Davivienda blocks Plata's Colombian trademark bid over Daviplata confusion
Mexico's Plata has a Colombian financing licence in hand but not the name it wants to trade under: Banco Davivienda has opposed its bid to register "Plata Colombia", arguing the mark is too close to its Daviplata brand.
Plata, founded in 2023 by former employees of Russian digital bank Tinkoff and now headquartered in the United States as parent of Banco Plata in Mexico and Plata in Colombia, applied to register the name for class 36 services, covering banking, monetary, insurance, real estate and card-payment processing. Davivienda's counsel, Guillermo Navarro of GN Law, told the regulator the registration should be refused because of the similarity and risk of confusion with the well-known Daviplata mark and its family of marks, adding that Davivienda has spent since 2011 building the brand and that a rival "Plata Colombia" would dilute its distinctiveness and commercial value.
The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio notified Banco Plata of the opposition on Thursday 29 October, according to Token Times, giving the fintech 30 working days to respond and defend the application.
Plata already holds the Plata Pay registration for class 36, valid to 13 February 2035, and could launch under that sign, which carries the Mexican bank's visual identity, said Carlos Fernando Amaya Rodríguez of Amaya Propiedad Intelectual. Other applications have fared worse: Digital Plata was refused for lack of distinctiveness, Platacard for confusion with Tarjeta Plata, and Diplata for confusion with the Daviplata family. Plata CF, Figurativa, Banco Plata, Escudo de plata and Plata Colombia remain pending, all opposed by Davivienda, he said.
Amaya said the pending applications could also fail on distinctiveness grounds if the regulator decides the signs cannot distinguish financial services or be remembered and told apart by consumers. The dispute lands as Colombia's financial sector fills with neobanks and fintechs competing for the same customers, making a recognisable brand part of the licence to operate.
