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Thursday, 8 September 2011

Patricia Covarrubia

Same name, dress alike, sings alike? What is it? an avatar?

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Last week the Argentinean program "Pasion de Sabado” (Saturday’s passion) transmitted by America TV featured an Argentine musician who says "I am...Americo."

Now you may ask: who is Americo? He is a Chilean singer --real name Domingo Vega, who was successful at the last Festival of Viña del Mar. The singer's hits "Te Vas" and "traicionera" are successful in Argentina, so much that the show ‘Pasion de Sabado’ presented in his space ‘Americo’. The problem was that when presented, an Argentinean look alike and dress alike sang Americo’s songs and claimed that he was ‘Americo’. The real Americo was of course not impressed by this fake; in fact he was outraged by the impostor.

Domingo Vega's lawyers, and Sony Music that represents the artist in Argentina, will initiate legal action to collect information to ensure a civil suit against the Argentinean singer impersonation. Moreover, it is claimed that the Mark ‘Americo’ was already registered in Chile since 2010 and accepted by the Institute of Industrial Property earlier this year. In addition, registration was recently sought in neighbouring countries like Argentina, Peru and Bolivia - not yet approved.

On the other hand, José Luis Gonzalo, in charge of Viking Productions, who created the [fake I would say] character noted in that everything was in order, because he patented the name "Americo of Argentina."

The animator of the show also has his saying in this matter: Hernan Caire sees no need to apologize to Americo for having presented in the TV show this character. Mr Caire explained that the musician who played last Saturday the Chilean songs "was not a copy" of Americo, but only a musician doing a cover. "I do not think that is a copy. It's very similar, that I'm not going to deny it, but there are many groups and soloists who play others’ songs. He's not copying, it is a tribute".

A final say from the real Americo: "clearly this is not an imitation or a tribute, this has other intentions." If this were a soup opera I could hear now the background song: ‘money, money, money, always sunny’ by ABBA.

Sources: here, here and here.
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Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Chile: Primera solicitud de Marca de Certificación es para vinos

La Asociación Gremial Vinos de Chile A.G. presentó en el INAPI la primera solicitud de registro de una marca de certificación en Chile. 

La marca es la denominación "Certified Sustainable Wine of Chile" junto a su respectivo logotipo y tiene por objeto certificar los vinos chilenos producidos en aquellos campos y viñas productoras cuyos procesos cumplen con estándares de sustentabilidad en materias de medio ambiente y entorno laboral. Se busca que la marca de certificación presentada por Vinos de Chile sea utilizada públicamente, una vez obtenido su registro, por todas aquellas viñas cuyos procedimientos hayan sido certificados de acuerdo a los estándares de sustentabilidad predefinidos en el reglamento de uso y control que acompaña este registro de marca, y en el programa de certificación disponible en www.sustentavid.org , que promueve la asociación en conjunto con los consorcios Tecnovid y Vinnova.

El Director Nacional del INAPI, Maximiliano Santa Cruz, sostuvo que "esta primera solicitud merece el reconocimiento de ser el primer paso y una invitación concreta para que nuestros productores nacionales comiencen a utilizar esta herramienta. Este tipo de marcas asegura a los consumidores que los productos y servicios ofrecidos poseen características especiales, las cuáles son certificadas por el titular de la marca".

La Asociación Gremial de Vinos de Chile se constituyó en 2007, con el objeto de unificar los esfuerzos gremiales de la industria vitivinícola, que hasta ese entonces representaban las asociaciones gremiales Viñas de Chile A.G. y ChileVid A.G., contando actualmente con más de un centenar de viñas asociadas de todo el país.

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Patricia Covarrubia

Kellogg’s toucan is not a wren – the battle of logos

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Back in July this year, Maya Archaeology Initiative (MAI) received a letter from Kellogg’s lawyers asserting that MAI was using a logo (toucan) which infringes on its trade mark, a character called Sam – a colourful toucan. Therefore, the letter asked [did they ask? The majority of this letter are more of a ‘demand, don’t you think?’] MIA to stop using the logo that infringes its character, games and other promotional goods/services.

