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!

Wednesday 31 March 2021

IPTango

Encounter 11: The Future of Geographical Indications and Traceability in a Covid Transformed World


On 6 April 2021, FIDE (Legal and Business Research Foundation) and TIPSA (Transatlantic Intellectual Property Academy) will hold the Encounter 11: The Future of Geographical Indications and Traceability in a Covid Transformed World.

The panellists are Professor Patricia Covarrubia (University of Buckingham, Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk and member of the IPTango team), Professor Justin Hughes (Loyola Marymount University), Dr. Delphine Marie-Vivien (CIRAD) and Professor Arul George Scaria (CIIPC).

The suggested readings and the report on the session will be available on the Global Digital Encounters (GDE) website as time goes by.

The Encounter is offered free of charge, but registration is required. Register here now!

If you missed previous Encounters or you want to watch them again, click here.

Credit: Image is courtesy of FIDE.

UPDATE 9 April 2021: the recording of Encounter 11 is available here. 
Read More

Tuesday 30 March 2021

IPTango

Fecha límite para la próxima edición de la Revista Iberoamericana de la Propiedad Intelectual (RIPI)


El equipo editorial de la Revista Iberoamericana de la Propiedad Intelectual (RIPI) nos ha compartido que el 30 de abril de 2021 es la fecha límite para la recepción de artículos que se publicarán en el próximo número.

La convocatoria para la edición No. 14 está abierta a todos los autores de Iberoamérica.

Los artículos pueden referirse a temas de propiedad intelectual, en los aspectos jurídicos, técnicos, económicos o de política pública.

Los artículos pueden estar escritos en español, portugués o inglés. Consulta aquí más información sobre contenidos, extensión y formato.

RIPI es una publicación conjunta de la Universidad Austral (Argentina), la Universidad Panamericana (México) y la Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia). Los números anteriores de la RIPI pueden consultarse aquí.

La imagen es cortesía de la RIPI.
Read More

Monday 29 March 2021

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)

Paraguay – Expide el primer certificado de registro de una Denominación de Origen


Recientemente la Dirección Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual (DINAPI) , expidió el primer certificado de registro para una denominación de origen al Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne.


El Champagne es la primera solicitud que concluye todo el proceso de reconocimiento preliminar y registro establecido en la Ley 4923/2013 reglamentada en el año 2019 a través del Decreto del P.E. N° 1286


Paraguay cuenta con una legislación específica en la materia desde el año 2013, para presentación de solicitudes de reconocimiento preliminar y posterior registro de indicaciones geográficas y denominaciones de origen y, desde su reglamentación en el mes de febrero del año 2019, la DINAPI ha impulsado campañas de promoción y difusión de esta herramienta de PI.


Actualmente, el Comité de Champagne reúne a alrededor de 16000 vignerons (viticultores) y 320 maisons (casas) de la región de Champagne – Francia.


Paraguay se suma así a la lista de 122 países, incluyendo la mayoría de los países de América Latina, China, India, etc., que ya protegen el nombre Champagne, una de las denominaciones más notorias y antiguas del mundo.


Mas información aquí y aquí.

Read More

Saturday 20 March 2021

IPTango

A-CAPP Center: A Brand’s New World, Latin America


The Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP Center), housed at Michigan State University, will hold the conference A Brand’s New World: Latin America from 15 to 17 June 2021.

The online event will cover brand protection issues in Latin America. Interactive panel discussions and breakout groups will be part of the program. The sessions will be held in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The registration for the conference is not yet open. However, you can take here and here (in Spanish) a short survey to suggest topics for discussion at the event.

A Brand’s New World is a free virtual conference series “on brand protection issues post-pandemic, looking into the future”. The first series was held in 2020 (as announced here). The event addressed brand protection and anti-counterfeiting matters by speakers from industry, academia, law enforcement, and government.

More information is available here.

The image is courtesy of the A-CAPP Center.

Read More

Wednesday 17 March 2021

IPTango

INTA: The U.S. Trademark Modernization Act, What Latin American Companies and Law Firms Should Know


The International Trademark Association (INTA) will hold the webcast “The U.S. Trademark Modernization Act: What Latin American Companies and Law Firms Should Know” on 25 March 2021.

