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Unfair Competition Legal Services in Colombia

Legal advice on unfair competition matters in Colombia

Unfair competition legal advice helps prevent, challenge and stop business practices that are contrary to commercial good faith and adversely affect a company’s participation in the market. In Colombia, such conduct is primarily governed by Law 256 of 1996 and may give rise to judicial proceedings before the civil courts or the Colombian Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio – SIC), acting in its jurisdictional capacity.

Cárdenas Vega Asesores represents companies, business owners and rights holders in disputes involving acts of unfair competition. Our services include the legal assessment of the conduct, the collection and preservation of evidence, the development of the litigation strategy and the filing or defence of the corresponding claims.

What is unfair competition?

Unfair competition encompasses conduct carried out in the market for competitive purposes that is contrary to commercial good faith, honest practices in industrial or commercial matters, or the ordinary and proper conduct of economic activities.

A direct competitive relationship between the party engaging in the conduct and the affected party is not always required for the unfair competition regime to apply. The relevant considerations are whether the conduct occurred in the market, whether it pursued a competitive purpose and whether it produced, or was capable of producing, legally relevant effects in Colombia.

Acts of unfair competition in Colombia

Law 256 of 1996 establishes a general prohibition against unfair competition and regulates various forms of conduct that may affect competitors, consumers and other market participants. The principal acts of unfair competition include:

Diversion of customers: conduct aimed at attracting customers through means that are contrary to honest commercial practices.
Disruption: conduct intended to unjustifiably alter or impair another company’s organisational structure, operations or internal business relationships.
Confusion: conduct capable of causing confusion regarding the identity, business activities, establishment, products or services of a business operator.
Deception: false or misleading information concerning products, services, characteristics, commercial conditions or business activities.
Discredit: statements or disclosures that unjustifiably damage the commercial reputation of a competitor or that of its products, services or business activities.
Comparison: public comparisons between products, services or companies that are based on false, inaccurate, irrelevant or unverifiable claims.
Unfair imitation: the reproduction of another party’s business offerings where it creates confusion, entails the improper exploitation of another party’s reputation or constitutes systematic imitation intended to prevent a competitor from establishing itself in the market.
Exploitation of another party’s reputation: the improper exploitation of the industrial, commercial or professional reputation acquired by another person or company.
Misappropriation or disclosure of trade secrets: the unauthorised disclosure or exploitation of confidential business information obtained lawfully or unlawfully.
Inducement to breach contractual obligations: unfair interference with third-party contractual relationships to encourage their breach, termination or impairment.
Breach of legal provisions: obtaining a significant competitive advantage through the infringement of a legal rule.
Unfair exclusivity arrangements: exclusivity agreements whose purpose or effect is to unjustifiably restrict competitors’ access to the market or monopolise the distribution of products or services.

Whether any of these acts has occurred must be determined through an assessment of its legal elements and the specific circumstances of the relevant market. Not every aggressive commercial practice, comparison between competitors or loss of customers constitutes an act of unfair competition.

Legal actions for unfair competition

Depending on the conduct involved and the objectives of the affected party, Colombian law permits the following actions:

Declaratory and compensatory action

This action may seek a judicial declaration that the challenged conduct is unlawful, an order requiring the responsible party to cease the conduct, the removal of its effects and, where appropriate and duly substantiated, compensation for the losses caused.

Preventive or injunctive action

This action may be used to prevent an unfair practice that has not yet occurred but is imminent, or to prohibit the continuation of conduct that has already begun and continues to pose a risk of harm.

Interim relief in unfair competition proceedings

Where urgency exists and the applicable legal requirements are satisfied, a party may seek interim relief to prevent the occurrence or continuation of the challenged conduct, limit the extension of its effects, preserve evidence or safeguard the effectiveness of a future judgment.

The availability and scope of interim relief depend on factors such as the prima facie merits of the claim, the risk arising from delay, necessity, proportionality and the evidence submitted. Preparing such an application therefore requires the precise identification of the challenged conduct and proof of the need for urgent judicial intervention.

Where is an unfair competition claim filed?

Unfair competition disputes may be heard by the competent civil courts or by the Colombian Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, which exercises jurisdictional powers to adjudicate this type of proceeding. The selection of the appropriate forum should take into account the applicable procedural, territorial and strategic considerations.

As a general rule, these disputes are heard under the verbal proceeding established in the Colombian General Code of Procedure. Depending on the circumstances of the case, it may also be necessary to assess whether an out-of-court conciliation hearing constitutes a procedural prerequisite to filing the claim and whether any statutory exception applies.

Evidence in an unfair competition case

The viability of a claim depends to a significant extent on the quality, legality and sufficiency of the evidence. Relevant evidence may include:

Advertising, publications, commercial communications and promotional materials
Websites, social media content and properly preserved digital evidence
Contracts, confidentiality agreements and business communications
Invoices, sales statistics, financial information and accounting records
Market studies, surveys or technically supported expert reports
Witness testimony and documents evidencing confusion, loss of customers or commercial harm
Evidence concerning the existence, confidential nature and misappropriation of trade secrets

Before initiating a claim, it is advisable to preserve digital evidence, avoid alterations that may compromise its authenticity and establish a verifiable connection between the conduct, the alleged responsible party and the harm or risk asserted.

Difference between unfair competition and competition law

Unfair competition law primarily addresses the fairness of business conduct in the market and protects parties affected by practices that are contrary to commercial good faith. Competition law, by contrast, focuses on conduct that affects the structure or competitive functioning of the market, including restrictive agreements, abuse of a dominant position and certain business combinations.

Although a single set of circumstances may involve elements of both legal regimes, their purposes, procedures, competent authorities and legal consequences are not necessarily the same. Correctly characterising the issue is essential to selecting the appropriate legal course of action.