Who it is for
Inventors, product teams and companies that want a technical development to become a negotiable asset — or to know in time that it is not patentable.
Practice
Invention patents
Novelty, inventive step and industrial application: from the idea to a title before the SIC — or to the decision not to patent.
In Colombia
Decision 486: products or processes that are new, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable may be patented. The SIC conducts formality then patentability examination. Disclosing before filing can destroy novelty; there is a one-year grace period in certain cases.
How we help
The state of the art is worldwide: it is not enough that nobody sells it in Colombia. A publication, a fair or a video can anticipate the invention. Search and the disclosure calendar matter as much as drafting.
Claims delimit the monopoly. Vague wording cannot be enforced; wording that is too narrow does not cover what the business will sell. The useful deliverable is a negotiable perimeter for licenses, investment or excluding imitators.
When it makes sense
- There is a technical solution that is not obvious to a person skilled in the art
- You will show the development to an investor, a manufacturer or a partner
- The product can be copied by reverse engineering if there is no title
- You need an asset that can enter due diligence or a license
How we work it
- 01Prior-art search and viability: patent, utility model, trade secret, or nothing?
- 02Drafting of description, claims, drawings and abstract
- 03Filing, formality and substantive examination before the SIC, replies to office actions
- 04Maintenance, licenses and coordination with secrets that must not be disclosed in the file
What usually arrives
- The prototype was already shown at a fair or on social media
- Several inventors and a freelancer without an assignment
- A wish to patent software or a business model that does not meet the requirements
- The claim does not cover the variant a competitor will use
This text describes the general framework in Colombia. It is not legal advice and does not replace an engagement on specific facts.
What it covers
- Prior-art search and state of the art
- Claim drafting and the application file
- Follow-up of the proceeding before the SIC
- Support for licenses, investment and expansion
Other areas
Trademark registration
An enforceable identity before the SIC: classes, prior marks and defense of the sign in Colombia and, if needed, abroad.
Industrial designs
The appearance of the product as an asset: novelty, registration before the SIC and defense against catalogue copies.
Copyright
Works, software and content: ownership from creation, DNDA registration and rules with whoever produces.
Contracts and deals
Drafting, review and negotiation of commercial and civil contracts: services, distribution, sale, collaboration, alliances and other business relationships.
Companies and corporate governance
Company formation, bylaw amendments, shareholders’ agreements, minutes, boards, meetings, regulations and support in corporate conflicts.
Competition, consumer and advertising
Preventive advice and defense on unfair competition, advertising, promotions, terms and conditions, complaints and sanctioning proceedings.
Litigation and dispute resolution
Representation in civil, commercial, corporate, administrative and IP proceedings, with a focus on risk and business strategy.
Compliance and risk management
Design of policies, matrices, protocols and compliance programs in contracting, corporate governance, consumer, competition, privacy and risk prevention.
Foreign investment and doing business in Colombia
Support for foreign companies on forming companies, branches, subsidiaries, local contracts, trademark protection and operating in Colombia.