The event is addressed to trademark practitioners in Latin America. The webcast aims to “provide registrants with practical tips and watch-outs to make informed decisions and leverage the appropriate tools to maintain and enforce their trademark rights in the United States”.

The speakers are Rodrick J. Enns (Enns & Archer) and Julia C. Archer (Enns & Archer). Jenny McDowell (INTA) will moderate the session.

The event is free to INTA members, but non-members can register for $75.00.

Register here before 24 March 2021!

More information is available here.

The image is courtesy of INTA.

Read More

Sunday 14 March 2021

Verónica Rodríguez Arguijo

Peru: INDECOPI announced some results derived from the agreement to protect IPRs in the digital environment signed with Mercado Libre


The Peruvian National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) announced some results derived from the agreement to protect IPRs in the digital environment signed with Mercado Libre (MELI).

As Juan Cichero (Head of Brand Protection at MELI) highlighted in the interview held with IPTango last year, the e-commerce platform “provided INDECOPI with [their] monitoring and reporting tool, but unfortunately, due to the … COVID-19 lockdown, some aspects of the joined efforts had to be delayed. However, [MELI trusted] that with the normalization of the INDECOPI procedures, the enforcement [would] resume”.

Indeed, the enforcement resumed in 2020. Thus, in a press release recently published, INDECOPI indicated that 265 listings were removed from Mercado Libre in light of the cooperation agreement with the platform. Out of these, 152 ads offered counterfeit products that posed a risk to consumers’ health and safety, such as electronic devices, masks, and toys. Meanwhile, 113 listings offered beverages with the protected appellation of origin “Pisco.

In addition to this, as part of MELI´s proactive measures, 327 warnings were issued to brand owners, so they could review the ads and report the infringement of their IP rights when it was applicable.

Considering the results obtained, INDECOPI and MELI signed an addendum to extend the cooperation agreement for a further twelve months.

Read here the press release published by INDECOPI (in Spanish).

The interview IPTango held with Juan Cichero (Head of Brand Protection at Mercado Libre) is available here.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
Read More

Saturday 13 March 2021

IPTango

ATRIP Essay Competition 2020: the deadline is approaching!


The International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) is calling for submissions for the ATRIP Essay Competition 2020.

The annual essay competition, sponsored by FICPI (the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys), is addressed to young researchers in intellectual property law.

Some of the requirements are the following:
  • The paper must cover IP law topics.
  • The paper must be written in English or French.
  • The paper should be no less than 5,000 words and should not exceed more than 10,000 words.
  • The authors should be no older than 35 years as of 31 December 2021.
The deadline for submissions is 1 April 2021.

The top three placed papers will be available on the ATRIP website with the possibility to be published in the Journal of World Intellectual Property Law.

The winning author will be invited to give a presentation (expenses paid) at the 2021 ATRIP international annual conference held in November at Seoul National University School of Law, Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

Review more information here.

Image by Free-Photos on Pixabay.
Read More

Wednesday 3 March 2021

IPTango

México: Premio IMPI a la invención mexicana 2021


El Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) publicó la convocatoria del Premio IMPI a la invención mexicana 2021

Podrán participar en la convocatoria personas de nacionalidad mexicana dedicadas a la invención (sin afiliación) o que pertenezcan a una institución pública o privada de educación media superior o superior; centro de investigación; o micro, pequeña y mediana empresa ubicada en México.

Asimismo, los participantes deberán contar con un título de patente, modelo de utilidad o diseño industrial, otorgado de enero de 2019 a 2021 o con una solicitud de patente, modelo de utilidad o diseño industrial presentada ante el IMPI a la que se le haya notificado que procede su otorgamiento (oficio de cita a pago).

Se otorgará un premio en cada una de las siguientes categorías:

  1. Patente
  2. Modelo de utilidad
  3. Diseño industrial
  4. Innovación para micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas (patente, modelo de utilidad o diseño industrial)

Los premios serán entregados en el marco de día mundial de la propiedad intelectual. La fecha límite para participar es el 19 de marzo de 2021.

