Beyond the Trademark: Protecting a Beauty Brand in Brazil

Brazil is ranked as the world’s third-largest beauty and personal care consumer market, according to Euromonitor data compiled by ABIHPEC (Brazilian Association of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Industry. Even in a socially and economically diverse country such as Brazil, self-care is a priority. Beauty products are present in nearly 100% of Brazilian households and account for almost 6% of the global market.

Brazilians are also open to trying new products and brands. In this context, Asian beauty brands are already gaining a significant foothold in the country. According to a report published by Diário do Comércio, Korean and Japanese beauty brands accounted for 14% of cosmetic sales in Brazil in 2025. However, successfully entering the Brazilian market involves more than making products available to local consumers. It also requires protecting the IP assets that underpin the brand.

Starting with the Trademark

Typically, rightsholders start with local protection of the brand. Preparation for trademark protection prior to market entry is particularly important, especially because Brazil follows a first-to-file system. Structuring a filing strategy, supported by appropriate clearance searches, is therefore essential.

The Brazilian portfolio should reflect the company’s Brazilian business model, rather than simply replicate its Asian portfolio. This may involve assessing not only the house mark, but also product names, sub-brands, collections and other signs that may become commercially relevant in Brazil.

Another point of attention for Asian companies is spelling and transliteration. If Brazilian consumers are likely to refer to a brand using a different spelling, transliteration or pronunciation, that version may also need to be considered as part of the local trademark strategy.

Protecting Visual Identity

However, as companies and IP specialists know, the name is not everything.

Protection of the visual identity of the packaging should also form part of the pre-launch strategy. Brazilian law offers different avenues for protecting the appearance and design of a product, including trademark protection, industrial design and copyright, depending on the characteristics of the asset and the applicable legal requirements. While these forms of protection are not necessarily interchangeable, where the relevant requirements are met, they may operate cumulatively.

Industrial design protection may be particularly relevant to the beauty industry because it covers ornamental aspects of a product’s external appearance, including three-dimensional configurations such as packaging and containers, as well as two-dimensional ornamental elements. Indeed, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO), in its Industrial Design Manual, expressly identifies packaging and containers as examples of products whose three-dimensional appearance may qualify for industrial design protection, subject to the applicable legal requirements.

Copyright should also not be overlooked. In Brazil, copyright protection does not depend on registration, although registration may be useful for evidentiary purposes. This may be particularly relevant for original artwork, illustrations, photographs and other creative elements incorporated into packaging and promotional materials.

The concept of trade dress should also be considered. Although Brazilian law does not provide for a specific and separate trade dress registration, the overall presentation of a product may, depending on the circumstances, receive protection through a combination of IP rights and unfair competition rules. The Brazilian Industrial Property Law, for example, addresses certain acts of imitation and use of third-party signs that may create confusion among consumers.

For this reason, companies should assess the protection of packaging not as a single legal question, but as a combination of potentially complementary rights.

Advertising, Social Media and Content

Beyond the product itself, it is important to consider local advertising campaigns. Beauty campaigns involve a multitude of creative and commercial assets, including photographs, videos, artwork, music, social media content, influencer-generated content and retail displays.

From an IP perspective, companies should identify who owns the rights in each element of a local campaign and whether the relevant agreements provide sufficient rights for the intended use.

This is particularly important when a company works with local photographers, advertising agencies, designers or influencers. The fact that a company has commissioned and paid for content does not, by itself, eliminate the need to carefully consider the scope of the rights granted under the relevant agreement.

The same applies to influencer-generated content. Before reusing an influencer’s post in paid advertising, on the company’s website or in other commercial materials, the brand should assess whether it has the necessary rights to do so and whether the agreed terms cover the intended media, territory, duration and purposes of use.

Under the Brazilian Copyright Law, the transfer of economic rights is subject to specific legal requirements, including the need for written agreements in cases of assignment. The law also provides for restrictive interpretation of copyright transactions and transfers in certain circumstances, reinforcing the importance of clearly defining the scope of the rights granted and the permitted uses.

Establishing an Enforcement and Monitoring Strategy

Finally, protection should not end with registration. Once a beauty brand enters the Brazilian market, it should be monitored to identify potentially conflicting trademark applications, unauthorized use of the brand or packaging, counterfeit products and unauthorized exploitation of creative content.

The appropriate enforcement mechanism will depend on the nature of the infringement. Depending on the circumstances, available measures may include administrative proceedings before the BPTO, cease-and-desist measures, negotiations, civil litigation and, in appropriate cases, measures based on unfair competition or criminal law. In cases involving counterfeit products, these measures may also include search and seizure operations and cooperation with local authorities in the inspection and enforcement of intellectual property rights at border points.

For foreign companies, early assessment is particularly important. An opposition to a conflicting trademark application, for example, may be substantially more efficient than waiting until a third party has obtained registration and built a market presence.

The same principle applies to online infringement. Beauty brands are increasingly exposed to unauthorized sellers, counterfeit products and imitation of their visual identity across digital platforms. Monitoring should therefore extend beyond the Brazilian trademark register and include the channels through which consumers actually encounter the brand.

The Right Strategy

For Asian beauty companies entering Brazil, trademark registration is essential, but it is only the beginning.

In a market where beauty, social media, influencers and entertainment increasingly converge, protecting a brand means protecting the entire ecosystem around it. This may include trademarks, packaging, industrial designs, copyright-protected artwork and content, influencer and celebrity rights, and entertainment licensing arrangements.

An effective Brazilian IP strategy should therefore be considered before market entry and revisited as the brand evolves. By identifying and protecting the different assets that contribute to a beauty brand’s identity (and by establishing an appropriate monitoring and enforcement strategy) companies can better protect not only their trademarks, but the broader value of their brands in the Brazilian market.

Image Source: Deposit Photos
Author: viperagp
Image ID: 60544701