Trademark registration at the INPI: how to protect your brand (and why a company number is not enough)

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A common scene: an entrepreneur incorporates the company, registers the name at the commercial registry, buys the domain, sets up social profiles and spends years building reputation. One day a cease-and-desist notice arrives demanding they stop using their own name — because someone else registered that trademark with the INPI. And most of the time, the party who registered is right.

The misunderstanding is understandable but costly: a company number, articles of association and a domain are not a trademark. This article explains how registration works, what it actually protects, what it costs, how long it takes and where the mistakes are that make companies lose their own name.

Why a company registration (and a domain) do not protect your brand

These are different registries with different purposes:

• Commercial registry: records the corporate name, with protection generally limited to the state where it was filed.
• Registro.br: grants the domain — an internet address, first come first served, with no examination of rights over the name.
• Social networks: grant a handle, subject to platform rules and to claims by trademark owners.
• INPI: grants the trademark, with exclusive use across the whole country in the registered field of activity.

The correct reading is this: whoever holds the INPI registration can require others to stop using the sign in the same field — including requesting removal of profiles and transfer of domains. The reverse is not true.

The class system: where protection starts and ends

The INPI applies the Nice Classification, dividing goods and services into 45 classes. Registration protects the mark for what was applied for. That is why identical marks can coexist in different fields without conflict — provided there is no likelihood of confusion and the mark is not one of high renown.

Choosing classes is a strategic decision: too few leaves the business unprotected exactly where it operates; too many raises costs needlessly. A classic error is registering only the product class and forgetting the service the company actually provides.

Prior search: the step that prevents the loss

Before investing in visual identity, packaging, signage and campaigns, run a prior search in the INPI database. It shows whether an identical or similar mark already exists in the intended classes — and it is what separates a sound investment from a silent loss.

A search is not merely “type the name and see what appears”. It must weigh visual and phonetic similarity, similar word stems, related goods and the INPI’s decision history. Evocative marks (describing the product) and common terms have weak protection or are unregistrable (art. 124 of Law 9,279/1996).

The application path, step by step

• 1) Prior search and definition of classes and presentation form (word, figurative, composite, three-dimensional).
• 2) Filing the application in the INPI system, paying the official fee.
• 3) Publication in the RPI (Industrial Property Gazette) and a 60-day window for third parties to file opposition.
• 4) Response by the applicant, if opposition is filed.
• 5) Substantive examination by the INPI, which may grant, refuse or issue requirements.
• 6) Allowance and payment of the grant fee, with issuance of the registration certificate.

Without opposition or requirements, the process usually takes 1 to 2 years. With a dispute, it can take considerably longer. Meanwhile, the filed application already creates an expectation of right — useful, among other things, for notifying anyone who starts using a similar sign afterwards.

Costs: registering is cheaper than the fight

INPI fees are charged per class, with reductions for micro and small enterprises, individual entrepreneurs, individuals, cooperatives and educational or research institutions. Add the professional cost of the search, class strategy and prosecution.

The relevant comparison is not “is registering expensive?” but rather: what does it cost to lose the brand after years of investment — changing signage, packaging, website, social profiles, printed materials, rebuilding reputation, plus possible damages. In plain terms: registration is one of the cheapest protections a company can buy.

After registration: duties people forget

• Genuine use: a mark unused for 5 years may be cancelled for non-use, on a third party’s request.
• A 10-year term, with renewal to be requested in the final year of validity (or within the following 6 months, with an additional fee).
• Watching: monitoring the RPI to oppose third-party applications for similar signs.
• Updating ownership upon corporate changes, spin-offs, mergers or assignment.

A practical example: two restaurants, one name

A pasta house in São Paulo had traded for six years under its own name, well known in the neighbourhood and with a good reputation — unregistered. An entrepreneur from another city registered the same name in the food services class and, certificate in hand, served notice for the first to stop using it.

The available defence involved arguing prior good-faith use (art. 129, §1 of Law 9,279/1996), which grants a right of precedence to whoever already used the sign — but proving continuous use over years demands robust documentation, cost and uncertainty. All of it would have been avoided by a search and a filing at the outset. Being first to market is not the same as being first at the INPI.

Frequently asked questions

Do a company number and articles of association protect my brand?

No. Registration at the commercial registry protects the corporate name, generally within the state, and serves to identify the company. The trademark — the sign identifying your goods and services in the market — is only protected by registration with the INPI, which grants exclusivity nationwide in the registered field. Companies with long-standing registrations commonly lose the name to whoever registered the trademark later.

How long does trademark registration take and what does it cost?

Without opposition or requirements, the process usually takes 1 to 2 years from filing to grant. Costs are the INPI’s official fees, charged per class, with reductions available for micro and small enterprises, individual entrepreneurs, individuals, cooperatives and educational or research institutions, plus the professional work of searching, defining classes and prosecuting the application. Compared with rebranding later, it is low.

What is a prior search and why does it matter so much?

It is a search of the INPI database to check whether an identical or similar mark already exists in the intended classes. It goes beyond typing the name: it weighs visual and phonetic similarity, similar word stems, related goods and the decision history. It is the step that prevents investing in visual identity, signage and campaigns only to discover the sign belongs to someone else — the most common and most avoidable loss in this field.

Can I register a mark identical to another company’s in a different field?

In many cases, yes. Protection is delimited by the Nice classes, allowing identical marks in different fields provided there is no likelihood of confusion or undue association. There are important exceptions: marks of high renown are protected across all fields, and marks well known in their sector also receive special protection. The analysis depends on the specific case.

I registered the mark but am not using it. Can I lose it?

You can. A mark not genuinely used for five consecutive years is subject to cancellation for non-use, which an interested third party may request. Registration also has a ten-year term, with renewal to be requested in the final year of validity (or within the following six months, with an additional fee). So beyond registering, it is worth keeping evidence of use and monitoring deadlines.

A brand is an asset — often the most valuable one a services company owns. Protecting it is cheap early and expensive later. At Falchet e Marques Sociedade de Advogados, a São Paulo firm on Avenida Paulista, we handle prior searches, class strategy, filing and prosecution before the INPI, as well as enforcement against misuse.

Talk to our team on WhatsApp: +55 11 95901-1854 — launching a brand, or received a notice about use of a name? Send us the name and field of activity for an initial assessment.