IPTango

Thursday, 19 March 2009

Venezuela – Reply to third party oppositions, now mandatory in order to avoid abandonment

Sebastian Gonzalez - Yanes March 19, 2009 No comments:

The Venezuelan Patent and Trademarks Office (VPTO) has published an unprecedented decision (No. 782) dated February 18, 2009 and notified on the Official Gazette No. 501 dated March 02, 2009 by declaring 13.434 trademark applications as abandoned due to failure to timely reply against oppositions filed by third parties.

VPTO claims as basis to sustain decision no. 782; article No. 79 of our former National Industrial Property Law (1955) which was revived on September 17, 2008 in substitution of Decision 486 of the Andean Community.

During the applicability of the Andean Community regulations (Decision 344 and 486), applications that were subject to oppositions enjoyed the right to a suitable decision and examination by the board concerning absolute and relative grounds for refusal, even though the applicant had not filed a reply writ against the opposing party’s allegations.

In turn, our National Industrial Property Law in force, again, according to VPTO’s sole interpretation establishes on its article No. 79 that failure to submit a reply writ in defense to a third party opposition, will result in abandonment of the subject application.

The reported decision includes trademark applications with filing date ranging as far as from 1982 to 2008.

While this questionable decision may result in benefit for the opposing parties, many applicants will be affected, especially considering that a very high percentage of the oppositions were filed under the enforceability of the Andean Community regulations which did not provide, at that time, for this unexpected outcome.

The deadline to file appeal against this decision is on March 23, 2009

Uruguay signs up for WCT

Jeremy March 16, 2009 No comments:

By WCT Notification No. 74 it has been announced that the Eastern Republic of Uruguay
has deposited its instrument of ratification of the WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996. That Treaty will enter into force, with respect to Uruguay, on 5 June 2009.

Uruguay's ratification brings the number of WCT states up to 70 (click here for the complete list).

Patentability of polymorphs

Jeremy March 13, 2009 No comments:

Since 2001 the Health National Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) –- regarded as the Brazilian equivalent of the US's FDA -- has examined patent applications when the subject matter relates to pharmaceutical drugs and processes, along with the examination carried by the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO). Academics, patent agents and some industrial representatives have considered since then that ANVISA’s new role represents an interference with the BPTO’s powers to examine the patentability requirements, creating a double examination procedure.

Rivalry between the BPTO and ANVISA heated up with the debate started last year over the patentability of polymorphs. According to ANVISA, the patentability of polymorphs may lead to monopolies and represent an obstacle to universal access to medicines, as provided by the Doha declaration. For the BPTO, polymorphs are patentable: this approach gives pharmaceutical companies the confidence to keep on investing in research and development of new drugs.

It appears that neither party is willing to back away from its initial position, thereby generating a problem to patent applicants. Further, there is before the Brazilian Parliament a bill proposing that polymorphs should not be considered as an invention and thus not patentable. The same bill also addresses the issue of second medical use claims, whereby they are considered merely as discoveries. At this point, it seems that ANVISA's position is so far prevailing over the BPTO’s understanding on polymorph patentability, but the controversy is far from ending.

Source: Jorge Miguel Arruda da Veiga (Di Blasi Parente Vaz e Dias & Associados). More on polymorphism here

Ecuador: El gobierno utiliza la música de los Beatles sin autorización

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb) March 11, 2009 No comments:

Según nos informa Alfonso Rivera, el gobierno ecuatoriano ha utilizado el fondo musical de la canción “Hey Jude” de los Beatles para una campaña publicitaria sin los permisos pertinentes.

La música de Paul McCartney acompaña toda el anuncio de dos minutos y 30 segundos en la que en vez del estribillo 'Hey Jude' se escucha el de “re-vo-lu-ción ciudadana”, el proyecto bandera del presidente Rafael Correa.

Según el director de la Sociedad de Autores y Compositores Ecuatorianos (SAYCE), Gerardo Chávez, aún cuando la empresa responsable solicitó el permiso, la campaña empezó a ser difundida cuando todavía no había sido autorizada.

Además señala que en la petición se específica que la campaña iba a utilizar 20 segundos de la canción (de unos 7 minutos), pero “prácticamente suena toda, lo que debería ser autorizado, ya no por la SAYCE, sino por la Sociedad de Gestión Colectiva Británica”.

