Article 95 of Law 35 of May 10, 1996, amended by Law 61 of October 5, 2012, defines this type of trademark as follows:

“Article 95.

A famous or renowned brand is understood to be one that, due to intensive use in the market and in advertising, has been widely disseminated without losing its distinctive strength and is known by the general public..."

For a brand to be considered famous or renowned, it must meet the following requirements:

  • It must be known by the general public, that is, it must be known beyond the sector of the specific products or services (classes) that they cover and represent in the market;
  • It must maintain its distinctive strength, avoiding becoming a vulgar brand; and,
  • It must be widely used by the general public and must enjoy great prestige that encompasses different and numerous groups of businessmen and consumers who belong to different markets, which can only be achieved by providing excellence in quality.

It is extremely important to point out that the famous or renowned trademark due to being widely known is not limited to the principle of specialty, a position widely supported by both national and international doctrine and jurisprudence.

The protection of this type of trademark is regulated in our trademark law in article 91 paragraph 2 of law 35 of May 10, 1996, amended by article 38 of Law 61 of October 5, 2012:

“Article 91.

They cannot be registered as trademarks or as elements thereof:

Those that are the same or similar to a famous or renowned trademark in Panama, registered or not, to be applied to any product or service;…”

The objective of preventing the registration of a trademark similar to or equal to a famous or renowned trademark is, on the one hand, to ensure that the exclusivity right of the trademark owner is not violated or altered, and on the other, that there is no any risk of association on the part of consumers, understanding the risk of association as that which occurs when the buyer purchases a specific product, convinced that he is buying another, due to the great visual, graphic, phonetic, conceptual similarity or resemblance, etc. , which has this product with the product you really want to purchase.

It has been difficult in this type of brands to determine what factors give fame or renown to a famous or renowned brand. In our opinion, some of the factors that determine the fame or renown of a brand are: The age of the brand, the intensity with which it has been used both territorially and extraterritorially, the advertising promotion that has been given to it. The same and the recognition by the general public of said brand.

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