Super Mario wants to register his trademark

Why Is It Important to Register Your Trademark as Soon as Possible?

52 years ago in Costa Rica, a man named Mario opened a supermarket and called it Super Mario, but he never registered his trademark.

Twelve years later, Nintendo came along and made its Super Mario character famous.

When Mr. Mario recently tried to register his supermarket trademark, Nintendo put up every possible obstacle.

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending for Mr. Mario: thanks to his trademark agent, he managed to convince the Costa Rican trademark office that there was no risk of confusion between his supermarket brand—used for selling food products with a yellow shopping cart logo—and the Japanese giant.

However, the cost and hassle for Mr. Mario would have been much lower if he had registered his trademark at the beginning of his business journey. He was on the verge of losing his brand and having to change his store’s signage.

As Jorge Morla wrote in El País, "We are moving towards a world where (...) the source of wealth will be predominantly property. And not just physical property (houses, land), but also intellectual property."

Have you thought about protecting your trademark? Contact us, and we’ll help you secure the best protection for your business.