The signs and the goods/services:
Kelloggs’ logo: Toucan Sam is a cartoon character Kellogg introduced in 1963 that identifies its Froot Loops breakfast cereal. The toucan's beak is multicolored reflecting the multiple hues of the "O's" in the cereal.

MAI’s logo: toucan is based upon a realistic toucan endemic to Mesoamerica. The toucan in its logo is a more realistic bird, shown in front of a Maya pyramid. MAI is a non-profit project run by the World Free Press Institute (WFPI) that oversees the defence of the Mayan culture and the biosphere in Guatemala. The image appears on T-shirts, refrigerator magnets, coffee mugs and baseball hats given as premiums to the group's donors.

Playing dirty?
MAI was browsing the Kellogg’s web page went it found out that in the game ‘Adventure series’ the kids were playing in a Mayan setting and the only character of colour was the villain, an evil witchdoctor who cackles and steals.

Clay Haswell, chairman and co-founder of WFPI noted that "Suddenly, [this fight] became a little bit more important to us than protecting our trade mark". Explaining this comment he said he was sensitive to what he feels is a misrepresentation of Mayan culture through stereotypes. After this encounter, Kellogg responded promptly and took the game off of its website.


The battle continue...
For more information see here, here and here.

I just remember this passage: "The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch." (Shakespeare's Richard III).
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Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Jeremy

Brazil target by TW -- will others follow?

Olympic logo -- or
magnet for law firms?
In  a media release earlier this week, Anglo-German law firm Taylor Wessing announced the launch of its new Brazil Group, following the hire of a number of experts in the Brazilian legal market. Taylor Wessing has a noted intellectual property practice, which is reflected by the fact that, with local lawyers in Brazil being supported by their colleagues from Europe, London-based Rosario Valdez-Knight will be spearheading the group's international trade mark law practice.

IP Tango wonders whether this move will herald the beginning of a legal 'land-grab' of Latin America by European and US firms that don't yet have much of a presence there. With major international events ahead (the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games are both to be hosted by Brazil), the potential for heavyweight brand protection, broadcasting and licensing work is great -- and local lawyers under the control of head office can provide a potent combination of high quality work and low overheads.
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Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)

IX Congreso de la AAAML - “Marcas Turísticas: puerta para la inversión y la exportación de la identidad local”

La Asociación de Antiguos Alumnos del Magíster Lvcentinvs de la Universidad de Alicante, España (AAAML), organiza un interesantísimo evento sobre “Marcas Turísticas”, el cual se celebrará los días 13 – 15 de noviembre de 2011 en Cancún, México.

El IX Congreso Internacional de la AAAML contará con la participación de expertos y profesionales de todo el mundo vinculados al mundo del turismo y de la propiedad intelectual e industrial para analizar distintos aspectos de la marca turística.

Entre los ponentes figuran representantes de la Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM), del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI), de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI), de la Asociación Mexicana para la Propiedad Intelectual (AMPPI), Asociación Interamericana de la Propiedad Industrial (ASIPI), de la Asociación de Marcas Renombradas Españolas (AMRE), así como representantes de diversas marcas país o turísticas (Promperu, Cancún, Riviera Maya) y profesionales de marcas de diversos despachos de diferentes países).

Más información en: www.ml.ua.es/aaaml

El programa completo puede consultarse aquí.

Para contactar con los organizadores: aaaml@ua.es


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Patricia Covarrubia

IPRs infringement and compensation damages: are they hand in hand?

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The world well-known Konica Minolta - manufacturer of photocopies machines, filed a lawsuit for damages against Ativa. The defendant was importing and selling Minolta photocopies machines acquired from third parties, which were rebuilt - replacing defective parts. The reconstruction of the equipment, however, would be illegal because it was not authorized by the original company. Because of this, Minolta accused Ativa of product counterfeiting and unfair competition. The Trial Court held that there was an illegal practice.

While Ativa appealed before the Tribunal de Justiça do Amazonas (TJAM) the case became quite puzzling since the court denied compensation for lost profits and damages because the extent of damage - even if they exist, was not proved.

