She walks the aisles, films recipes, tests appliances and reviews products for a large community that trusts her judgment. “La Señora de Costco” turned those walkthroughs into a business: her income does not come from the store, but from the brands that pay to appear on those shelves.
And that is where the problem appeared. She tried to register the name everyone knows her by, and could not.
Why not
Because the name incorporates a third party’s registered trademark.
Article 173, section XVIII, of the Mexican Industrial Property Law prevents the registration of signs identical or confusingly similar to a trademark already registered and in force for the same or similar goods or services. A sign containing someone else’s mark in full rarely survives that examination.
Section XV adds to it: signs liable to deceive the public or cause error are not registrable, including those suggesting a commercial origin that does not exist. A name like that can imply backing or affiliation from the chain when there is none.
The risk is not only failing to register
IMPI refusing the application is the kind scenario. There is a worse one: spending years building an audience, an income and an identity on a name that will never be yours.
- You cannot stop someone else using a similar name, because you have no rights over it either.
- You cannot license it or assign it, so it is not part of your business’s assets.
- The trademark owner can, at any point, ask you to stop using it. If they do, you lose the name your audience knows you by.
This happens to businesses too, not just creators
The pattern repeats: the shop specializing in one carmaker’s parts, the workshop advertising itself with the brand it repairs, the reseller building an identity around the product it distributes. All building recognition on somebody else’s asset.
There is a legitimate margin — referring to a trademark to describe truthfully what you do, without suggesting affiliation — but that margin does not stretch to turning someone else’s name into your own brand.
What to do instead
- Build your own distinctive sign, one that can be registered and defended.
- If your activity is tied to a well-known brand, let that relationship live in the description of what you do, not in your name.
- Run the clearance search before printing, opening the account or launching the campaign.
- If you genuinely need to use a third party’s mark, the route is a written license, not de facto use.
The name your audience knows you by is often your most valuable asset. It is worth making sure it is yours from day one.
If you are unsure whether your project’s name can be registered, write to us: the clearance study is free of charge.