Gracias Alfonso por la noticia, nos vemos en Lima!!

ICANN: Nuevos dominios genéricos

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb) March 09, 2009 No comments:

Celebrada en la Ciudad de México la 34ª edición de la reunión mundial del ICANN, se ha anunciado la intención de aumentar los dominios genéricos abriendo las posibilidades no sólo a terminaciones de tres letras, sino a cualquier palabra

Para el 2010 se comenzarán a recibir postulaciones para los nuevos dominios que se empezarán a usar en lugar de los clásicos .com .net y similares. Pudiendo así encontrar dominios como .sexo .deporte .diario .tuciudad o lo que sea que se nos ocurra.

El coste del proceso no es nada económico, pues sólo por el desarrollo y validación de la propuesta hay que aportar 185.000 dólares, seguidos de 25.000 USD anuales en caso de aprobación.

Obviamente ya hay reacciones para todos los gustos, tanto del Vaticano como de grupos ecologistas, sin olvidar el interés declarado por los dominios .lat correspondientes a América Latina.

Chile signs up to PCT

Jeremy March 09, 2009 1 comment:

Chile became the 140th Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Contracting State on 2 March 2009. The PCT will enter into force for Chile on 2 June 2009. IP Tango learns that further information will be published in the March issue of the PCT Newsletter and in a WIPO Update.

Perú se adhiere al PCT / Peru joins PCT

Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella Martinez March 06, 2009 No comments:

Gracias a Nestor Morera (de Morera Abogados, Costa Rica) hemos sabido que Peru se ha convertido en el 141 Estado parte del Tratado sobre cooperación en materia de patentes (PCT). Perú depositó su documento de adhesión el 6 de marzo de 2009 y el PCT entrará en vigor para este Estado el 6 de junio de 2009. Asimismo, debe recordase que Chile también depositó su instrumento de adhesión que, como ya informamos en IP Tango, había sido aprobado por el senado en octubre de 2008.

Vanilla appellation given protection in Mexico

Jeremy March 06, 2009 No comments:

Earlier this week the Mexican Official Gazette published a declaration of protection for the Appellation of Origin Vainilla de Papantla for a “mature fruit derived from the orchid Vanilla planifolia Andrews [synonym of Vanilla fragans (Salisbury) Ames]”. This a sweet concentrated flavour, used as an ingredient in Mexican cuisine.

According to the Mexican Industrial Property Law, the Federal Government is the owner of the appellation and is empowered to grant licences to interested parties that comply with the requirements of the Mexican regulations. It is also the responsibility of the Federal Government to seek international protection through the Lisbon Agreement.

Source: information kindly supplied by Juan M. Alvarez del Castillo V (Cervantes, Aguilar-Alvarez y Sainz, SC).

Rediseñarán la Marca Turística de la Ciudad de México.

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb) March 03, 2009 No comments:

Hace algunos meses informamos sobre la convocatoria para elegir la marca turística de la Ciudad de México.

Bien, pues después de muchos problemas que se suscitaron en la elección del diseño ganador, como denuncias de plagio de imágenes con derechos de autor así como inconformidades acerca de la elección de finalistas y hasta una petición de re-evaluación del concurso, por fin la semana pasada se anunció al ganador.

No obstante, cuando se pensaba que ahí terminaba el asunto, ahora resulta que le harán algunas modificaciones. De acuerdo con el Secretario de Turismo, Alejandro Rojas Díaz Durán, el diseño ganador será sometido a mejoras pues su versión original no cumplía los requisitos para ser comercializado.

Concretamente se modificará la tipografía y los colores deslavados para dar a conocer por fin el diseño oficial el 18 de marzo. Aquí pueden verse todos los diseños participantes.

Authorities approve sale of Brisa brand in Colombia

Jeremy March 02, 2009 No comments:

The competition authority in Colombia has authorised Coca-Cola FEMSA and The Coca-Cola Company to acquire the Brisa bottled water business from Bavaria, a subsidiary of SABMiller. The price agreed for this brand, together with its associated business, is US$92m.

Agua Brisa's still, sparkling and flavoured waters are produced in 13 plants across Colombia, being sold in more than 230,000 outlets throughout the country. Brisa's operations in Panama are not included in this transaction.