Honduras complains against Australia's 'plain packaging' rules for tobacco products

Honduras complains against Australia's 'plain packaging' rules for tobacco products

Jeremy   April 06, 2012   No comments:

Honduras announced last week that it was seeking formal consultations with Australia under the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement procedures. The small Central American state maintains that Australia’s public health law -- which requires tobacco to be sold in plain packaging --is in breach of its TRIPS obligations. The complaint is driven by concerns that Honduran tobacco exports will be adversely affected.

Honduras's announcement coincided with the end of discussions at the World Health Organization (WHO) concerning a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.  The proposed Convention, which will cover illicit trade in tobacco but will not be specifically directed at trade mark and intellectual property issues, pits countries with health issues arising from tobacco consumption against tobacco producing nations.

Source: William New, "Honduras Files WTO Dispute Case Vs. Australia Over Tobacco IPR", Intellectual Property Watch, here.

Read More

Appealing against Honduras office decisions? You'd better be quick

Appealing against Honduras office decisions? You'd better be quick

Jeremy   April 04, 2011   No comments:

The Honduras Code of Civil Procedure, passed as long ago as 2007, finally came into operation on 1 November 2010. The new code shortens the term for appealing against decisions of government agencies, including the Department of Intellectual Property.

The new Code reduces the deadline to one month from service of the administrative decision. Appeals must now be filed before a specialized Contentious Administrative Court, whose decisions are themselves subject to review by the Court of Contentious Administrative Appeals.

Source: INTA Bulletin, 1 April 2011, Vol. 66, No. 7

Read More

Honduras grants Denomination of Origin ‘tequila’ to Mexico

Honduras grants Denomination of Origin ‘tequila’ to Mexico

Patricia Covarrubia   May 06, 2010   No comments:

Tequila the oldest denomination of origin (DO) in Latin America has been successfully registered at the Patent and Trade Mark Office in Honduras.

Honduras is a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) forms part of its domestic legislation. To this effect, the Honduran Law on Industrial Property, Decree No. 12-99-E affords protection in the form of denomination of origin, and prohibits the use, in the trading of goods, of a false or misleading appellation of origin.

Note that Honduras has one single protection regime for geographical indications, contained in the Industrial Property Law, Decree No. 12-99-E, mainly Chapter V, Articles 123 to 133, and Decree No. 16-2006, the Law to Implement the Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States, Section III, Articles 14 and 15.

No more than one domestic DO has been registered: MARCALA, for coffee grown in a particular geographical area of Honduras.

This year two Tequila's drink were awarded golden and silver medals for spirit drinks by the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Others countries where this DO has been registered are: Canada, UE, China, Ecuador and Uruguay.

Read More