Both Ativa and Minolta appealed to the court. The first argued that there was not counterfeit, because the products were purchased from an authorized dealer, and that the original company cannot prevent the free movement of products on the market (Article 132, section III, Law 9.279/96 (the Industrial Property Law)). On the other hand, Minolta argued that the damage suffered was recognized by the state court.

At the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) the rapporteur of the case, Minister Luis Felipe Solomon explains that “ industrial property protection is a fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution”, and it was proven that Ativa violated this fundamental right (an IPR infringement). This is so, because Ativa imported used and reconditioned photocopiers and sold them using the Minolta trade mark, without control or warranty of the original trade mark owner.

The doctrine calls it trade mark dilution by obfuscation. Dilution is an abuse to the integrity of a distinctive sign (in this case, Minolta trade mark), which diminish the power of sale of that mark. One type of dilution - committed in this case - is obfuscation: loss of distinctive strength of a trade mark. According to the minister this happens when a sign is used to identify products from various sources. He continues to explain that if one can recondition products without submitting to the control and standards adopted by the trade mark holder it would caused confusion to consumers because they do expect certain standard of quality and reliability which is associated to the sign. [I believe we all agree with that, but was not the retailer authorised?]. Yet to show injury is no easy task, since damage is not always revealed in profits, "What is common sense is that to realise that the trade mark owner would have even greater profits if the infringement did not occur."

Finally the minister claimed that the state court has recognized the damage by “indicating some illegal conduct committed by the defendant” which makes clear “the obligation to indemnify." In other words, although there is no exact measurement of the damage, compensation can be upheld if the illegal practice has been recognized.

Source STJ.
Process No REsp 1207952.
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Monday, 5 September 2011

Jeremy

It's enough to make your hair stand on end!

Here's some welcome good news for IP rights owners in Venezuela: a court there granted French hair appliance maker Babyliss the opportunity to secure precautionary measures against a business located in the Punto Fijo free-trade zone, which led to the seizure of 588 counterfeit hair straighteners. The court ordered confiscation and destruction of the goods once they had been identified as counterfeit by an expert, and the defendant agreed to cease selling such goods.

Curiously, this decision was based on the provisions of the 1993 Copyright Law, which regulate precautionary measures in favour of IP rights holders, in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines which seek to make up for  deficiencies in the enforcement of trade mark rights. Orders of this nature are based on the analogy and close relationship between copyright and trade mark rights, taking into consideration the legal void resulting from the non-applicability in Venezuela of Andean Community Decision 486 on a Common Industrial Property Regime and the reluctance of Venezuela's National Assembly to pass a new IP law.

Source: "Court confirms protection of IP rights despite deficient legal framework", by Ricardo Alberto Antequera H (Estudio Antequera Parilli & Rodríguez, Venezuela), World Trademark Review, 2 September 2011
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Saturday, 3 September 2011

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

República Dominicana inaugura Academia Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual

La Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (ONAPI) inauguró el 29 de agosto la Academia Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual (ANPI), que operará en las instalaciones del Instituto de Comercio Exterior e Innovación (ICEI), del Centro de Exportación e Inversión de la Republica Dominicana (CEI-RD), con el apoyo de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI).

La academia es fruto de la "colaboración de instituciones nacionales e internacionales con un Convenio de cooperación firmado con el Director General de la OMPI, Sr. Francis Gurry, durante su visita al país en noviembre del 2010, así como a las alianzas de colaboración entre ONAPI y la ONDA y entre ONAPI y el CEI-RD, lo cual nos ha permitido dar el gran paso de materializar y lanzar este hermoso proyecto" indicó el Director General de la ONAPI Juan José Báez.

En el marco del lanzamiento de la ANPI, el Director de la Academia de la OMPI, Marcelo Di Pietro, dictó la Conferencia Magistral "La educación en Propiedad Intelectual en los países en Desarrollo". Di Pietro es responsable de los programas de enseñanza que imparte la OMPI, sobre temas de Propiedad Intelectual (PI), en respuesta a la creciente demanda de los Estados Miembros por adquirir conocimientos y aptitudes en este campo.

