IPTango

Friday, 22 October 2010

‘Los 33’ and the Triumph of Values

Patricia Covarrubia October 22, 2010 No comments:

As everybody else I followed the Chilean miners rescue very close. It was I believe nothing to do with being ‘Latina’ but just a mortal, a human being. This blog has posted some news regarding the IP situation that this tragedy has brought, such as trade marks, domain names and movies.

The BBC news and CNN reported a new one: copyright. It appears that the message that announced the trapped Chile miners were alive and well is now copyright protected.

The note "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" ("We are well in the refuge the 33") was registered in the Chilean Intellectual Property Institute (INAPI) by Chilean writer Pablo Huneeus and on behalf of Mr Ojeda, who actually wrote the note.

Mr Hunneus idea is to protect Mr Ojeda’s right because the said message has been printed on t-shirts, posters, banners, mugs, and even used in advertising slogans. Therefore, he wanted to ensure that nobody misused the phrase.According to the news, Hunneus was “prompted to officially register the phrase after seeing Chilean President Sebastian Piñera handing out copies of the message to the British Queen and prime minister during his tour of Europe.” He adds, “I thought that's just too much".

Mr Ojeda, is reported to be grateful that no one else will profit from his words, and he apparently wants his note back.

The Chilean leader reportedly considers the message part of the national heritage.

Law and Values:
Chile is a contracting party of the Berne Convention, so in reality the registration is a mere formality – no obligation. Many countries choose to register because they believe that it confers an important means of proof of authorship or creation of a work. Yet, without registration if the note is copyright protected it is born automatically by the creation of it (in this case it is 22 August 2010).

Checking the INAPI I noticed that to register a work, one of the formalities is to submit a copy of the work. Hence, I wonder what copy Mr Hunneus submitted.
The final straw, according to the info is the ‘handing out copies of the message’ to country representatives. Here is where I questioned the whole situation. Many questions I have, but some are expressed for further consideration (you are welcome to post yours):
1.- Is Mr Ojeda the author? He wrote the note, but was the note his expression, or someone else dictated that.
2.- If the note is granted copyright protection, then not only the copy of Chile’s President is infringing but also I gather that the publication of the note and communication are also infringements. At the moment the note was received and published I guess that they were not interested in copyright!
3.- the same goes for those that made and distributed the flags, mugs and t-shirts, were they infringing? According to what is claimed with this news is that they were.

There is the exception of copying for reporting current news, and I believe that at that particular moment everyone wanted to share such important information ‘they are alive’.

The value and the moral of this story is that the message brought 33 miners to life, because of its meaning, because everyone believed, because the Government put all his power to save them, because we humans did have hope and faith. The message unified many people and countries; the message was that, a ‘message of live’.

Lastly, Mr Ojeda’s wishes to have his note back - who is the owner of the message?I strongly believe that it belongs to the nation, to humanity. Don’t you agree?

There is of course those who want to benefit from this tragedy, and prove of this is the registration of several trade marks and domain names from third parties. Therefore, I write this post with a mixture of feelings - this tragedy brought the best of us, but once it ended...well, it ended.

México: descargas ilegales y pérdidas económicas

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb) October 22, 2010 No comments:

Según los datos proporcionados por el director general de Motion Picture Asociation México (MPA) , Federico de la Garza, durante 2009 se descargaron 7 mil 523 millones de archivos de manera ilegal, lo cual se traduce en unas pérdidas de más de 13 millones de pesos en la industria fílmica solamente.

Esto significa que de 26 millones de usuarios de Internet en México, 15 millones de ellos han descargado contenido de manera ilegal.

Dichas perdidas, de acuerdo a lo expuesto, representaron una pérdida de casi dos mil millones de pesos por concepto de IVA.

Desde luego que somos muy conscientes de los daños y perjuicios que ocasiona la piratería, tanto a la industria fílmica como a otras afines, pero también creemos que las industrias deben serlo y empezar cuanto antes a preparar, desarrollar y aplicar nuevos métodos de negocio, el mundo cambia demasiado rápido, al menos el digital, y tanto las industrias como las leyes aplicables se están quedando muy por detrás.

Al respecto debo referirme a una importante sentencia del Tribunal de Justicia de las Unión Europea dictada el día de ayer, de la cual Lucentinus hace una muy buena reseña.

Don't lose your cattle, chip it!

Patricia Covarrubia October 21, 2010 No comments:

In 2008 the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Electronics Technology (Ceitec) developed the first high-tech chip entirely produced in Brazil for cattle. The reason: according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Brazil has about 200 million head of cattle - it is the largest exporter of beef, with figures exceeding $ 2 billion per year. The chip will help farmers to monitor their animals more precisely, which will facilitate to open markets such as the European Union. The monitoring includes: a comprehensive screening of the cattle with data on vaccination, weighing, origins and management among others. At the moment this is mostly done manually which is time consuming and impractical, and moreover the system gives rise to errors. Also, the screening with imported technology requires investment and is not used widely in Brazil.

