France and Peru present cooperation action

France and Peru present cooperation action

Patricia Covarrubia   March 06, 2017   No comments:

A bilateral cooperation was signed by France and Peru back in 2015. The cooperation was in the field of intellectual property (IP) and economic development. Because of this, last week the 2017 Work Plan was signed.

The plan includes: “information exchange, training of professionals in intellectual property, program to support companies in the use of the patent system, exchange of experiences in geographical indications, as well as strengthen the fight against piracy and the promotion of technological innovation.” There will also be a joint work with the Comité National Anti-contrefaçon which is the French Anti-Piracy Committee.

One exchange of information that caught my attention was addressed to geographical indication which will include the functioning of the ‘regulatory associations’ in the country. Thus, an official from INDECOPI will be trained at the Centre for International Studies of Intellectual Property (CEIPI) in France. The French has protected for centuries GIs e.g. XIV French legislation protecting ‘Roquefort’.

GIs in Latin America
Some Latin American countries have GI system which are controlled by the Government and/or owned by the state, e.g. Guatemala (art.81 Decree No.57/00), Mexico (art.167 Ley Propiedad Industrial), Panama (art.137 Ley No.35), and Peru (art 88 Decree No.1.075/08). This is a major point since farmers, artisans and Indigenous peoples mistrust government. In France the holders of an appellation of origin are the producers and groups of producers enjoying the appellation of origin in question. In Peru the state is the holder.

Peru on GIs
Peru has registered the handicraft Chulucanas (DO) for ceramics located in the town Chulucana (Resolución 011517). The association hold a national registration and also an international registration. Peru is part of the Lisbon Agreement and as such once chulucanas were protected in the country of origin the country requested its international registration at the International Bureau of WIPO, which keeps the International Register of Appellations of Origin – thus, chulucanas must be protected in all countries of the Lisbon system. There are 28 members and 6 are from Latin America.

EU on GIs
In the EU GIs are regulated separately from the TM system. Wines and aromatised wines - Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and 251/2014; Spirits - Regulation (EC) No 110/2008; and Agricultural products and foodstuffs - Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. There is no protection for handicraft (as there is in Peru). However, EU is discussing the extension of GIs to protect non-agricultural products as well (see the 06/10/15 resolution adopted by MEPs). Around 25 per cent of the registered GIs in Latin America are for non-agricultural products. This is not a contravention. Actually the TRIPS Agreement and the Lisbon Agreement invite Member States to protect GIs. These agreements do not differentiate among GIs for agricultural and non-agricultural products. Yet in the Doha Round two matters were raised in regards to GIs: 1) Extending the higher level of protection beyond wines and spirits; and 2) to establish a multilateral register of GIs for wines and spirits which would be legally binding for all WTO members.

Source INDECOPI.

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Peru: speeding up and cooperating

Peru: speeding up and cooperating

Patricia Covarrubia   October 29, 2015   No comments:

From October 5 to October 14, 2015 took place the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO: Fifty-Fifth Series of Meetings (Geneva, Switzerland).

At the meeting the Peruvian National Institute for the Defence of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) signed three international cooperation agreements on intellectual property with European institutions in order to promote and increase the use of industrial property system and the protection of it.

The Agreements

1. - Memorandum of Understanding with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) to establish an accelerated patent procedure i.e. Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).

Indecopi reports that this agreement is important since it will “increase efficiency in the process of patent applications, thus advancing towards a further reduction in processing time for them.” Currently the procedure is done in 36 months. Moreover, there exist the “possibility that the Peruvian inventors obtain a faster and exclusivity protection of their inventions in Spain” and giving an opportunity to enter their products to the rest of the European market.

2.- An institutional Cooperation Agreement signed with the National Institute of Industrial Property of France (INPI), in order to create mechanisms of collaboration and support for Peru on intellectual property.

3.- Memorandum of Understanding with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) of the European Union was signed, to join efforts and achieve greater efficiency in the protection of rights under trade marks and design rights.

Source Indecopi.

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Brazil: A blue cheese joins the carnival

Brazil: A blue cheese joins the carnival

Patricia Covarrubia   February 11, 2013   No comments:

The Brazilian Journal of Industrial Property issued by the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) has published, on February the 5th, the acceptance as a Geographical Indication (GI) in the form of Denomination of Origin (DO) of Roquefort.

The cheese Roquefort is one of the most world renowned (French) blue cheeses which originates in the region of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in southern France, matured in underground cellars where the exposure of the fungus Penicillium appears giving the product its uniqueness taste.

Roquefort is protected in the EU [Official Journal L148 21.06.1996; latest Official Journal L257 25.09.2008] and is listed on the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia, Peru and the EU.

Source INPI.

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President of Brazil visits France with GI in hand

President of Brazil visits France with GI in hand

Patricia Covarrubia   December 18, 2012   No comments:

The Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) reports the official visit to France of Mrs Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil. The Brazilian President handed to her French counterpart, President François Hollande, the Certificate of Designation of Origin (DO) for sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region.

The document was issued the 11th of December by INPI’s President, Jorge Ávila. It is said that the certificate was the result of 5 years co-operation between INPI France and INPI Brazil as well as the Committee Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC). The French President said that this recognition 'was an honour for the French ' and acknowledged Brazil’s improvement in relation to the protection of geographical indication (GI).

