A helping hand for enterprises.

A helping hand for enterprises.

Patricia Covarrubia   August 05, 2016   No comments:

We heard from Brazil that the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES)) and the Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep)) have approved and supported 27 business plans (12 of which are SMEs). The BNDEs together with Finep run a project called ‘Plan to Support the Development and Innovation of Chemical Industry (Padiq)’. The business plans presented will now receive investments of Brazilian Real $ 2.4 billion (approx. US Dollar $ 748,479,935.54 USD).
INPI played a role in this selection by “focusing on the technical state of the technologies involved, verifying aspects of innovation and assessing technological risks and the potential impact of the introduction of technology.”

The approved business plans include: replacement of potentially allergenic or carcinogenic products; development of carbon fibres for sectors such as: aerospace, automotive, sporting, and industrial and wind; and the development of fragrances from fruits, flowers and plants.

Another windy day at home!

Ms Prates from BNDES attended the presentation and noted that “the country must, among its priorities, increase investment in research, development and innovation, and increase the number of patents.”

Added to this, another project was presented called Plano de Desenvolvimento, Sustentabilidade e Inovação no Setor de Mineração e Transformação Mineral (Sustainability and Innovation in Mining and Mineral Processing Industry (Inova Mineral)). This project as noted in this event, support business plans in the area of generation of solar and wind energy as well as energy storage required by electric cars. INPI will also play a role in the selection of business plan which will be , which will receive investments contribution of R $ 1.18 billion by Inova Mineral, and investments of R $ 3.58 billion by BNDES and Finep. Application of business plans will be received from September.

Source INPI.

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Peru: promoting IPRs to citizens

Peru: promoting IPRs to citizens

Patricia Covarrubia   August 04, 2016   No comments:

Two sets of news caught my attention from the Peruvian IPO (INDECOPI)’s newsroom. Both of them in a way incentive and promote IP. This endorsement is needed in countries such as Peru and is a good example to follow by other countries. Measuring the strength of IP protection cannot and should not be only based on laws as written but the enforcement and government effectiveness play crucial roles. Added to this, the role of the society is a huge factor, the culture of the society, meaning if actually citizens have confidence in and abide by the rules.

At the moment I am supervising a master student who is writing a dissertation on the film industry in Nigeria (NOLYWOOD) showing an appalling illegal trade in pirated DVDs and the like. One of the major problems that can be seen is the lack of public IP awareness. Certainly, it is essential to raise IP mindfulness citizens.

The two news go as follow:

1. “Indecopi rewards journalists … winners of the National Journalism Contest on Intellectual Property”. This initiative was a join initiative led by Indecopi together with the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham - Peru) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The awards were given to journalists whose works included national rural producers’ entrepreneurs and innovators who use IP tools as an incentive for economic development. Another winner story tells us the experience of a Peruvian designer who conquer national and international markets with its recognized mark. Other excellent stories worth of prizes were: a TV report: What is biopiracy? and a Radio broadcast: Development of Peruvian women in the field of invention and patents.
2. “Indecopi presents online radio program aimed at promoting the use of the patent system in the country”. The radio program named “Patents NET” airs every Thursday at 4:30 pm: either by the online signal Radio Indecopi OR via Facebook at www.facebook.com/cnapi.pecon. The program is aimed to promote the use of the patent system in the country bringing to citizens, the scope, benefits and experiences related to the use of the patent system. The program is run by specialists broadcasting issues related to the patents, industrial designs, and certificates of breeders of new plant varieties, among others. The program also includes interviews with local inventors and guests specialists in the field of science, innovation and research. Listeners can interact with questions and comments live.

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Chilean Sello de Origen: Adding value to heritage products

Chilean Sello de Origen: Adding value to heritage products

Patricia Covarrubia   July 27, 2016   1 comment:

This week I received my WIPO Magazine and I was happy to see that Chile made the front cover. I immediately recognised the words Sello de Origen and of course, quickly I went to read the article titled ‘Adding value to Chile’s heritage products with the Sello de Origen’. I felt that I was reading the iptango in a nutshell -- from day one we have cover the news starting from ‘pica’ lemon (Chilean first GI, 2010) to their lovely ‘paine’ watermelons (last GI recorded, 2016). We have also covered other products that are still recognised by the Sello de Origen and thus, we have covered AOs, certification and collective trade marks. For those that are not familiar with this program, The Chilean Ministry of Economy together with the Chilean Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Industrial (INAPI) launched a program aiming to promote traditional products through the grant of Geographical Indication (GI), Appellation of Origin (AO), Collective Trade Marks and/or Certification Marks.

