Welcome to our blog for Intellectual Property Law and Practice in Latin America!
¡Bienvenidos a nuestro blog de Derecho y Práctica de la Propiedad Intelectual en Latinoamérica!
Bem-vindo ao nosso blog sobre Direito e Prática de Propriedade Intelectual na América Latina!

Monday 25 August 2014

Patricia Covarrubia

Colombian vs Dominican: US decides on Shakira's hit song

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Over the weekend all newspapers and major entertainment sides around the world contained reports on Shakira’s hit song ‘loca’ been found guilty of plagiarism i.e. copyright infringement.

loca loca no te pongas bruto loca que te la bebe dance or die loca el ...The court hearing the case was the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 12-cv-1094) and was brought by Mayimba Music, Inc who holds the rights of the work of Dominican songwriter Ramon Arias Vasquez. The work in question was a song track written by Arias in 1998 entitled ‘loca con su tiguere’.

A claim was brought against Sony Corp of America, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Latin Music Publishing LLC, Sony/ATV Discos Music Publishing LLC, and Sony/ATV Tunes LLC who holds the right for Shakira’s hit song ‘loca’-- Spanish and English version. However, the judge dismissed infringement claims upon the English version, citing a lack of evidence and thus, only finding liable Sony/ATV Latin and Sony/ATV Discos, for distributing Shakira’s song Spanish version.

The judge held that Shakira’s single “was based on a 2007 song by Dominican rapper Eduard Edwin Bello Pou, better known as El Cata, which also copied Arias and was distributed by Sony.” “The song revolves around a love triangle in which the singers are poor and the opposing suitors are rich, a theme expressed in Arias’s title.” Shakira’s version uses the word “tigre” (tiger) instead of “tiguere,” which is Dominican slang for tiger.  The issue in question is that Shakira's song incorporates portions of El Cata performing ‘Loca Con Su Tiguere’, and therefore containing substantial copying of the original version. Finally, the judge stated that there was no dispute that Shakira's version was based on El Cata's version and thus accordingly since El Cata “had copied Arias, whoever wrote Shakira's version of the song also indirectly copied Arias."

This is not the first time the Colombian singer Shakira is accused of plagiarism. However, this is the only case that have been heard in a court of law. On 2010 this blog reported of other instances such as the ‘waka,waka’ chorus used in the 2010 world cup; a chorus used in ‘hips don’t lie’ -- settled outside court; and more recently the ‘la,la,la’ video.
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Thursday 21 August 2014

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Chile: INAPI crea Buscador de "Patentes de Dominio Público"

El Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Industrial de Chile (INAPI) ha puesto en funcionamiento un buscador de patentes de dominio público. Se trata de una base de datos pública y gratuita con todas aquellas patentes que han sido solicitadas en Chile desde 1840 hasta el día de hoy, y que han expirado, pasando por lo tanto a ser parte del dominio público nacional.

Según informa el INAPI, esta herramienta representa un hito a nivel mundial en servicios a la ciudadanía para promover el equilibrio entre los derechos de propiedad intelectual y el beneficio público al hacer accesible la transferencia del conocimiento tecnológico generado por las patentes de una manera amigable y gratuita.

Junto a la base de datos, a través del sitio web del buscador www.inapi.cl/dominiopublico se puede acceder a más de 30 informes con tecnologías de dominio en áreas temáticas de relevancia estratégica para el país; entrevistas a innovadores nacionales; así como documentos y manuales.

En palabras del Director institucional, Maximiliano Santa Cruz, "INAPI creó una base de datos de patentes que han caído en el dominio público, con el fin de que todas las personas puedan tener información de alto contenido tecnológico e innovador, de manera fácil y clara. Esta base de datos permitirá a los inventores realizar un mejor examen de patentabilidad".

Para su lanzamiento se exhibió una muestra con importantes patentes originales, tales como las de Tomas Alva Edison, Henry Ford, Guillermo Marconi, y también patentes relevantes en el contexto de la economía chilena, las cuales estarán disponibles para que el público las pueda conocer hasta el viernes 22 de agosto.

