A trademark, as is well known, is a category of distinctive sign that identifies the products or services of a company or entrepreneur, and has certain purposes, among which is to inform the consumer of the origin of a particular product or service.
Generally, the owner of a trademark, who is the same producer of the good, has a group of clients and is also free to choose the best means to position their product, whether through an exclusive distributor or authorized distributors, who are sometimes intermediaries between the foreign entrepreneur and the Colombian consumer, bringing together someone with a need and a foreign product capable of satisfying it. These authorized distributors ultimately become the commercial face of the foreign entrepreneur in the country, but they are not the same trademark owner.
For this reason, to protect the trademark owner, who is the same producer of the good, the supranational Industrial Property regulation establishes as a ground for unregistrability that the intermediary who once acted on behalf of the owner of the trademark sought to be registered may not obtain protection of the same without the proper authorization of the owner.
This prohibition has no other purpose than to protect both the owner of a previously acquired registration abroad and other entrepreneurs in the sector, and ultimately – as a purpose inherent to Industrial Property regulations – the final consumer.