Andorra to Amend Trademarks Law to Protect Cultural Heritage After Bear Head Controversy

The Andorran government will amend the Trademarks Law of 1996 to block registration of inventoried cultural heritage assets, including intangible elements, following the controversy over a private individual's 2024 trademark on Ordino's bear head used in its traditional satirical performance.

Ministers Conxita Marsol, for Presidency, Economy, Employment and Housing, and Mònica Bonell, for Culture, Youth and Sports, outlined the plan during Thursday's control session at the General Council. They responded to questions from Susanna Vela, Social Democratic Group leader, who warned of vulnerabilities exposed by the Ordino case and criticised the government for not fully utilising existing protections. Vela raised the risk of similar registrations, such as images of Canillo's harlequins.

Marsol confirmed that current rules allow such filings as long as the cultural element is combined with other components, like a company name, as in the bear head case. The Trademark Office must approve applications that meet formal requirements, leaving challenges to the Batllia courts—which have annulled around 100 of 40,000 trademarks since the law's enactment for violating prior rights. To close this gap, Marsol said the government plans to revise Article 2 to explicitly exclude inventoried cultural assets.

Bonell noted that a legal report will first assess the precise mechanism, with no timeline set for its completion or the bill's introduction. The government has ruled out revoking the existing Ordino trademark absent new legislation or a court ruling.

Opposition figures expressed mixed reactions. Vela and Concòrdia leader Cerni Escalé decried the "lack of protection" for intangible heritage and called for urgent, consensus-driven action on the outdated law, which conflicts with the 2003 Cultural Heritage Law and Unesco conventions Andorra has ratified. Escalé urged joint parliamentary work to expedite the process, a suggestion Bonell said merits consideration.

The Ordino Popular Culture Association welcomed the reform prospect but voiced surprise at the government's refusal to act immediately, arguing the trademarks law should not override cultural protections.