Carolina del Río and Mercedes Londoño, partners of our Intellectual Property area, along with Mary Shapiro and Nicole Katsin from Evoke Law, reviewed in a virtual event the legislation related to registering a trademark with cannabis, comparing different countries in the region.

The world market for cannabis-related products is valued at around US $ 30 million, according to a study carried out by the Euromonitor consultancy published in November 2020. That is one reason to keep up to date with the status of the legislation related to cannabis in each country, to organize in the best way the brand registration and market entry strategies for a specific product.

In the presentation, hosted in the offices of Evoke Law in San Francisco, United States, Mary Shapiro opened the talk by giving an overview of the registration of trademarks related to cannabis and hemp in different countries. After that, Carolina del Río and Mercedes Londoño reviewed the status of the legislation in Latin American and Caribbean countries, distinguishing whether or not the medicinal use of cannabis is authorized, as well as the recreational use, and  the legalization status of the registration of trademarks related to cannabis and its derivates.

As an overview, Uruguay is the country with the broadest possibilities for the use of cannabis in the region. In Bolivia, the legislation does not contemplate it, and in Brazil and Ecuador the criteria are uncertain.

The participants registered from countries such as the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, Argentina, Spain, and even China and Australia. As Carolina del Río explained, "it is important to know the legislation in detail, and also the criteria of the intellectual property authorities because this information can critically affect the development of a business strategy in this area. Thanks to Evoke Law for this opportunity to review the panorama of a market as interesting as cannabis."