Las bases de la convocatoria pueden consultarse aquí.

Fuente: sitio web del IMPI, consultado el 3 de marzo de 2021.

Imagen de Gerd Altmann en Pixabay.
Read More

Tuesday 2 March 2021

Patricia Covarrubia

Peru: strategic support to inventions and sciences

    No comments:

While the pandemic keeps hitting hard all markets in the world, the Peruvian national IPO, INDECOPI, reported so many news in the month of February 2021 that reassures that ‘the show must go on’.


There were plenty of good news related to patents. For instance, the research and development done by national universities amounted to 213 patent applications last year. There were in total 37 universities that applied for patents, 10 of which applied for patents for the first time.
INDECOPI reports that this is the result of the work carried out by its department the Directorate of Inventions and New Technologies (DIN). The department leads, creates and consolidates a culture of patents within Peruvian universities. There are other programs running that provides support on innovation such as “the National Network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (CATI Network); the 'Virtual Training and Accompaniment Course for the Identification and Registration of Intellectual Property in Universities', carried out in collaboration with the Program PMESUT of the Ministry of Education, the National Contest of Inventions, the Patent Program (Modality Academic and Research Centers); the Free Talks and Training Program providing direct advice for the preparation of Regulations and Intellectual Property Strategies; among others.” (more info here)


‘Women in Sciences’: the INDECOPI reports that the participation of Peruvian woman in inventions and research is growing. In 2020, 36% of patent applications were filed by, or where participation came from, female inventors. In 2020, the INDECOPI run a special competition 'Patents against COVID-19' and received 313 projects, with 45 winners of which 21 have already obtained their patents -- 28% belong to women. (more info here). The cherry on the top comes from 28 Peruvian women who triumphed in the 13th International Women's Invention Exposition in South Korean – KIWI 2020. The 28 inventors presented 18 inventions related to health, the environment and biodiversity, construction and architecture, as well as creations related to the use of waste from agribusiness. They proudly  received 5 gold, 8 silver, and 4 bronze medals as well as two special awards.  (more info here). To hear from them and their inventions, check their videos here (Spanish) – I learned about the e-nose that is used to assess ‘Pisco’ (spirit drink), which is a denomination of origin in Peru.


The INDECOPI together with the National Council of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) have for the second year, launched a ‘patent fund’ to finance its registration at international level --  up to 25,000 Peruvian soles (approx. 5,686 euros). Applications are accepted till April 14, 2021. To learn more about this fund click here and here.  


Finally, Peru has a virtual ‘window shopping’ for inventions known as the 'Peruvian Patent Marketplace' - here. There are 237 national creations “seeking to get local and international business partners and business opportunities to enter the market”. There are so many that I felt truly like ‘shopping’. I was curious to learn about the ‘portable disinfection device for disposable facial mask’.  The reality is that many countries do have a shortage of new disposable masks, be it for the health personnel or society in general. The inventions is an alternative for reusing disposable mask by means of UV Radiation, and resulting in a mask that can be used up to 10 times more. I would like to extend the aim to all disposable mask to have this process reducing the quantity of mask ending in the bin - sadly sometimes in the roads, pavements, rivers and oceans.

Read More

Monday 1 March 2021

IPTango

Encounter 10: Fostering a Dynamic IP System Based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)


On 2 March 2021, FIDE (Legal and Business Research Foundation) and TIPSA (Transatlantic Intellectual Property Academy) will hold the Encounter 10: Fostering a Dynamic IP System Based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The panellists are Professors Edward Kwakwa (WIPO) and Peter Yu (Texas A&M University). The moderator of the session is Professor Miriam Allena (Bocconi University).

The suggested readings and the report on the session will be available on the Global Digital Encounters (GDE) website as time goes by.

The Encounter is offered free of charge, but registration is required. Register here now!

If you missed previous Encounters or you want to watch them again, click here.

Credit: Image is courtesy of FIDE.

UPDATE 3 March 2021: the recording of Encounter 10 is available here. 
Read More