Moreover, the director of INPI France encouraged French producers to obtain legal protection of their GI in Brazil stating that the two offices are “highly engaged in the development of cooperation between the two countries to boost growth and mutual respect of interests”. On the other hand, INPI’s Brazil president said that the Brazilian cultural diversity has “immense potential of geographical indications and designations of origin. We have worked hard to spread among domestic producers to use this system as a national economic asset”.

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Brazil on promoting and encouraging

Brazil on promoting and encouraging

Patricia Covarrubia   March 07, 2012   No comments:

Two different events but covering the same matter i.e. IP promotion, have occurred this month in Brazil. Indeed, the Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propiedad Industrial (INPI) keeps promoting and encouraging innovation in Brazil. The action taken by Brazil this week covered the following:

Brazil and WIPO

An agreement is on its way. The Federal Government of Brazil and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will expand IP cooperation between Brazil and the developing countries within South-South - especially in Africa. The role of Brazil is to lead as a supplier of aid and resources. The collaboration will be in the second half of this year, in Mozambique, where the English-speaking African countries will indicate Brazil as International Authority for International Search and Preliminary Examination for the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). As it is common, the Brazilian partnership will include several activities such as technical cooperation with the national intellectual property offices, conducting courses and events, production of informational materials and discussion on the future of the international IP systems.

Brazil and France
Brazilian’s INPI and the French Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (also INPI) held on March 2nd, the Innovation and Intellectual Property Workshop, in Rio de Janeiro. The event was aimed at discussing issues related to green patents and promoting the exchange of experience between the offices. Opening the event, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister and 1st Vice President of the Senate, and Fondation Prospective et Innovation’s President, stressed the importance of adding aptitude to innovation and noted that this objective will be achieved by the establishment of partnerships and multilateral and bilateral agreements, being these one of the ways to form a global thinking in innovation and industrial development. To this, the INPI Patent’s director, Mr Julio Cesar Moreno, added that Brazil, which has been an innovator in research issues and sustainability, has ceased to be a spectator to be a well known exporter of this idea. Patricia Carvalho Reis, Brazilian INPI’s researcher also commented on green patents and stressed the importance of these patents to the economy mentioning that the project will ensure more flexibility in the examination of patent applications related to clean technologies. Then, the CEO of GDF SUEZ, Gerard Mestrallert intervened noting that there is the need also to “find new methods of innovation for the distribution of gas, water and electricity in order to create a new relationship between population and consumption of these networks”.

Source INPI.

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Plum D’Agne - Geographical Indication: Chile’s sweet and tasty business

Plum D’Agne - Geographical Indication: Chile’s sweet and tasty business

Patricia Covarrubia   July 05, 2010   No comments:

On May 14, farmers in the area of D'Agen in France formally requested the Geographical Identification (GI) for Prunes D’Agne in Chile. If the registration succeeds, this will prevent the domestic industry to market the product under that name. The request was formalized by publication in the Official Journal in Chile. Note that ‘Pruneaux d'Agen’ is a registered PGI in the EU since 2002 and also in France as GI since 1999.

The article in the 'Revista del Campo' by the newspaper 'El Mercurio' mentions that the name has become almost a generic name for dried plums and that is used internationally by many countries. In Chile, almost all its production is being exported under that name. The Association of Processors and Exporters of Chile Prunes (Apecs) explains that over 90% of it production goes under the name D'Agen and the rest is under the name/type ‘President’.


Representatives of D'Agen in France argue that the production of that area has specific qualities and other markets have used the name to take advantage. The petition states that "the New World producers (Chile, Argentina, California, Australia and South Africa) have tried to link their products with the image of the French plums, using the same name." He continues to say that the production process in France is twice more expensive than in California, three times more than in Chile and five times more than Argentina, which would justify its request that only they can market it - it is not the same product.

Chile is the second largest producer of dried plums in the world, after California. It reported revenues of U.S. $ 120 million annually. It is reported that France does not export because it uses its production to supply the high domestic consumption.

The Chileans are looking for tools to oppose the measure and defend a market that for the past eight years has had tremendous growth in the continent. They have until July 23 to respond on the request.

A note in GI – the EU and Chile
Chilean producers may oppose to registration under Ley 20160 (modifying Ley 19039 – Propiedad Industrial). They can argue for instance:

Article 95 .- It cannot be recognized as geographical indications or appellations of origin
signs or expressions:
[...] d) that are common or generic as to distinguish the product concerned, it being understood
those that are considered as such by connoisseurs of matter or the general public, unless it has been recognized as a geographical indication or Appellations of Origin under an international treaty ratified by Chile.. "

Chile and the EU has in place a Free Trade Agreement in which there is a specific section which cover GI but only regarding ‘wines and spirits’ (section 6, Annex V and VI) – no agriculture and foodstuff were discussed.

The EU pushing?
Back in October 2009, the blog reported the intention of the EU to re-negotiate GI in the dairy product. The Chilean producers refused such negotiation. Would this be the way? At this stage, I believe that by looking for individual and national registration is the way to go. However it is indeed tedious and expensive and it would be for every producer to do so - there are more than 900 agriculture and foodstuff products registered at the EU level.

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