Fuente: INAPI
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Monday 18 August 2014

Patricia Covarrubia

The moron in a hurry – the only person who would be misled

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National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (Federacafé) has unsuccessfully opposed to the registration of the mark ‘Mild Coffee Company Huila’ for tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, coffee derivatives among others.
Mild Coffee Huila Company SAS applied at the Colombian Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) and the Federacafé opposed on the grounds that the sign lacked distinctiveness and moreover, it was descriptive – the Directorate of Distinctive Signs agreed. However, on appeal the decision was reversed and the mark was registered.

According to Art 135 Decision 486 (the Andean Community common intellectual property regime), signs may not be registered as trade marks when they:
b) are lacking in distinguishable characteristics;

e) consist solely of a sign or statement that may serve in commerce to designate or describe, in respect of the goods or services for which they are to be used, their quality, quantity, purpose, value, geographical origin, or time of production, or that impart other details, characteristics, or information, including expressions of praise for those goods or services;
...
Explaining further, the superintendent explained that the term does not monopolize the individual expressions ‘mild coffee’. Mild Coffee Huila Company SAS’s lawyer explained that the sign is a combination; all elements together (figurative and words) made the mark distinctive. Finally he adds that the "National Federation of Coffee Growers usually present oppositions to many brands in the coffee sector.”

Indeed, mild coffee as a term will describe the quality of the coffee if applied to coffee products. In this particular case, the sign applied for was not just a term but was a combination of words and graphic designs. Yet, wouldn't you as part of the consumers be puzzle? If you are in a supermarket holding a bag of something than contains coffee with a logo that reads ‘mild coffee’, wouldn't you think that it refers to the product? On second thought, looking closely to the logo I guess that the only person that would be misled is a moron in a hurry.

Source La Republica.

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Monday 11 August 2014

Patricia Covarrubia

A sport celebrity - image rights

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James Rodríguez lanza ‘El 10 Gold’ su primer producto como ...Colombia Reports some news about its football star James Rodriguez. The golden boot winner of the 2014 World Cup is launching its own product ‘Gold 10’, an energy drink. The drink is made with ‘guarana, taurine and caffeine’ and part of the profits will be given to support the foundation ‘Colombia somos todos’ founded by James Rodríguez.


The newspaper EL Pais published an article with the highlight ‘What James Rodriguez trademark is worth’. This is continued by an assertion that the football player is not just an idol but his name is a 'brand' in advertising. It elaborates by stating that apart from the millionaire Real Madrid’s contract, he will add another 8.5 million euros profit due to its image. His image is used already in 8 brands e.g. Adidas, shampoo (Clear), deodorant (Rexona), beverages (Pony Malta and Milo) and breads (Bimbo) and now its own product ‘Gold 10’.


James Rodrigues, Penerus Carlos Valderama - ENCIETY NEWSAlso the Colombian newspaper La Republica noted the value of the football player James Rodriguez. It notes that by using players’ names it is a high impact strategy in consumer market. It gives examples of reasons why an image sells: “inspires health, discipline, confidence, success, love and… it tends to be followed”.
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Wednesday 6 August 2014

Patricia Covarrubia

Brazilian wines: get to know them.

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In Brazil we see a new application for a Geographical Indication(GI) for wines. The ‘Associação Farroupilhense de Produtores de Vinhos, Espumantes, Sucos e Derivados’ (Afavin) filed the application at the headquarters of INPI in Porto Alegre. The GI is for ‘Farroupilha’ wines and is to be an Indicação de Procedência (Indication of Source/origin).


Farroupilha is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil with a total area of 359.3 km² and approx. 70,345 residents. The formal request contained a detailed dossier with the geographical delimitation, characterization of viticulture (vineyards and wineries), production processes, the chemical and sensory characteristic quality of the wines, including the historical recognition of the region as producer of muscat wine.

According to the technical coordinator of the project, the major difference of this GI is the area where the traditional muscat grape is produced - region of Serra Gaucha. It all started in 2005 by creating Afavin. Subsequently, other initiatives developed and a turning point came in 2009 with the approval of the project to be developed as GI under the coordination of diverse organizations and institutions such as Embrapa Uva e Vinho; Embrapa Clima Temperado; Universidade de Caxias do Sul; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; and support from Prefeitura Municipal de Farroupilha.

