is crucial since the purpose of a trademark is to differentiate a company’s goods or services from those of another.
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The trend described in this report reflects an alignment with registration practices in other international jurisdictions, where clarity and comprehensibility for the consumer are fundamental criteria for trademark registration.
When analyzing the trademark applications published in gazettes 1025 to 1034, we observed significant changes in the criteria:

nature

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Currently, trademarks that consist entirely or partially of Asian characters are registered exclusively as design or word and design trademarks, when they include Latin characters. In the case of a word & design mark, the SIC does not consider Asian characters as part of the word element. The word element is only accepted when it includes numbers or words in the conventional Latin alphabet. This means that Asian characters are considered exclusively as figurative or design elements.

requirements

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Previously, the transliteration of Asian characters was an essential requirement for the registration of word marks. However, in the current context, the SIC has changed its stance on this criterion. Transliterations are only required for word & design marks, and only for the part that is in the Latin alphabet. Asian characters do not require transliteration as these are not considered word marks.
Relevant Aspects of IP 315 of 2021 from the Andean Community.
liston

Clarity and Distinctiveness: The interpretation emphasizes that non-Latin characters must be clear and distinctive to avoid consumer confusion.

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Consumer Protection: It highlights consumer protection as a main principle, ensuring that trademarks do not mislead or confuse.

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