The magazine article puts forward how the program operates and brings a case study i.e. the salt of Cahuil (AO, 2013), and how successful Sello de Origen has been for their trade.

The article finishes with some of the words that we use when covering GI in general, which is that GI (in this case Sello de Origen) is a “tool for adding value to the products of …rich heritage”. When explaining the case study, the article acknowledges that the local producers are trying to develop tourism in the region and that they look to capitalize on their product and to encourage younger generations to keep the tradition which helps their future. However, the article does not cover any spoiler. And we all know that GIs do not work for everyone.

Actually, part of the Sello de Origen project is, in its first step, to identify the products, but then, there is a selection process (second step), where products are singled out if they are ‘worthy’ of IP protection. Then the question is: what is to be worthy? Any product which is the creation of a person or group of people not only is worthy of protection but must be protected. This is, if I am not mistaken, the bare notion of IP and its regulation i.e. is a set “of the intangible products of human creativity” (Abbott, Cottier & Gurry) and “Intellectual property law regulates the creation, use and exploitation of mental or creative labour” (Bently & Sherman).

While any product is worthy there is indeed the issue of GI which apart from using it as a tool for enhancing cultural value, it can sometimes have a negative effect since some of these products are created or extracted by farmers or small communities where the value given to the product is given by its uniqueness. If production is pushed and rushed due to demands, individuality will be lost -- as we are reminded in the case studies of Chulucana in Peru and Tequila in Mexico.


This last comment is not of detriment to the Sello de Origen program, on the contrary, it has been always supported by the blog. But it would be correct to see that projects and campaigns also put in ‘black and white’ the flaws and problems that SMEs may face.

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Perú – Creación de Juzgados Penales especializados en Propiedad Intelectual

Perú – Creación de Juzgados Penales especializados en Propiedad Intelectual

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)   July 26, 2016   No comments:

Gracias a nuestros amigos de Clarke, Modet & Co., nos hemos enterado que mediante la Resolución Adminsitrativa Nº 153 2016-CE-PJ, el Poder Judicial de Perú dispuso la creación del 1º y 2º Juzgado Penal Supraprovincial con Subespecialidad en Delitos Aduaneros, Tributarios, de Propiedad Intelectual y Ambientales del Departamento de Lima y la Provincia Constitucional del Callao, a cargo de la Corte Superior de Justicia de Lima.

Los Juzgados tendrán plena vigencia a partir del 1 de agosto de 2016, siendo que el Juzgado Penal Transitorio Especializado en Delitos Aduaneros, Tributarios, de Propiedad Intelectual de Lima y Callado, deja de tener competencia para atender el trámite de los delitos aduaneros, tributarios y de propiedad intelectual.

El poder judicial dispuso la creación de ambos juzgados a fin de poder atender con mayor celeridad y eficacia los procesos judiciales relacionados con los delitos tributarios, aduaneros y de mercado, producto del contrabando, generado principalmente por la falta de control de las fronteras, terminales marítimos, aéreos y carreteras; piratería y operaciones comerciales no reales; minería ilegal, tala y pesca ilegal, que en muchos casos generan contaminación en el medio ambiente por los desechos tóxicos y/o contaminación arrojados a la atmósfera, océano, ríos y lagos, originando un grave perjuicio al ecosistema y economía del país.

Sin duda una gran noticia, esperemos que los titulares de derechos de propiedad intelectual puedan beneficiarse positivamente de la creación de estos juzgados.

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IMPI VS REPUVE: DE LOS EXCESOS AL ABSURDO JURÍDICO

IMPI VS REPUVE: DE LOS EXCESOS AL ABSURDO JURÍDICO

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)   July 21, 2016   No comments:

Durante décadas el Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (en adelante IMPI), se caracterizó por ser una institución transparente y de gran reconocimiento por sus criterios al momento de emitir resoluciones, que robustecían la generación de tesis y jurisprudencia en los Tribunales Federales.

Es así que incluso llevó a buen puerto en la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación temas trascendentes como la primer Controversia Constitucional en materia de Denominaciones de Origen de México, protegiendo a los productores de chile habanero la península de Yucatán.