La ANPI es un centro de enseñanza especializado creado con el objetivo de ofrecer capacitación, formación e información de calidad para crear una cultura del conocimiento en materia de Propiedad Intelectual (PI), y además para aumentar sinergias con otras instituciones académicas nacionales e internacionales, responder a las necesidades de formación de la República Dominicana sobre propiedad intelectual y generar materiales didácticos. Contará con una biblioteca virtual con la totalidad de la documentación escrita hasta el momento acerca de Propiedad Intelectual. Operará en la Academia Nacional de PI y en el Centro de Apoyo a la Tecnología e Innovación (CATI), ubicado en el CEI-RD, inaugurado el pasado mes de junio, el cual favorece al estudiantado de varias universidades que han suscrito acuerdos con ONAPI.

Fuente: ONAPI
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Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Programa Iberoamericano de Propiedad Industrial y Desarrollo

Representantes de las oficinas de Propiedad Industrial de Argentina, España, México, Uruguay, Paraguay y Brasil se reunieron el día 3 de agosto de 2011, como continuación de la reunión realizada el 31 de marzo en Madrid, en la sede del Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (INPI) de Argentina. El objetivo del encuentro fue analizar el informe del Director Asesor Principal de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI), Ernesto Rubio, encargado de realizar un estudio que sirva de base para la elaboración de un Programa Iberoamericano sobre Propiedad Industrial y Desarrollo.

El Presidente del INPI de Argentina, Mario Aramburu, recordó que existe un mandato presidencial, formulado hace un año en la Cumbre de Mar del Plata, para la elaboración de este Programa y que hay un atraso en su concreción. De la misma reunión participaron autoridades de la OMPI y el Director de la División de Asuntos Económicos de la SEGIB (Secretaría General Iberoamericana), Federico Poli.

En la primera sesión, Ernesto Rubio de la OMPI presentó el informe de su estudio, en el cual remarcó las diferencias y las asimetrías en los distintos INPIs de la región en cuanto a la gestión de Propiedad industrial. También recalcó el fortalecimiento de los Institutos, especificando que el mandato contiene un fuerte componente tendiente a la creación de medidas o acciones que permitan el mayor uso de propiedad industrial en los sectores académicos, empresarios y especialmente en las Pymes. Es importante, sostuvo, que el fortalecimiento logrado no se remita sólo a los Institutos, sino que también a los usuarios.

Durante la segunda sesión, Rubio delineó los elementos esenciales que debería contener el Proyecto de Programa Iberoamericano que será presentado en la reunión que se celebrará en Buenos Aires en septiembre próximo.

En la reunión, Federico Poli (SEGIB), delineó el cronograma, los pasos a seguir y los requisitos que deben reunir los proyectos que serán discutidos y sometidos al comité de la SEGIB para su ingreso oficial a la Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno que se celebrará en Paraguay, los días 28 y 29 de octubre de 2011.

Esta reunión fue preparatoria de la que tendrá lugar en la misma sede del INPI Argentina los días 15 y 16 de septiembre próximos para acordar las bases de formulación del Programa Iberoamericano de Propiedad Industrial y Desarrollo en cumplimiento del Programa de Acción de Lisboa y de Mar del Plata.

Fuente: SEGIB
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Friday, 2 September 2011

Patricia Covarrubia

2012: welcome to e-patents Brazil

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Rio de Janeiro, August 28, the President of INPI, Jorge Avila, addressed during the XXXI World Intellectual Property Congress the Institute's Strategic Plan to reduce the backlog of patents. The changes include, for example, the establishment of e-Patents, which will allow the deposit via Internet from 2012 [hopefully the number does not refer to the global cataclysm].

Mr Avila mentioned that INPI has undergone some restructure to fit the reality of IP in the world where the trend is the increase in the volume of requests. The challenge is not only increasing the ability of a speedy process and examination but also to maintain the quality of service.
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