There are already 4 GIs for wines in Brazil: Vale dos Vinhedos as Indicação de Procedência in 2002 and Denomination of Origin in 2012; Pinto Bandeira as Indicação de Procedência in 2010; Altos Montes as Indicação de Procedência in 2013; and also last year Monte Belo as Indicação de Procedência. Al of these have been published here in this blog.

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Tuesday 5 August 2014

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Ejecutivo de Chile aspira unificar el sistema de Propiedad Intelectual

En el marco del panel inaugural de las VII Jornadas de Propiedad Intelectual organizadas por la Asociación Chilena de Propiedad Intelectual (Achipi), la Subsecretaria de Economía, Katia Trusich, planteó los principales desafíos de esta industria que se encuentra en un año clave en materia de regulación.

La Subsecretaria comentó que desde el Ministerio de Economía se está impulsando un proyecto de ley sobre Propiedad Industrial que se encuentra en la comisión de Economía del Senado y que en las próximas semanas debiese retomar su discusión.

Precisó que “este proyecto de ley busca profundizar en la relación de la propiedad intelectual con las distintas políticas públicas, e incluso los reglamentos sobre etiquetados de alimentos y video juegos están siendo desarrollados teniendo a la vista estos desafíos”.

Además instó a los asistentes a ver la propiedad intelectual como un sistema que va más allá del registro de marcas o las solicitudes de patentes: “Incluye marcas, patentes pero también derecho de autor y variedades vegetales y desde el Ministerio de Economía ya estamos trabajando en lograr una mejor coordinación y estructura, e idealmente, la unificación del sistema”, aseveró.
 
En el panel inaugural también participaron el Director de Inapi, Maximiliano Santa Cruz y el Presidente de Achipi, Cristóbal Porzio.

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Patricia Covarrubia

Patagonia's products to receive a boost

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The Chilean National Institute of Intellectual Property (INAPI) received an application for registration of the certification mark "Calidad Aysén- Patagonia - Chile".


The mark was developed by the regional government of Aysén supported by the Ministry of Agriculture. The scheme is “the result of a research, identification and survey of common practices and standards that seek to encourage the identification of certain attributes present in the originating Aysén region.” The Agriculture Minister said "it is important to add value to our products and this is a great opportunity. Patagonia is a globally recognized mark and we must seize this attractive local product to enhance an area that is far away for the rest of world, but year after year increases the amount of visitors ".

INAPI’s director added that it is pleasant to see how “ regions are organizing to promote their products through the use of tools such as certification marks”.Products seeking to be enhanced by this certification mark are cattle, sheep, vegetables and cherries.

Source INAPI.
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Monday 4 August 2014

Patricia Covarrubia

Colombia's coffee: well-known indeed

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From Colombia we heard that a court declared 'Juan Valdez' and its logo as a well- known mark.

The court’s decision was handed down in an infringement of industrial property rights brought by Cafeteros de Colombia vs. Bamboo & Cafe Ltds. The delegation for the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC), by judicial judgement held that the use of the words 'Juvenal Valdez' by the business Bamboo & Cafe Ltd in Bogota, infringed the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia’s trade mark i.e. 'Juan Valdez'. The shop was selling coffee based beverages. By the same token, SIC recognized the famous brand and its logo as notorious mark.
Source www.cablenoticias.tv

In support of the application, the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia submitted and attested the ownership of different marks regarding 'Juan Valdez' and its traditional logo (mixed and figurative marks), which are all duly protected by the respective trade mark titles granted by the Superintendency of Industry and Trade.

SIC considered that the use of ‘Juvenal Valdez’ could generate likelihood of confusion between such establishment and Juan Valdez' shops; not only by the grammatical similarity between the names, but also because the similar font used by the defendant. Consequently, SIC ordered Bamboo & Cafe Ltda to refrain from identifying its products and services with the said terms. It noted that the restriction extends to the use of the term in all kinds of advertising, stationery and any other use that could be put to for the development of its business.

Source SIC.
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