Insight · Designs · Analysis · 2026
Industrial design in Colombia lasts ten years and is not renewable. Disclosing at a fair or on Instagram before filing can destroy novelty. The launch calendar is the file.
Decision 486 treats industrial design as the appearance of a product. The filing is with the SIC. Typical protection is ten years from the application and is not renewable like a trademark: when it expires, the form falls into the public domain.
Novelty is assessed against what is already accessible to the public, here or abroad. A lookbook, a reel or a fair stand can be disclosure. Filing “the week of launch” is usually filing late.
If what differentiates is the silhouette, it is design. If it is a mechanism, it may be a patent. If it is the name or logo on the packaging, it is a trademark. Mixing the three in one filing is the catalogue error.
With the manufacturer, the risk is not only copies in the market: it is that they retain molds. Non-use of tooling and confidentiality clauses are part of the asset, not a purchasing annex.
We choose the pieces whose copy would kill the season. We prepare clear representations. We align the social and fair calendar with the filing date. We leave a protocol if a copy enters through a marketplace or customs.
General analysis of the Colombian framework. It is not legal advice and does not describe a named client matter.