The well-known Chinese company Pico Technology was rejected by the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inapi) when trying to register its trademark in Chile. All because of the vulgar tone that Chileans give to the word “pico” using it to refer to the penis.
The Inapi resolution, as detailed by the Financial Diaryexpressed that the name “corresponds to a sign that violates good customs and moralssince it corresponds to a vulgar derivation of the name of the male genitalia”.
Pico is not vulgar in the rest of the world: only Chile and Costa Rica
From the technology firm they defended their name, which they have had since its foundation in 1991 in the United Kingdom. “The expression is not used in its vulgar sense,” said the company’s lawyers, according to the same medium.
“In addition, the fact that my principal is a foreign company allows us to conclude that They were not even aware of this meaning.”, they sentenced.
The journalist Héctor Velis-Meza explained in “Una Nueva Mañana”, in the dictionary of the RAE, “the last meaning says that in Chile and Costa Rica it is used with the meaning of penis”.
“What I would do is tell the company what that word means in Chile. He would remind them that there was a vehicle that was (named) ‘Pajero’ and when he arrived in Chile he arrived with another name: ‘Montero’. Because they realized that in our country it could be laughed at,” recalled the language expert.
they will appeal
From Pico Technology decided to insist on the registration of their name in Chile and will appeal to the Industrial Property Court.
