Brazil: refining procedures

Brazil: refining procedures

Patricia Covarrubia   July 13, 2017   No comments:

On July 11, INPI Resolution 199/2017 brought to the public a new examination guidelines for the registration of industrial property license agreements and registration of integrated circuit topography, technology transfer (TT) and franchising.

The new guidelines are in line with the amendments implemented through Instrução Normativa No. 70/2017 (effective since July 1st). According to the guidelines the process of registration is simplified, and also, it warranties the legal autonomy to the parties' will.

Chapter I covers ‘agreements signed or registered by INPI’. Some of the eye catching are three since they were not regulated before:

INPI will register: a) ‘Know-how’ contracts which includes the acquisition of knowledge and techniques not covered by IPRs or the provision of technological information for the production of goods and services [before this new Norm INPI neither annotated agreements nor issued certificate of registration for the license of non-patented proprietary technological knowledge]; and b) The contract or invoice for the provision of technical and scientific services that stipulates the conditions for obtaining techniques, planning and programming methods, research, studies and projects for the execution or provision of specialized services.
Technology export contracts are exempted from registration.

Chapter II covers ‘the application for registration or registration of contract’. Chapter III covers ‘the parties to the contract’. Of relevance is: ‘The contract must identify the parties to the contract and their legal representatives, name or denomination and the complete addresses, including, city, federation and the country’. In relation to parties domiciled abroad, they ‘must constitute and maintain a duly qualified attorney domiciled in the country, with powers to represent it administratively and judicially, including to receive summonses.' Note that contracts (license/assignment) regulated by this chapter will be granted by way of title and to be submitted to INPI. Chapter IV, V and IV cover 'the  terms', the certificate' (specifications that the certificate should contain), and finally the 'general and transitional provisions' respectively.

Source INPI.

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Exporting is Great

Exporting is Great

Patricia Covarrubia   May 24, 2016   No comments:

Last week the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) did a road-show around the UK. The campaign was regional focusing on trade and investment for Latin America.

I have the opportunity to make a presentation alongside the UKIPO as part of my role for the Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk and while the room was not packed the feeling was the same: is IP important for my company?

One of the key issues that Rahul Rahhavan (UKIPO) and I emphasised was that IP is territorial. And before that, it was important to point out that the protection of IP is essential for a company; be it a logo, slogan, the packaging, the invention, at the end it is your time and money that have been invested. It was your company that made such a product; your name, logo, colour are the ones that have made the public aware of ‘your’ good/service that differ from the competition. Why then not protect it?

In the road-show there were different representatives from Latin American countries. I have the opportunity to speak with the UKIT from Venezuela, Richard Hyde and talk about my beautiful home country: are there any opportunities for investment? As we all know, many Latin American countries are suffering from political issues and economic (in)stabilities and one cannot turn a blind eye on this. So, I rather not disclose Venezuela's state of affairs.

One of my roles was to address the weakness of IP in the region such as the backlog presented in some of the national IPO and the lack of specialised IP courts. But even so, it is good to see that the region has good legislations in place that fulfil international IP standards. Moreover, it is good to know that the majority are members of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (anyone from Argentina that can enlighten us on the country status? It appears that Argentina signed but has not ratified the Treaty as yet). There is also the possibility to include countries for the international trade mark registration system (Madrid system). This part went well since everything cannot be gloomy - otherwise will scare the UK to invest in our continent!

Hopefully after this event that took place in Cambridge, London, Reading and Midlands we will see some investors crossing the pond and interchanging some know-how, technology, and skills.

Thanks UKIPO for extending the invitation to the Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk. We are here to make it easier for SMEs to protect their IPR in our region.

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FTA Korea and Colombia: a success for DOs in coffee is expected

FTA Korea and Colombia: a success for DOs in coffee is expected

Patricia Covarrubia   February 27, 2013   No comments:

Last week, we finally witness the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and Colombia. Negotiations finished last year in June, and this month the Agreement was signed. It now goes for approval: in Colombia to the Congress and in Korea to the National Assembly.

According to the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), “the Asian market accounts for almost 60% of the world population and economies that have rapidly developed in recent decades”. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Díaz-Granados, said that the FTA will benefit all sectors. This is so, because the FTA includes trade in goods and services as well as investment and cooperation. It contains 22 chapters one of which is dedicated to Intellectual Property.

It is also good to note that Korea is a net exporter of capital (in 2012 goods bought represented USD $ 524,413,000) and a leader in technological innovation. Moreover, it is said that the Colombian mining and agriculture could have great opportunities in the Korean market. In the region, Chile (in 2004) and Peru (in 2011) do also have a FTA with Korea and the experience has been positive (e.g. Chile's agricultural sale to Korea has multiplied four times). Among the strong Korean industries are auto-mobiles  appliances, steel, some petrochemical products and textiles. Brands familiar to Colombians from the Korean market are Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo, LG Electronics, Posco, Poongsan, Golden-Oil and Skizen. For Colombia there are opportunities in pharmaceuticals, articles of iron or steel, artificial flowers, plastic in primary forms, cosmetics and toiletries. Coffee and coffee extracts are hoping to increase their market (in 2011 coffee alone represented USD $97 million in the Korean market and it is said that Korea plans to import about USD $ 1,000 million). In this line, it is established that all goods protected by SIC as a Denomination of Origin (DO) will be identified with this stamp and thus, protected under this Agreement e.g. ‘Cafe de Colombia’ and ‘Café de Nariño’.

The Minister asserts that consideration was given not only to entrepreneurs but also to workers and minorities including meetings with leaders of the labour unions and also with representatives of indigenous peoples. The latter being relevant due to the potential impact of mining that could have in their lands and also ensuring them the protection of theirs Dos such as ‘ Mochilas Wayuú’(backpacks), ‘Tejeduría Zenú’ (weaving), ‘Hamacas de San Jacinto’ (hammock), ‘Sombrero Aguadeño’ (hat), ‘Mopa Mopa Barniz-Pasto’ (polish of grass), among others. Regarding the cooperation it is said that the Korean government is creating mechanisms “to promote the transfer of know-how”.

Source SIC.
Q & A from the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism here.

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