Your U.S. Counterpart for Colombian Clients
Su contraparte en Estados Unidos para sus clientes colombianos.
Colombia was the first Andean Community country to join the Madrid Protocol, and designations of the United States filed through SIC of the United States often draw USPTO refusals. We answer them as U.S. attorney of record, file direct U.S. applications when Madrid is the wrong tool, and report to you in Spanish.
Trademark activity in Colombia and at the USPTO
SIC recorded 52,885 trademark class counts in 2024, up 10% from 2019. Colombian owners filed 1,946 U.S. applications from 2021 to 2025, 8% of them through Madrid.
Trademark filings at SIC
Class count in applications filed at SIC, direct and via Madrid, by applicant residence.
View data table
| Year | Total | Resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 47,962 | 28,427 | 19,535 |
| 2020 | 49,899 | 31,370 | 18,529 |
| 2021 | 55,579 | 33,617 | 21,962 |
| 2022 | 72,603 | 50,117 | 22,486 |
| 2023 | 50,527 | 31,458 | 19,069 |
| 2024 | 52,885 | 33,566 | 19,319 |
U.S. applications filed by Colombian owners
USPTO applications per filing year from owners with an address in Colombia. The 2026 bar covers January through September.
View data table
| Filing year | Filed | Registered to date | Via Madrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 386 | 224 | 31 |
| 2022 | 428 | 245 | 36 |
| 2023 | 421 | 207 | 29 |
| 2024 | 342 | 174 | 21 |
| 2025 | 369 | 138 | 39 |
| 2026 (Jan.–Sept.) | 192 | 7 | 10 |
Madrid traffic between Colombia and the U.S.
Designations recorded by WIPO each year: Colombian holders designating the United States, and U.S. holders designating Colombia.
From 2020 to 2025, U.S. holders designated Colombia about 25 times as often as Colombian holders designated the United States.
View data table
| Year | U.S. designated by Colombian holders | Colombia designated by U.S. holders | All designations of Colombia | International applications filed through SIC | Provisional refusals issued by SIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 23 | 1,051 | 5,179 | 43 | 1,677 |
| 2021 | 49 | 1,519 | 6,068 | 68 | 1,499 |
| 2022 | 60 | 1,277 | 5,748 | 112 | 2,035 |
| 2023 | 55 | 1,119 | 5,548 | 97 | 1,919 |
| 2024 | 41 | 1,223 | 5,837 | 68 | 2,924 |
| 2025 | 56 | 1,032 | 5,661 | 90 | 3,070 |
Madrid designations received by SIC
All designations of Colombia in international applications and subsequent designations, from every origin.
In 2025, U.S. holders made 18% of the 5,661 designations of Colombia. SIC issued 3,070 provisional refusals that year.
How we counted. National-office figures are class counts (applications multiplied by the classes they name) from the WIPO IP Statistics Data Center, May 2026 update, covering direct and Madrid filings. Madrid figures are WIPO counts by date of receipt at the International Bureau through 2025. USPTO figures count applications by filing date where an owner's address is in Colombia, from USPTO records retrieved October 27, 2026.
The U.S.-attorney rule for Colombian clients
Since August 3, 2019, applicants and registrants domiciled in Colombia must be represented before the USPTO by an attorney licensed in a U.S. state. A designation of the United States filed through SIC reaches the USPTO without a U.S. attorney, but any provisional refusal must be answered by one.
Andean Community clients often sell into the U.S. through Miami distributors and online marketplaces. A U.S. registration supports Amazon Brand Registry and U.S. Customs recordation, which a SIC registration does not.
What this means for your firm
- You keep the client relationship and the strategy
- We are attorney of record and correspondence address at the USPTO
- Every USPTO notice comes to you with our recommendation
- We send U.S.-originated work in Colombia back to you
What we handle for your Colombian clients
The full U.S. life of a mark, from the first filing to enforcement, under your instructions.
Direct U.S. filings
Use, intent-to-use, Section 44(e) home-registration, and Section 44(d) priority applications.
Madrid refusals
Responses to USPTO provisional refusals of designations of the United States.
Office actions
Arguments and amendments on likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, specimens, and identification.
