Trade dress, imagen empresarial o apariencia distintiva: Como objeto de protección dentro de una franquicia

Abstract

This article is inserted within the industrial property and one of the signs of greater recognition are the marks, which can differ according to the people to whom it benefits, by its form, perception. Nonetheless, the image of products and commercial establishments is increasingly important and part of them is the quality and the way they are projected and recognized within the consumer and the general public. What is known as trade dress, distinctive appearance, commercial image, this category has been protected in many laws of continental origin as a brand. However, Anglo-Saxon law grants a category of protection in industrial property in a specific way, different from the mark. Then, within the Colombian legal context: could the trade dress be protected individually? Since this category acquires importance not only at the individual level but within the franchise agreements is an element to be taken into account at the time of the contractual operation. A descriptive methodology was used to analyze the protection of this institution within continental law, which protects it as a trademark. It is shown as a result that in Colombia the trade dress, distinctive appearance, commercial image is not subject to specific protection despite being an integral part of the products, establishments of commerce in the country and should be protected as a category other than the Brand in franchise contracts.