IPTango

Thursday, 11 December 2008

Trade Mark Office can't rule on copyright infringement

Jeremy December 11, 2008 No comments:

A Peruvian Administrative Court has declared a resolution of the Trade Mark Office void for having exceeded its legal competence under the law. In February 2007 Enrique Pajuelo Escobar applied to register as a trade mark for building materials for the construction industry (Class 19) a word and design mark LADRILLOS FORTE. Cementos Lima SA opposed, citing its earlier registered trade mark for the letters CL and design, maintaining that this design was protected as a literary work and that the mark applied for was confusingly similar to both its mark and its design. The Copyright Office confirmed to the Trade Mark Office that the Cementín design was protected as a literary work. The latter however rejected Cementos's opposition and allowed registration of LADRILLOS FORTE, rejecting the finding that Escobar's mark was confusingly similar to Cementos's earlier mark or design (regarding the designs, the Trade Mark Office held that there was no infringement either).

The Administrative Court overturned the resolution of the Trade Mark Office, holding that the Copyright Office was the only authority competent to determine whether a specific sign or mark infringed third party copyright. The Trade Mark Office had thus exceeded its competence in comparing Escobar's mark, as it was not empowered to do so under the law.

Source: note by Gonzalo Ferrero Diez Canseco, Lema Solari & Santiváñez, Lima, in World Trademark Review.

It may work in practice -- but does the law protect it?

Jeremy December 10, 2008 No comments:

"Branding by the nose in Brazil", by Ana Paula Palombo Terzi and published here on BrandChannel, is an enjoyable read on the importance of scent and smell in branding -- a field in which Brazi leads the way. She writes (among other things):

"“Big global brands set the trend which spurred scent marketing in Brazil. Brazilian brands, big and small, are now creating their olfactive logo, a scent signature which helps generate brand recall,” explains Elaine De Oliveira, olfactive marketing consultant for Biomist, one of the pioneers of scent marketing in São Paulo, Brazil.

Marcelo Ginzberg from Air Berger, a French consulting firm that established an office in Brazil in June 2008, says, “A wide variety of businesses have been adopting olfactive logos—hotels, spas, medical facilities, pharmacies, gyms, restaurants, banks and supermarkets have capitalized on scent marketing to attract consumers.”

“Our culture is highly sensorial in many aspects,” says Janice Zanatta, olfactive marketing consultant for Good Smell Consultoria in Curitiba, Brazil. “Its colors, rhythms, textures and forms require a great spectrum of scents to express and communicate all this diversity.” Zanatta believes the growing interest in scent marketing in Brazil is a direct reflection of the country’s diverse and complex culture. She cites as an example Les Lis Blanc, a Brazilian fashion brand, with credit for linking its olfactive logo to its consumers’ positive experiences with the brand.

Brazilian baked goods brand Bauducco also strategized with olfactive marketing to appeal to a younger demographic in Brazil. A chocolate fragrance was diffused into movie theaters at the same time they ran a preview commercial for its signature product, the panettone. The campaign was a success".

What this article doesn't discuss is the extent -- if at all -- to which Brazilian law protects a business that uses olfactive logos against competitors who do the same. Perhaps some of IP Tango's readers would like to answer that one! You can post your comment below or email it to Jeremy here.

Colombian trade marks just got a little slower ...

Jeremy December 08, 2008 No comments:

A decision of the Colombian Trade Mark Office on 16 October 16 means that the Office will now wait a minimum of six months from the filing date of a trade mark application before deciding upon its fate. This period corresponds to the term granted within which third parties may file applications for registration claiming priority from applications filed in another country -- but the office will wait for a minimum of six months even where the application has been published and no opposition has been filed. This approach is derived from the Office's interpretation of Article 9 of Andean Community Decision 486 on a Common Industrial Property Regime.

Source: article in World Trademark Report by Margarita Castellanos (Castellanos & Co, Bogota).

Brazil ponders pharma patent exclusions

Jeremy December 03, 2008 No comments:

Claudia Jurberg, writing in Intellectual Property Watch, reports that Brazil’s lower house of Congress held a hearing last month in which it discussed proposed changes to rules on pharmaceutical patents that would limit patents on (i) second-use drugs and (ii) polymorphs.

Both these areas are controversial. Critics say that second-use drugs are not truly novel or inventive because their medicinal function is already known, while polymorphs are just a way of retaining patent protection in respect of different versions of the same product. Supporters however point out that the costs of R&D and trialling of any drug are immense and the return is uncertain: absence of patent protection will steer R&D away from getting more and better uses from existing products which have known therapeutic effects, which may not be advantageous for patients.

Controversia por la Denominación de Origen ”Chile Habanero”

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb) December 02, 2008 2 comments:

El gobierno de Quintana Roo informó que la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) dio entrada a la demanda de controversia constitucional que interpuso por la denominación de origen del chile habanero otorgada sólo a Yucatán.

Derivado de la Publicación en el Diario Oficial de la Federación con fecha 10 de octubre de 2008 de la Declaración de Origen Chile Habanero de Yucatán que afecta intereses de los productores de Chile Habanero de Campeche y Quintana Roo, el Estado de Quintana Roo ha promovido diversas acciones legales tendientes a revertir el grave efecto en México y el extranjero de tal Declaratoria ocasiona a los productores locales.

Los gobiernos de ambos estados han mostrado su inconformidad porque el Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) emitió la denominación a favor solamente de Yucatán y no contempló a Quintana Roo y Campeche, donde también se produce el picante.