TTAB matters
Oppositions, cancellations, ex parte appeals, letters of protest, and expungement or reexamination petitions.
Maintenance
Section 8 and Section 71 declarations, Section 15 affidavits, Section 9 renewals, and docketing every U.S. deadline.
Recordals
Assignments, mergers, and name changes recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch.
Enforcement
Cease-and-desist letters, U.S. Customs recordation, Amazon Brand Registry, and coordination with litigation counsel.
Built for the instructing firm
- Conflict checkWe clear conflicts before any substantive work, usually within one business day.
- Associate agreementA short written agreement sets reporting, billing, and client-contact rules.
- InstructionsBy email, in Spanish or English. We confirm receipt and the deadline the same day.
- ReportingWe report to your firm, not to your client, unless you ask us to copy the client.
- FeesFixed fees for standard actions, invoiced in U.S. dollars with wire instructions; government fees at cost.
Where U.S. filings from Colombia go wrong
The issues we see most often in U.S. matters sent by Colombian firms, and how we deal with each.
Indefinite goods on SIC designations
Specifications accepted by SIC frequently use class headings or general terms that the USPTO finds indefinite. The refusal must be answered by a U.S. attorney within the response period.
We propose U.S. wording before filing through SIC, or amend in response.
Dependency on the SIC basic filing
For five years, a U.S. designation falls with the Colombian basic filing. Oppositions at SIC can narrow or cancel the U.S. protection.
We monitor the basic filing and, if needed, transform the designation into a U.S. application within three months.
Colombian place names
Names built on Colombian cities or regions are refused as geographically descriptive or must be disclaimed.
We advise on distinctiveness before the international application is filed.
Coffee and origin terms
COLOMBIAN for coffee is a U.S. certification mark of the Colombian coffee growers' federation, and descriptive Spanish coffee terms are refused.
We clear the client's own brand and handle origin claims separately.
U.S. use at years 5 to 6
Madrid registrations need a Section 71 declaration showing use in U.S. commerce. Clients that export only occasionally may not qualify.
We collect U.S. invoices and labels ahead of the deadline.
Work flows both ways
U.S. holders designated Colombia in more than 1,000 Madrid filings a year from 2021 to 2025, and SIC issued 3,070 provisional refusals in 2025. We send Colombian prosecution and opposition work to the firms that send us U.S. matters.
We do not practice Colombian law. When a U.S. client needs protection in Colombia, the matter goes to Colombian counsel, and we report the result to our client.
What to send with an instruction
- Client name, entity type, and country of organization
- Full address of domicile (street address, not a P.O. box)
- The mark as filed at home, with any color claim and translation
- Home filing or registration number and date (for priority or Section 44(e))
- Goods and services, ideally already in U.S. ID Manual wording
- U.S. use dates and a specimen, if the client already sells in the U.S.
- For Madrid refusals: the WIPO notification and the USPTO refusal
- The response or filing deadline you are working to
Frequently asked questions
Do you answer USPTO refusals of designations filed through SIC?
Yes. We review the provisional refusal, recommend a response, and file it as U.S. attorney of record.
Can our client switch from Madrid to a direct U.S. filing?
Yes. If the basic filing is cancelled, the U.S. designation can be transformed into a U.S. application within three months, keeping the international registration date. Clients can also file directly in parallel.
How are your fees structured for associate work?
Standard actions, such as a new application, a response to a routine refusal, or a Section 71 declaration, carry fixed professional fees, listed in our associate fee schedule. Contested work is billed by the hour or on a quoted budget. Government fees are passed through at cost, and invoices are in U.S. dollars.
How quickly do you act on an instruction?
We confirm receipt and the deadline the same business day and clear conflicts before substantive work. For urgent deadlines, tell us the date in your first email.
Do you report in Spanish?
Yes. Our attorneys work in Spanish and English.
Will you contact our client directly?
No, unless you ask us to. We report to you and copy the client only on your instruction.
Request our associate fee schedule
Our schedule lists fixed fees for the U.S. actions Colombian firms send most often, with our instruction checklist and a short guide to the most common USPTO refusals of filings from abroad.
- Direct USPTO applications
- Madrid provisional refusals
- TTAB oppositions and cancellations
- Section 8 and Section 71 declarations