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Whether an unused registration is standing in the way of your own brand, or a mark was wrongly registered in the first place, our team at Brealant pursues cancellation and nullity actions before INDECOPI — or defends your registration if someone challenges yours.
Legal Definition of Cancellation & Nullity
Under Decision 486, a non-use cancellation seeks to remove a mark unused for 3 consecutive years, while a nullity action seeks to remove a mark that was wrongly registered in breach of absolute or relative grounds.
Purpose and Function of These Actions
Cancellation clears out genuinely stale registrations, while nullity corrects marks that should never have been granted — for example, marks confusingly similar to an earlier right, or registered in bad faith.
Protecting Your Interests
Whether removing a blocking mark or defending your own registration, evidence of use, or of the circumstances of the original filing, is central to the outcome.
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Contact
Reach out to Brealant about the blocking registration, or the challenge to your own mark.
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Search
We review the target registration's use history, filing circumstances, and eligibility for either action.
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Quote
Receive a staged service quote covering each phase of the action.
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Pay
Proceed with secure payment for the stage you're instructing us on.
File
Brealant lodges the cancellation or nullity request, or the response, with INDECOPI.
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Wait
INDECOPI notifies the parties and manages the evidence process, if contested.
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Response
You receive INDECOPI's decision on whether the mark is cancelled or annulled.
In Peru, a non-use cancellation begins with filing a request that the registered owner can then oppose by proving genuine use, while a nullity action begins with filing a claim setting out the legal defect in the original registration. Both can be answered and defended before INDECOPI decides. Understanding which route fits your situation is the clearest way to assess your prospects.
A blocking registration that's genuinely fallen out of use, or was never validly granted, can prevent you from registering, or fully protecting, your own brand. Brealant assesses the target mark's history carefully before recommending action, so you understand the real prospects of success.
Both actions are powerful, but each has real limits
Minimum Registration Age for Cancellation
A non-use cancellation generally requires 3 consecutive years of non-use in Peru or elsewhere in the Andean Community.
Time Limits on Nullity
A nullity action based on relative grounds generally must be filed within 5 years of the registration date; absolute-grounds and bad-faith claims are not subject to this limit.
Burden of Proof Shifts
Once a non-use cancellation is contested, the registered owner — not the applicant — carries the burden of proving genuine use.
Time and Cost
A contested action, particularly with an appeal, can take 12 months or longer and involve real professional costs.
Partial Outcomes
The mark may be cancelled or annulled only for some goods or services, not necessarily all of them.
Brealant gives you a realistic view of the likely timeline, cost, and prospects before you proceed.
A successful action protects
Your Path to Registration
Clearing the way for your own application in the same or overlapping classes.
Market Fairness
Removing marks that are no longer genuinely used, or were never validly registered, but still block legitimate new entrants.
Register Accuracy
Keeping the INDECOPI register reflective of marks that are actually in commercial use and properly granted.
Your Investment
Protecting your brand strategy from being derailed by a stale or defective registration.
Brealant assesses whether cancellation, nullity, or both is the right route before you commit resources to the action.
Timing depends on whether the action is contested and which route applies
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Filing the Action
The cancellation or nullity request is lodged with INDECOPI's Dirección de Signos Distintivos.
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Notice to the Owner
INDECOPI notifies the registered owner, who can respond and, for non-use matters, submit evidence of use.
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Evidence Exchange
If contested, both sides file evidence and arguments.
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Decision and Appeal
INDECOPI decides whether the mark is cancelled or annulled, with an appeal available to the Tribunal de Propiedad Intelectual.
An uncontested action can resolve in a few months; a contested matter with appeal more commonly takes 12 months or longer.
Costs scale with whether the action is contested
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INDECOPI charges an official fee, in Peruvian soles (S/), to file a cancellation or nullity request.
scale with whether the action is contested, whether it proceeds to appeal, and how much evidence is required.
Brealant will assess your matter and quote before filing, so you know what to expect.
Once a blocking mark is removed, Brealant can move straight into clearing and filing your own application, so the opportunity created by the action isn't lost to a competing filer.
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Cancellation targets a mark that hasn't been genuinely used for 3 consecutive years; nullity targets a mark that was wrongly granted in the first place, such as one that conflicted with an earlier right or was registered in bad faith.
Generally, a continuous period of 3 years' non-use in Peru or another Andean Community country is the basis for a non-use cancellation request.
Relative-grounds nullity actions generally must be filed within 5 years of registration; absolute-grounds and bad-faith claims can generally be brought at any time.
Once a non-use cancellation is filed and contested, the registered owner carries the burden of proving genuine use during the relevant period.
Yes, the owner can respond to either a cancellation or nullity action and present evidence defending the registration.
Yes, standing generally requires a legitimate interest, such as wanting to register a similar mark, rather than being a direct market competitor.
Yes, a non-use cancellation can target specific goods or services within the registration, leaving the mark valid for classes where genuine use is shown.
Yes, the parties can settle at any stage, for example through a coexistence agreement or a partial withdrawal of the challenged goods, ending the proceeding without a full INDECOPI decision.
Yes, either party can appeal to INDECOPI's Intellectual Property Tribunal, and from there judicial review before the courts remains available.
Yes, because nullity treats the registration as void from the outset, any licenses or assignments recorded against it generally lose their legal basis as well.
Discover more insights and stay informed about the latest in intellectual property with Brealant's blog. From expert advice on trademark registration and patent protection to strategies for safeguarding your brand in a competitive market, our resources are here to empower your business. .
Explore our blog to learn how effective IP management can strengthen your brand's position and protect your innovations
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