Ceitec, was launched in 2008. It is a public company allied to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Its primary goal is the development of the Brazilian electronics industry through the semiconductor industry.

In 2009, Ceitec explained that "any chip developed and produced by Ceitec brings two great benefits to Brazil, the first one is the intellectual property: whoever wants to produce these chips will pay royalties to Ceitec (a public institution), generating wealth for the country. The second is that consolidating a national chip industry will allow the electronics industry to mature in Brazil."

Today I read that the chip is expected to be commercialized in 2011, and is still being tested on farms. It is said that “despite using the latest technology, the system is simple.” The cattle chip will have an average price of $ 3 a unit, less than half the value of similar imported technologies.

I do not have anything to say but just good wishes with the product and with the export market. And...obviously as a mother I wonder if this will help to monitor my kids!

The best possible Association Agreement? The EU and Central America negotiations

Patricia Covarrubia October 21, 2010 No comments:

October 15, San Salvador. In the framework of World Day for rural women, the 'Mesoamerican Women in Resistance for a dignified life' called social organizations and communities of rural women to march on the streets and avenues of the Salvadoran capital – the goal, the Legislature or 'Palacio Azul' to present their demands.

Among their demands, is the ending of the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU). As informed in an early blog, back in May Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panamá) signed the agreement at the Summit of Madrid, Spain.

We are "against the intention of the European Union to take over our public services, our natural resources and energy and to dismantle our agriculture" said Jorge Coronado Marroquín of the Social Alliance Continental Central-America. It has always been clear that the AA is just another FTA (Free Trade Agreement), now with this signature the most affected are excluded, including farmers and indigenous and especially women and it is evident the wishes of taking over the natural wealth...” says the group ‘La Via Campesina and Friends of the Earth International’.

Europe in its bilateral agreements with countries or regions calls for more intellectual property provisions, beyond those raised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and NAFTA. "This is a form of monopoly to prevent others from accessing a resource or knowledge" the info continues.

97% of patents in the world belong to countries like the U.S., Japan and Europe, 90% are owned by transnational corporations. According to Silvia Ribeiro, researcher and ETC’s president, all the food and pharmaceutical industry are based on intellectual property which is contrary to food sovereignty. "It is based on the use of plants, microorganisms of the countries with great diversity, as is the case of Central America, and it also facilities the theft of organisms, the control of food and agriculture, the move forwards monopolies and more biotechnology" she says.

These are certainly strong accusations, but as in every story there are two sides, or in this case many sides because here is the said of few parties in this whole AA. There is of course happy faces from those in the meat and rice business, since this will be the first time that the Central American countries can export these to the EU. The agreement also provides that the EU will reduce the tariff for bananas in the next ten years and for coffee, one of the key products of the region, the tariff will be zero.

I just wish that Latin America can sit with better cards in a table of negotiations, especially IP. But then I guess that we need to compromise somewhere. Yes, it is true that we have the natural resources but if we do not have the tools to develop those at their best potential then it is when we need to sit tight and negotiate (or not as the picture suggests). Don’t you agree?

I will have to end with the sentence that Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega said when the AA was finally signed: “while it wasn’t the best, it was the best possible”.

More info here and here.

www.33.com - domain name may be for sale

Patricia Covarrubia October 18, 2010 No comments:

As it was informed early on in this blog, there are seven web sites pending applications regarding the well known case of the 33 Chilean miners at the Nic (Institution in charge of registering web domains in Chile). I was wondering why I did not hear anything about one of the most common and traditional gTLD, namely .com.

Today, this matter was clarified. I was reading the newspaper El Mercurio and I came across an article regarding this issue. The web address www.33.com is already owned by an English firm and it could be yours for between $ 100 thousand and $ 500 thousand Chilean pesos. However, note the following: to register a name at the Nic will cost $ 18.900 for the first two years.

Is this a type of cybersquatting or hijacking? It is said that the site was purchased back in 2007, and clearly there was no intention to block the registration of the domain name (unless they were psychics). Yet, it is my understanding that domain piracy implies this act – a person who register several domain names at a time which are or will be considered necessary two others. Why registering two numerals? If I consider the offer (price) I cannot draw a conclusion that may indicate good faith.
After all, I am not surprise that people back in Chile is trying to register a more convenient name and after all, a regional one with the ccTLD (country code) .cl.

You can check www.33.com here, and coincidently (or not) it contains a link regarding news of the 33 Chilean miners rescued.

PUBLICIDAD ALTERNATIVA hits the headlines in trade mark infringement action

Jeremy October 14, 2010 No comments:

IP Tango has been reading with interest of an instance in which a court in Venezuela is said to have ordered an advertising company to cease use of the trade mark PUBLICIDAD ALTERNATIVA for its advertising services, even though the term was descriptive. The story goes like this:

Publicidad Alternativa was in the advertising business since 1998 and may have been the first company in Venezuela to offer advertising options through non-traditional methods such as advertising on buses, other vehicles and mobile billboards. In 2006 its applications to register the words PUBLICIDAD ALTERNATIVA (the Spanish for 'alternative advertising') for advertising services in Class 35 and for paper and printing goods in Class 16 were granted.

