Trade name registration
We register your trade name with SAPI, the name your business is known by, as a protected distinctive sign. From $150.
Requesting a quote doesn't commit you to anything
- You tell us about your case. It's free.
- We send you the price in writing, within 1 to 3 hours.
- You decide. If it works for you, we start. If not, you delete it with one click and pay nothing.
No one will pressure you. Your information is used only for your case.
Is it for you?
If any of these sounds like you, this procedure is for you.
- Owners of establishments and companies whose business name is key to being recognized and who want to protect it as a trade name with SAPI, beyond the product trademark and the company name (denominación) at the Commercial Registry
What's included and what isn't
Everything clear from the start. No fine print.
Includes
- Check that the trade name is available.
- Correct classification of the sign.
- Preparation and filing of the registration with SAPI.
- Follow-up until the trade name is granted.
Does not include
- Trademark registration for your products or services, which is different (separate service: Trademark registration).
- Reserving or changing the company name (denominación) at the Commercial Registry (separate service, in the Commercial Registry category).
- Registering your slogan (separate service: Slogan registration (lema comercial)).
- SAPI's fees, which are separate.
What you need
Check off what you already have. You don't need everything to request your quote.
You have 0 of 5.
- The trade name you want to protect
- The establishment's line of business
- Owner's details
- Your trademark and company name (denominación social), if you have them, so we can tell them apart
- Your contact details so we can coordinate
How the process works
You do very little. We take care of the rest.
- Step 1
We check the name
We confirm the trade name is available.
We do this - Step 2
We classify the sign
We place it in the right category.
We do this - Step 3
We file the registration
We submit it to SAPI.
We do this - Result
Done
We follow up until it's granted.
You receive it
SAPI (Venezuela's intellectual property office) sets the timing, with publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin (where applications are published); we're with you through the process.
What it costs and how to pay
There are two separate payments, and we want you to see them clearly.
Our fee: we do all the work for you.
SAPI's fees. It goes straight to the agency, and we give you the exact amount, with its receipt, before you pay anything.
How you pay: 50% when we start and 50% on delivery. In dollars, in bolívares at the official BCV exchange rate, or with Cashea.
How is your investment calculated?
Your investment covers our handling of the registration. What you pay us, professional fees from $150 to check, classify and handle the registration of the trade name
SAPI's fees are separate Your lawyer gives you the exact figure before you pay anything, no strings attached.
FAQ
What happens if I don't register my business name?
Someone else can use it or register it, and the Commercial Registry doesn't protect you: the company's legal name is one thing, and the name people know you by is another.
Is a trade name the same as a trademark?
No: a trademark identifies products; a trade name identifies the establishment.
How much does it cost?
The professional fee, from $150, covers preparation and registration with SAPI; SAPI's fee is separate.
What about the company name at the Commercial Registry?
That's different too: it's the company's legal name.
Why register it?
So no one else uses your business's name.
About this procedure
There's a costly mix-up worth clearing up: a trade name isn't the same as a trademark, or as the company name (denominación social) at the Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry). The denominación social is your company's legal name at the Commercial Registry. A trademark identifies your products or services. And a trade name is the name your establishment is known by to the public, the one people see on the storefront and use to refer to your business. They're three different things, with different protections, and having one doesn't protect the others.
The typical oversight is believing that because the company is registered at the Commercial Registry, or a product's trademark is registered, the business name is already protected. It isn't: someone else could use or register that same trade name and confuse your own customers. For businesses whose establishment name is their main recognition asset, like a restaurant, a store or a shop with loyal customers, leaving the trade name unregistered is leaving the front door open.
We protect it as the distinctive sign it is: we check that the trade name is available, classify it correctly, and handle its registration with SAPI, with follow-up until it's granted, locking in your business's whole identity together with your trademark and your slogan. The price starts at $150 and is adjusted to your case. A lawyer reviews your situation and confirms with you before we start, no strings attached.
Legal framework and important notes
Ley de Propiedad Industrial (Industrial Property Law)
- It identifies the establishment to the public.
- It's different from a trademark, which identifies products or services, and from the denominación social at the Commercial Registry, which is the company's legal name.
- Having one doesn't protect the others.
- It completes your identity together with your trademark and your slogan (lema comercial).
- SAPI's fees are separate.
We guarantee our service, not what the agency decides. If something depends on them, we tell you clearly and in time.
Is your case different?Ask us, message us on WhatsApp or book a free consultation. A real person answers you.