Sin embargo, tal parece que algo se rompió en la actual administración, ya que desde el inicio de este periodo son muchas las voces que desde diversos medios de circulación nacional (aquí y aquí) e internacional (aquí) han acusado al Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial de favorecer a ciertos despachos y abogados con diversas resoluciones en materia de marcas y patentes.

Lo cierto es que, desde nuestra perspectiva, esas voces parecen llevar un cierto grado de verdad al presenciar asuntos como el que se contiene en el PC 1454/2015 (N-385) 11933 en el que se resuelve una acción de nulidad “de oficio”, y lo pongo entre comillas porque son contados los asuntos que el IMPI toma como oficiosos.

La marca REPUVE propiedad de un particular, desde 2009 ha venido ganándole todas las instancias a la Secretaría de Gobernación hasta lograr la firmeza de esas sentencias ante Tribunales Colegiados de Circuito. Sin embargo, a finales del 2015 el IMPI inició de manera oficiosa una nueva acción de nulidad de la marca reproduciendo prácticamente los argumentos y contenido de los procedimientos contenciosos y juicios previamente resueltos.

Al tratarse de las mismas partes, misma marca a anular e incluso los mismos argumentos, cualquier abogado promovería acciones para hacer valer la “COSA JUZGADA” o el principio “NON BIS IN IDEM”; sin embargo el IMPI de forma ruin, se desmarcó señalando que aún cuando la acción de nulidad la inicio la misma actora de los juicios anteriores, es decir, la Secretaría de Gobernación, ellos como autoridad la admitieron de forma oficiosa y por ello se asumen como actores, rompiendo esa identidad de partes.

Dicho esto, el IMPI se convierte en actor y autoridad resolutoria en un procedimiento totalmente ilegal, ya que, repito, el IMPI se asume como Juez y Actor a la vez, por lo que obviamente se resuelve a favor en menos de un mes un recurso que dilata generalmente entre 8 meses y un año.

Sin embargo, lo verdaderamente grave y absurdo de la situación recae en el fundamento de su declaración oficiosa de nulidad, en la que van más allá de la Ley y de la lógica y expresamente señalan que el REGISTRO PÚBLICO VEHICULAR es una ORGANIZACIÓN referida por una ASOCIACIÓN DE PERSONAS REGULADA POR UN CONJUNTO DE NORMAS EN FUNCIÓN DE FINES DETERMINADOS.

Esto lo sostiene el IMPI aún y cuando el legislador permanente en la Ley del Registro Público Vehicular vigente, expresamente define al Registro Público Vehicular como:

“Artículo 1.- La presente Ley tiene por objeto establecer y regular la operación, funcionamiento y administración del Registro Público Vehicular. Sus disposiciones son de orden público y de observancia general en todo el territorio nacional.

El Registro Público Vehicular es un instrumento de información del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública, que tiene como propósito otorgar seguridad pública y jurídica a los actos que se realicen con vehículos.”

“Artículo 7.- El Registro estará conformado por una base de datos integrada por la información que de cada vehículo proporcionen las autoridades federales, las Entidades Federativas y los sujetos obligados a realizar las inscripciones y a presentar los avisos, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en esta Ley.”

Es decir que el IMPI, en su exceso y absurdo proceder, otorga personalidad jurídica a un “instrumento de información” que se compone por bases de datos, lo que a todas luces constituye un fraude a la ley, y atenta contra el Estado de Derecho al atribuirse facultades legislativas que no son propias de un organismo público descentralizado.

Así de crítica está la situación en el IMPI, por lo que ahora deberán pronunciarse la Sala Especializada en Propiedad Intelectual y su caso los Tribunales Federales. Estaremos atentos.

* Nuevamente, como ya lo hicimos en nuestro post del 23/11/2015, invitamos a nuestros amigos del IMPI para que nos contacten y expongan su versión sobre este asunto.

Post preparado por Hugo Alday (Alhen Abogados) y publicado previamente en Lvcentinvs. 

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The quinoa boom - INDECOPI, a helping hand

The quinoa boom - INDECOPI, a helping hand

Patricia Covarrubia   July 20, 2016   No comments:

From Peru we heard that the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) is raising awareness about the implementation of collective marks and appellations of origin. This month, a talk was given to members of the Technical Bureau of ‘Quinoa’ in the ‘Puno Region’. [According to tripadvisor, "some of the 362 varieties of quinoa" grow in the Puno Region, Peru.]


