COSTA RICA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Néstor Morera and Zayde Chahín, Morera & Chahin
While regional powers like Brazil and Mexico lead in absolute trade mark application volumes due to their market size and industrial bases, Costa Rica stands out: it leads in relative terms. The country ranks 8th globally for “trade marks by origin” when normalised per billion PPP$ GDP. This metric, which measures brand creation relative to economic scale, places Cos - ta Rica in a global tier of branding intensity distinct from its regional peers. Several factors make this performance significant. Costa Rica’s entrepreneurial ecosystem produces an exceptionally high volume of new commercial identities relative to its economic output, signalling robust entrepreneurial activity and market dynamism. It implies Costa Rican businesses have internalised the importance of distinctive market positioning. This brand intensity likely correlates with Costa Rica’s export-oriented economic model, in which distinctive branding is essential for competing internationally. These findings carry implications beyond mere num - bers. They signal Costa Rica’s emergence into higher- value segments of global value chains, domains char - acterised by higher profit margins and more durable competitive differentiation. Institutionally, it reflects the functioning of Costa Rica’s intellectual property framework in supporting this form of economic activ - ity. Why Costa Rica’s companies now compete on commercial names, not just products The evolution toward a brand-intensive economy has been accelerated through legislative reform. The enactment of Law 10729, effective May 30, 2025 (Law No 10729, 2025, Article 1), constitutes a re- architecting of corporate identity formation in Costa Rica. By eliminating the traditional corporate name ( razón social ) for newly formed corporations, replac - ing it with an automatically assigned numerical legal entity identification number ( cédula jurídica ), the law creates a separation between state registration and market identity. This reform represents a change in how business enti - ties are conceived within legal and commercial sys - tems. Historically, the corporate name served a dual function: both as the official legal designation and,
frequently, as the primary commercial identifier (Gua - damuz, 2020). This duality created conceptual con - fusion and legal conflicts regarding priority between corporate names and registered trade marks (General Directorate of the National Registry, 2024). The new legislation resolves this ambiguity: the state identifies corporate entities through numerical codes, while the marketplace identifies them through deliberately created and formally protected commercial names (Supreme Court of Costa Rica, 1991). This reform carries three strategic implications, out - lined below. • First, it requires every new business entity to con - sciously construct its market identity from incep - tion, transforming commercial naming from an automatic byproduct of corporate registration into a strategic decision. • Second, it elevates the commercial name from his - torically secondary status to a primary commercial asset, the foundational element upon which market recognition accumulates. • Third, it creates conceptual clarity by establishing distinct legal categories: (a) “commercial names” protect the trading entity itself; while (b) “trade marks” protect specific goods or ser - vices. This legal framework formalises the intellectual prop - erty strategy that companies like Corporación Manzaté de Centroamérica S.A. developed over time (Noguera, 2025). Manzaté’s corporate history illustrates the syn - ergistic relationship between commercial identity and product branding that the new legislation institution - alises. For decades, “Manzaté” has functioned not merely as a product brand but as the defining com - mercial identity of the corporation, a name associated with quality and natural wellness in Central American markets. The commercial name establishes a protec - tive umbrella beneath which product-specific trade marks (DIGETÉ, SILUETE, LA ABEJITA, and LA SELVA (“ Nuestros Productos ”)) have flourished, each target - ing distinct consumer needs while leveraging the cor - poration’s established market reputation.
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