Trademark Registration in Peru: a How-To Guide

If you are planning to launch a product or brand on the Peruvian market, you will need to register a trademark in Peru to guarantee your competitive edge and protect yourself from imitation.

If you have a corporate lawyer in Peru, they will be able to help you with the trademark registration process, and support you with many other aspects of market entry and running commercial operations in the country, such as company formation and visa processing.

Peru is a popular destination for foreign investment. Although the economy suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is already bouncing back, with the World Bank predicting that gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 11.3% in 2021.

Peru is a well-known producer of gold, copper, and agricultural goods, and is also home to a growing professional services sector, which in 2019 contributed more than 54% of GDP. 

In 2020, Peru’s GDP was $202.01 billion (all figures in USD) — a significant decline on the previous year, due to the pandemic. However, these figures still make Peru the sixth-largest economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Foreign direct investment (FDI), as a percentage of GDP, has followed a fluctuating but upward trajectory over recent years — rising from 1.57% of GDP in 2000 to 3.89% of GDP in 2019 — pointing to the country’s success in attracting international capital.

Peru is also a trade hub, and founding member of the Pacific Alliance, a decade-old economic association that includes Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and is making ambitious moves to expand into the Asia-Pacific region.

Peru is also a member of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), a regional association focused on eliminating trade barriers that includes Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. 

In August, CAN introduced a freedom of movement statute offering potential benefits to resident businesses in all of the member states. And earlier this month, the organization launched a regional trademark database where intellectual property from its four members will be listed.

If you want to complete trademark registration in Peru, read on to learn more about how it will help your business. We have also included a step-by-step guide on the process.

Or you can go ahead and contact us now to find out more about how we can assist you in doing business.

Why You Need to Protect Your Intellectual Property in Peru

Undertaking trademark registration in Peru gives you exclusive rights to use your brand or product, helping you maintain a competitive edge in the market.

With a trademark you will have the exclusive right to transfer your rights to third parties, and access to legal recourse to challenge any company that seeks to use or imitate your intellectual property.

Trademark registration in Peru is overseen by the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI). The items you can register a trademark for include:

• Brands
• Slogans
• Logos
• Products
• Symbols
• Geographical indications

Failure to register a trademark for your business in Peru could result in competitors copying you, or even registering a trademark that challenges your ability to continue trading a particular product or using a particular brand.

How to Complete Trademark Registration in Peru

In order to complete trademark registration in Peru, you will need to go through the following five steps:

1. Conduct a trademark search

First, you must identify whether another company is already trading a product or brand that is similar to the one you want to register. This is necessary to be able to fill in the application, and adjust it accordingly.

2. Submit the application form to INDECOPI

You will need to have three copies of the application form, and submit two of them to INDECOPI. Over the following month, your application will be reviewed and additional information or documentation will be requested if needed.

3. Respond to challenges

Part of the trademark registration process in Peru involves publishing your application to provide third parties with the option of lodging counter claims on what you hope to register. In the event of valid opposition to your application, you will need to be prepared to defend it. 

4. Respond to refusal notice

Even if no challenges are made, INDECOPI can refuse your application for trademark registration in Peru. If this is the case, it will provide details on why it did so. In the event of such an outcome, you have 15 working days to respond to the refusal and reassert your application. Where a challenge is made by a third party, you have 30 working days to respond.

5. Renew your trademark registration in Peru

Once it has been granted, your trademark will be valid in Peru for ten years. At the end of that period you will need to renew your registration in order to maintain your intellectual property protection. 

Commonly Asked Questions on Trademark Registration in Peru

Based on our extensive experience these are some common questions from clients registering a trademark in Peru:

Biz Latin Hub Can Assist You With Trademark Registration in Peru

At Biz Latin Hub, our team of corporate support specialists can help you with trademark registration in Peru, among a host other back-office services that we offer. 

Those include company formation, accounting & taxation, legal services, and visa processing. We can offer a tailored package of integrated services to suit your particular needs.

We also have teams in 15 other markets around Latin America and the Caribbean, and specialise in multi-jurisdiction market entry.

Contact us today to find out more about how we can help protect your intellectual property and support you doing business.

Or read about our team and expert authors.