Según sus representantes, ambos estados cumplieron oportunamente con los requisitos exigidos por el IMPI para adherirse a la denominación de origen.

La SCJN acordó suspender todo acto relacionado con la denominación de origen del chile habanero hasta que se resuelve la controversia constitucional.

Obviamente dicha resolución no afecta a México en cuanto a la tenencia de esta Denominación de Origen, toda vez que existen innumerables fuentes que indican la pertenencia del chile habanero a la cultura maya.

Agradecemos a nuestros compañeros y amigos de ALHEN por la información proporcionada. Seguro que nos mantendrán informados de los pormenores del asunto.

Brazil, Canada strike innovation deal

Jeremy December 01, 2008 No comments:

The Meridian Institute reports that Brazil’s Minister of Science and Technology and Canada’s Minister of International Trade have signed the Canada-Brazil Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovation. This agreement seeks to increase bilateral research and development (R&D) in several science and technology areas -- these include nanotechnology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information and communications technology. Canada is to contribute US$1.5 million to the agreement over the next two years, funding up to half the R&D arrangement costs between Canadian and Brazilian governments, academic, research institutes, and industry.

What will be interesting to see is how much of this money actually ends up in R&D rather than in paying for infrastructures and establishment costs, and what happens to the IP rights in any results of the innovation in question.

Get more involved, Gurry tells LA

Jeremy November 27, 2008 No comments:

A news item in Managing Intellectual Property Week informs IP Tango that WIPO Director General Francis Gurry has urged Latin American countries to participate more actively in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This call was made by video-link during the recent ASIPI 14th Work Session and Administrative Council Meeting during an all-day colloquium on the PCT.

TLC China-Perú entrará en vigor en 2009 / China Peru FTA to enter into force in 2009

Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella Martinez November 25, 2008 No comments:

Gracias al IP-Dragon, un interesante blog sobre propiedad intelectual en China, en IP Tango hemos sabido que, en la cumbre de la APEC celebrada en Lima la semana pasada, los representantes de la delegación china y el gobierno peruano han acordado celebrar un acuerdo de libre comercio. Dicho acuerdo, entre otros aspectos, incluirá disposiciones en materia de propiedad intelectual y aduanas y se tiene previsto que entre en vigor en 2009. La noticia suministrada en el IP-Dragon incluye también un enlace a un interesante Informe sobre la viabilidad de este acuerdo donde se tratan cuestiones de

propiedad intelectual (pp 137 - 141).

Costa Rica approves CAFTA

Jeremy November 25, 2008 No comments:

Via Conservation Commons comes "Indigenous knowledge safe — for now" by María Flórez-Estrada, Yorleny Gamboa. This piece explains that Costa Rica has approved the last of 13 laws to implement the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA), concluding just over a year of intense debate and two postponements. On IP the text reads:

"The final law —- and one of the most hotly debated —- originally included an article that would have risked intellectual property rights for Costa Rica’s indigenous population. But a last-minute omission of the article allowed for the law to pass.

That first version of the proposal, dubbed “the sweeping bill” for the number of issues it grouped, called for allowing private companies to limitless patents of animal and vegetable species, a clear threat to ancient knowledge, specifically of medicinal plants".

This proposal was reportedly rejected by the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber for failure to consult the country´s indigenous peoples.

Adhesión de El Salvador del TLT

Ninoshka Urrutia November 24, 2008 No comments:

El pasado 14 de noviembre entró en vigencia en El Salvador el Tratado sobre el Derecho de Marcas de 1994 (TLT por sus siglas en inglés) y su Reglamento. Con El Salvador son 42 estados los contratantes de este Tratado el cual es administrado por la OMPI. Por lo anterior, los únicos países centroamericanos que quedan pendientes de ratificar dicho Tratado con ocasión del DR-CAFTA son Guatemala y Nicaragua. Algunos consideran que este tratado es obsoleto porque mucho de su contenido ya se encuentra en el Tratado de Singapur (2006) el cual aún no ha entrado en vigor por ser muy pocos los países que forman parte de este. En todo caso y mientras El Salvador y el resto de países de la región centroamericana formen parte de este último tratado, el TLT tiene algunas ventajas como la aplicación del sistema multi-clase (el cual ya es posible en Nicaragua) y su posterior división por causas como una posible oposición; la no obligación de legalizar los poderes otorgados en el extranjero hasta los respectivos consulados aunque en este caso tanto El Salvador como Honduras ya son parte de la Convención de la Apostilla. El TLT no se aplicará a los hologramas ni a las marcas que no consistan en signos visibles (marcas sonoras y olfativas) ni a las marcas colectivas yde certificación y garantía.

Some IPTango moves

* Listed as one of the "Best blogs on Intellectual and Industrial Property Law". The University of Alicante Intellectual Property & Information Technology Project (UAIPIT).

* One of the only two Latin American blog listed in the "Top 100 Intellectual Property Blogs". Feedspot, as of May 2021.

* Listed as one of the "Top 15 Blogs For An Intellectual Property (IP) Enthusiasts". Buzzfeed.com, January 2017.

* Listed as one of the "World's Best IP Blogs". BananaIP.com, December 2015.

* IPTango founder Professor Jeremy Phillips was listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Listed as one of the "Influential intellectual property blawgs". A Dictionary of Intellectual Property Law, Peter Groves, 2011.

* Listed as one of the "Communities of Blawgers". Los blogs jurídicos y la web 2.0. para la difusión y la enseñanza del derecho, Gonzalo Ramírez Cleves, 2010.