Overview of Trademark Registration Practice in Chile: Five Important Considerations

Why Chile Matters to U.S. Brand Owners

U.S. companies are the largest foreign users of Chile’s trademark system: in 2025 they filed 3,099 applications, 19.5% of all foreign filings and more than any other country.

Chile’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) received 64,508 applications in 2025 through December 1, up 13% on the prior year. The system has also changed in ways that matter to foreign owners: Chile joined the Madrid Protocol in July 2022, and Law 21.355 introduced non-use cancellation and non-traditional marks the same year.

This post covers five considerations for U.S. brands, compares Chilean and U.S. filing requirements, and sets out filing trends since 2020.

Five Important Considerations

1. Chile is first-to-file, so file before you launch

Rights come from registration, not use, and no use is needed to file or register. A U.S. brand that sells into Chile through a distributor before filing risks a local party registering the mark first. U.S. owners can claim six-month Paris Convention priority from a U.S. filing.

2. Choose between a national filing and the Madrid Protocol

Chile has accepted Madrid designations since July 4, 2022, so a U.S. applicant can extend a USPTO application or registration to Chile. INAPI may issue a provisional refusal within 18 months. A national filing remains useful when the U.S. specification is narrow, when the mark will be localized in Spanish, or when the brand wants independence from its U.S. base filing during Madrid’s five-year dependency period.

3. Budget per class, and watch the Diario Oficial

Chile allows several classes in one application, but fees are charged per class: 1 UTM at filing and 2 UTM at registration, about CLP 216,000 per class in October 2026. An extract must be published in the Diario Oficial within 20 working days of acceptance, or the application is archived. Third parties then have 30 working days to oppose, and contesting an opposition requires a lawyer.

4. Use now matters after registration

Law 21.355, in force since May 9, 2022, made marks vulnerable to cancellation after five uninterrupted years of non-use in Chile. The earliest non-use actions can be filed on May 10, 2027, and every action filed so far has been dismissed as premature. U.S. owners should start keeping Chilean sales, import and advertising evidence now. Using the ® or “M.R.” notice also guards against genericide claims.

5. Light formalities, but a local representative and renewal discipline

Foreign applicants must appoint a representative domiciled in Chile. A simple private power of attorney is enough, with no notarization or apostille. Registrations last 10 years and renew at 6 UTM per class. Late renewals carry surcharges that rise 20% a month, up to 12 UTM per class in the sixth month. Brands with geographic terms should also check the geographical indications protected under the Chile–EU agreement, in force since February 1, 2025.

Filing Requirements: Chile vs. the United States

The biggest differences for a U.S. applicant are that Chile requires no proof of use to register, accepts a simple power of attorney, and charges per class at two stages; the U.S. requires use before registration and ongoing use declarations.

Requirement	Chile (INAPI)	United States (USPTO)
Governing law	Industrial Property Law 19.039, as amended by Law 21.355 (May 9, 2022)	Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.
Basis for rights	First to file; registration creates rights	Use creates common-law rights; registration adds nationwide priority
Use to register	Not required at filing or registration	Use in commerce, or intent-to-use followed by a statement of use
Specimen of use	Not required	Required per class before registration
Foreign applicants	Must appoint a representative domiciled in Chile	Foreign-domiciled applicants must use a U.S.-licensed attorney
Power of attorney	Simple private document; no notarization or apostille	Not required; attorney appears of record
Pre-filing search	Optional	Optional
Classes per application	Multi-class allowed (Nice Classification)	Multi-class allowed (Nice Classification)
Official fees	1 UTM per class at filing + 2 UTM per class at registration (about CLP 216,000 per class, Oct 2026)	US$350 per class base fee, plus surcharges for incomplete or free-form identifications
Publication	Applicant must publish an extract in the Diario Oficial within 20 working days of acceptance	USPTO publishes in the Official Gazette
Opposition period	30 working days from publication; not extendable	30 days from publication, extendable up to 180 days
Who decides oppositions	INAPI, with appeal to the Industrial Property Court and then the Supreme Court	Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with appeal to the Federal Circuit or a district court
Registration fee deadline	60 working days after acceptance	None; statement of use fee for intent-to-use filings
Term	10 years from registration	10 years from registration
Use filings during term	None	Section 8 declaration between years 5 and 6 (US$325 per class)
Renewal	6 UTM per class; surcharges rise to 12 UTM per class in a 6-month grace period	Sections 8 and 9 filings, US$325 each per class; 6-month grace period
Non-use exposure	Cancellation after 5 uninterrupted years of non-use (actions open May 10, 2027)	Three consecutive years of non-use is prima facie abandonment
Madrid Protocol	Member since July 4, 2022	Member since November 2, 2003
Non-traditional marks	3D, sound and other marks recognized since 2022	Recognized, subject to distinctiveness and functionality

U.S. Filing Metrics Since 2020

U.S.-based brands have filed roughly 2,000 to 2,500 Chilean trademark applications a year since 2020, covering 3,300 to 4,700 classes. Filings peaked in 2022, and registrations peaked in 2023 as INAPI cleared pending files.

WIPO IP Statistics Data Center (2020–2024); INAPI via Ministry of Economy (2025)

Year	U.S. applications	U.S. registrations	U.S. share of foreign applications	All applications at INAPI
2025	—	—	19.5% (by class, Jan.–Nov.)	64,508 classes (Jan.–Nov.)
2024	1,962	2,146	20.5%	43,210
2023	2,057	3,463	22.7%	45,074
2022	2,414	2,151	27.1%	42,310
2021	2,546	1,463	28.5%	50,081
2020	2,184	1,997	28.0%	43,511

Counts are applications and registrations, not classes; Chile allows multi-class filings. Foreign share excludes Chilean residents and filings of unknown origin.

How U.S. filers compare with other countries

The U.S. remains Chile’s largest foreign filer, but its share of foreign filings fell from 28% in 2020 to about 20% in 2024 as Chinese filings surged.

INAPI’s 2025 figures show the same pattern: the U.S. at 3,099 classes, China at 2,430 and Spain at 1,032, with Spain passing Germany for the first time.

Top Five Nice Classes for U.S. Brands

Year in and year out, U.S. brands file in Chile in the same five classes: software and electronics (Class 9), technology services (Class 42), pharmaceuticals (Class 5), advertising and retail (Class 35), and education and entertainment (Class 41). Together they made up about 44% of U.S. class filings from 2020 to 2024.

WIPO IP Statistics Data Center, U.S.-origin applications by Nice class at INAPI (direct + Madrid) · 2020–2024

The mix has shifted toward technology. Class 9 has ranked first every year and Class 42 has held second since 2022, while pharmaceuticals slid from second place in 2020 and 2021 to fourth in 2024. The same five classes also led U.S. registrations in each year. For U.S. tech, SaaS and consumer-health brands, these are the classes where Chilean clearance searches are most likely to turn up conflicts.

The Bottom Line

Chile is one of Latin America’s most predictable trademark systems: light formalities, multi-class filing, Madrid access and 10-year terms. The trade-offs are first-to-file risk, short and fixed publication and opposition deadlines, and new non-use exposure from May 2027. MiamiTrademarkLaw.com helps U.S. brands clear, file, maintain and enforce marks in Chile and across Latin America.

Contact us at [email protected] to address your clearance needs, trademarks application goals and/or portfolio management in Chile.