The aim is to boost the collective mark ‘Aynok’ which was registered within the INDECOPI to distinguish processed quinoa. Yet, this is an ongoing technical advice to producers of quinoa from the Puno Region, so they “can obtain certification of organic products”.

The event is part of the framework of the 'Dissemination strategy and advocacy for Distinctive Signs - Strategic alliances with public and private organizations linked to the productive sectors'. Basically this agenda, developed by INDECOPI, aims to publicize the benefits that a sign may bring to the distinctiveness of a brand or a product, by labeling the place from which it originates.

INDECOPI reports that they are exploring “the feasibility of achieving the protection of a designation of origin for quinoa, in coordination with the "Budget Program PP 0035", carried out by the Regional Government Puno.”


INDECOPI acknowledges that there are many other bodies (such as “Ministry of Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), PromPeru, the Ministry of Environment (Minam), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Joint Andean Grains Program of the Office of the International Labour Organisation for Andean Countries”) which are participating and supporting the development of a distinctive sign for quinoa in the Puno Region.

Source INDECOPI.

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INPI's modernization under discussion

INPI's modernization under discussion

Patricia Covarrubia   July 14, 2016   No comments:

It is no news that the backlog of the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office ("INPI") is a major issue - possibly the most crucial one - within the Brazilian IP landscape. A possible lack of political interest in tackling the main problems within the INPI structure has been preventing any major developments. Nonetheless, Brazil is currently in times of change.

The undergoing impeachment procedure might affirm Temer, the current Acting President, as the man in charge and with it a new party in power (with possible new policies).

Taking the opportunity of these winds of change, several activities have been held to discuss the future of the country, and this is the same with IP. In an event held on July 8th in Brasilia, the "Business Mobilization for Innovation" ("MEI"), a group within the "National Confederation of Industry" ("CNI"), presented several proposals related to the goal of enhancing innovation in Brazil. Among those, the optimization of INPI was highly discussed.

The event had the presence of the Acting President, Michel Temer, who could hear about the current issues related to INPI. Besides him, the President of the INPI, Luiz Pimentel, was also present as well as many big political figures and around 150 leaders of major companies with activities in the country.

In a presentation held during the event, Pedro Passos, from the Brazilian cosmetic company Natura, highlighted the importance of reducing the backlog to stimulate innovation in Brazil, as well as the operational improvement of INPI. In the context of this debate, Robson Andrade, the chairman of the National Confederation of Industries of Brazil ("CNI"), said that Acting President Michel Temer pledged to discuss and support measures to promote innovation, including the reduction of the time for examining patents within the INPI.

It is important to highlight that the MEI has an agenda with six priorities, the first of which involves the Industrial Property, namely:
- Regulatory framework for innovation and industrial property;
- A governmental framework for innovation;
- Financing innovation;
- Global Integration via innovation;
- Human resources for innovation;
- Small and medium-sized innovative companies.

In a separate occasion, during an interview to CNI about the 20th anniversary of LPI, the President of the INPI noted that the improvement of INPI's operational performance is being done in four main areas: (1) increase in personnel, related to the hiring of staff already approved in the test; (2) optimization and automation of the examination process of applications for IP rights; (3) governance, related to improvement of the infrastructure and a search for the economic autonomy that is provided in LPI Art. 239; and (4) national and international cooperation to improve even more the quality of examinations, the training of the examiners and the awareness of the need for IP.

On July 11th, the President of INPI, Luiz Pimentel, and the Deputy Minister Fernando Furlan participated in a meeting of the Strategic Council of the Industry Federation of the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina. In this meeting, it was stated that the solution to the backlog and the valorization of the career of the examiners is a top priority of MDIC.

It is true that in early June INPI was able to hire 70 new patent examiners, bringing the tally to around 270 patent examiners. It is difficult to believe that this might have a direct impact on solving the backlog. INPI did take a large step in starting a PPH with the USPTO. However, considering that INPI only applications containing claims directed to oil, gas, or petrochemical inventions, only a couple of dozen cases have been accepted so far.

We do hope that Brazil can solve the current deadlock of the backlog of applications pending examination, but with the steps taken so far, it is still difficult to see how far ahead they can go. Let's hope that these winds of change may push INPI to different approaches that can be more pragmatic into solving this very complicated issue in Brazil.

Post written by Roberto Carapeto, Attorney at law at the Tokyo office of Licks Attorneys.

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