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Unfair competition in Colombia: prohibited acts, trade secrets, comparative advertising, exclusivity clauses and actions before the SIC

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Ley 256 de 1996 prohibits acts in the market contrary to commercial good faith and honest practices, with a list of specific acts: diverting customers, confusion, deceit, disparagement, misleading comparison, imitation, free riding on reputation, trade secret misuse, inducing breach of contract, gaining an edge by breaking the law and exclusivity clauses that close markets. It applies to merchants and any other market participant whenever the main effects are felt in Colombia, with no need for a competitive relationship, and the employer answers for acts by staff. Victims can sue for a declaration, removal of effects and damages, or for an injunction before harm occurs, either before the SIC acting as a court or the civil judge; actions lapse 2 years after learning who did it and 3 years after the act.

Key facts

Unfair competition action limitation from knowledge of the infringer	2 yearsLey 256 de 1996 art. 23, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Unfair competition action absolute limitation from the act	3 yearsLey 256 de 1996 art. 23, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Acts of unfair competition are prohibited and market participants must respect commercial good faith. Any act in the market with competitive purposes is unfair when contrary to sound commercial customs, commercial good faith or honest industrial or commercial practices, or when aimed at affecting the buyer's or consumer's freedom of decision or the competitive functioning of the market. The competitive purpose is presumed when the act is objectively suited to keep or increase market share of the actor or a third party.Ley 256 de 1996, Art. 2 and art. 7, 1996-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The law applies to merchants and any other market participants, its application does not depend on a competitive relationship between the parties, and it covers unfair acts whose main effects occur or are meant to occur in the Colombian market.Ley 256 de 1996, Art. 3 and art. 4, 1996-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Specific unfair acts: diverting customers against sound customs (art. 8); disorganizing a competitor internally (art. 9); creating confusion with another's activity or establishment (art. 10); misleading the public, with a presumption for false or incomplete statements (art. 11); disparaging a third party unless statements are exact, true and pertinent (art. 12); public comparison using false statements or comparing points that are not analogous or verifiable (art. 13); exact imitation that causes confusion or exploits reputation, and systematic imitation to block a competitor (art. 14, imitation is otherwise free); exploiting another's reputation or using another's distinctive signs, even with words such as type, model or imitation (art. 15); disclosing or exploiting trade secrets accessed with a duty of confidentiality or unlawfully, and industrial espionage (art. 16); inducing workers, suppliers or customers to breach basic contractual duties (art. 17); gaining a significant competitive advantage by breaching a legal rule (art. 18); and exclusivity clauses in supply contracts whose object or effect is to restrict competitors' access to the market or monopolize distribution (art. 19).Ley 256 de 1996, Art. 8 to 19, 1996-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. A person affected by unfair competition may bring a declaratory and damages action, seeking a declaration that the acts are unlawful, removal of their effects and compensation, with interim measures available at any time; or a preventive action to stop an unfair act not yet completed, even without damage. Any market participant whose economic interests are harmed or threatened has standing, as do trade associations, consumer associations when consumers are gravely and directly affected, and the Procurador General. Actions may be brought against anyone who contributed to the act; when staff act in their duties, the action must be directed against the employer.Ley 256 de 1996, Art. 20, art. 21 and art. 22, 1996-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Unfair competition actions prescribe 2 years after the claimant learned who committed the act and, in any case, 3 years after the act was carried out.Ley 256 de 1996, Art. 23, 1996-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. The SIC exercises judicial functions in proceedings for breach of unfair competition rules (and consumer rights), alongside the ordinary civil courts. It also exercises judicial functions in industrial property infringement cases.Código General del Proceso, Ley 1564 de 2012, Art. 24 num. 1 lit. b and num. 3 lit. a, 2012-07-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Article	Act	Typical scenario
Art. 11	Deceit	Claims about origin, composition or performance that mislead buyers
Art. 12	Disparagement	Statements about a competitor that are not exact, true and pertinent
Art. 13	Comparison	Comparative advertising on points that are not analogous or verifiable
Art. 14 and 15	Imitation and reputation	Look alike packaging or using another's brand with the word type or style
Art. 16	Trade secrets	Former employees taking customer lists or formulas to a competitor
Art. 17	Inducing breach	Persuading a distributor to breach its exclusivity with a rival
Art. 18	Breaking the law	Undercutting rivals by ignoring sanitary, tax or labor rules
Art. 19	Exclusivity	Supply exclusivity that closes the market to competitors

Unfair acts most relevant to foreign entrants (Ley 256 de 1996)

Worked example

A new beverage brand launches with a can design nearly identical to a market leader's and the slogan 'same taste, Colombian style'. The leader can ask the SIC, acting as a court, for interim measures to stop sales, a declaration that the acts are unfair under Ley 256 art. 10, 14 and 15, removal of the stock and damages; it must sue within 2 years of identifying the infringer and no later than 3 years after the launch.

Step by step

Clear advertising claims, especially comparisons, against art. 11 to 13 and keep evidence that each claim is true and verifiable.
Protect trade secrets with confidentiality clauses, access controls and exit procedures, since art. 16 protects information accessed with a duty of reserve.
Review supply and distribution exclusivity for market closing effects under art. 19, alongside competition law.
When hit by an unfair act, document the date you identified the infringer, since the 2 year clock runs from that knowledge.
Choose the forum: the SIC (Delegatura de Asuntos Jurisdiccionales) or the civil judge.

Common traps

No competitive relationship is needed: a supplier, platform or customer can be sued.
The employer is the defendant for unfair acts committed by staff in their duties.
Using a competitor's sign with words like type, model or imitation is expressly unfair even if the true origin is shown.
Gaining an advantage by breaching any legal rule (art. 18) turns regulatory non compliance into a private claim by competitors.

Sources

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