A year later, Publicidad Alternativa discovered that another company, based in Valencia, (i) was promoting its own non-traditional advertising services under the same mark, (ii) had incorporated a company under the name Publicidad Alternativa CA and (iii) registered publicidadalternativa.com.ve as its domain name. Publicidad Alternativa was not pleased to hear from a client that a payment owed to it had mistakenly been made to the Valencia company.

Having asked a judge with jurisdiction in Valencia to perform a judicial inspection at the address of the defendant, Publicidad Alternativa obtained evidence that its competitor had used its trade mark without consent. A preliminary injunction was granted in April 2007 and, since the parties failed to agree terms, the case went to trial. Two years later, the court ruled in Publicidad Alternativa's favour, ordering various forms of relief.

IP Tango has heard so much news about the difficulties faced by IP owners in Venezuela, so it's heartening to hear news of a trade mark enforced against an unlawful user.

Source: "Advertising company successfully enforces mark, despite it being descriptive", article for World Trademark Review by Ricardo Enrique Antequera (Estudio Antequera Parilli & Rodríguez, Caracas), who acted for the plaintiff in this case.

Mineros de Chile, marcas, dominios web, películas e invento.

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr October 14, 2010 1 comment:

Luego del final feliz que tuvo la eficiente operación de rescate de los 33 mineros en Chile, el mercado ha reaccionado con una carrera por registrar denominaciones marcarias y dominios web y desarrollar películas alusivas al evento.

Por una parte se ha informado que existe la intención de filmar dos películas. La primera tiene como gancho el anuncio (no confirmado) del protagónico de Javier Bardem en cuyo guión se está trabajando, según señalaron sus productores de Hollywood.La segunda es del cineasta chileno Rodrigo Ortúzar (“All Inclusive”, “Mujeres infieles”), quien comenzó en septiembre a trabajar en el guión que contará la historia de los 33 mineros atrapados en la mina San José, con fecha probable de estreno el 2012. Frente a las críticas de oportunismo, Ortúzar informó que las utilidades de la película serán donadas a una fundación que se creará para velar por el futuro de los hijos de los mineros.

Con relación a las marcas relacionadas, en el Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Industrial (Inapi) ya se han presentado tres solicitudes para la denominación “Los 33″, con cobertura principalmente para clases 29, 30 y 33 del nomenclátor, en especial para bebidas alcohólicas, que también incluye el registro de la marca "33 mineros". Por su parte, en el sitio web Nic.cl, encargado de registrar los dominios web en Chile, existen tres solicitudes que buscan el dominio de www.los33.cl y otras cuatro para el dominio alusivo al primer mensaje de contacto www.estamosbienenelrefugiolos33.cl.

En cuanto a la ya conocida jaula-cápsula Fénix, se trató de un diseño especialmente inventado por ASMAR (astilleros de la armada de Chile) con asesoría de la NASA. Consiste en una cápsula de 54 centímetros de diámetro y ocho ruedas ubicadas en la parte superior e inferior, con un sistema de amortiguación para la movilidad dentro del ducto, con cuatro tanques de oxígeno para casos de emergencia y un arnés de sujeción, que tuvo un excelente rendimiento. Dada su especialísima función no es probable que algún derecho de propiedad industrial se pretenda sobre la regla técnica involucrada, y es de esperar que no se tenga que volver a usar nunca más por causas similares.

The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice Sets the Pace for the Protection of Well Known Trademarks in Brazil

José Carlos Vaz e Dias October 13, 2010 No comments:

It was published last Tuesday (October 5, 2010) a relevant decision rendered by the 3rd. Chamber of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) that shapes up the protection of well known trademarks. The Special Appeal no. 1.114.745-RJ to STJ was filed by the company LIMA ROUPAS E ACESSÓRIOS LTDA. against a decision rendered by the 2nd Circuit of the Federal Court of Appeal in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which maintained the registration of the mark “SKECHERS” of the American company SKECHERS USA, INC. based on its notoriety in the clothing business.

The main arguments raised by the local company against the registration were that “SKECHERS” is an imitation of the mark “SKETCH” registered prior at the Brazilian Trademark Office (BTO) and the fact that both marks identify clothes and accessories. Accordingly, the decision of the 2nd. Circuit of the Federal Court of Appeal violated both IP Law and the Consumer Law. Once again, the grounds for the Special Appeal were that the mark “SKETCH” of the local company was registered before and the coexistence of the trademarks could lead consumers to confusion and error when choosing a product in the market.

The judges of the 3rd. Chamber of the STJ reaffirmed the decision rendered by the 2nd Circuit of the Federal Court of Appeals based on the worldwide notoriety of the mark “SKECHERS” in the clothing business and secured protection under Article 6bis of the Paris Convention and Article 126 of the Brazilian IP Law.

In this regard, it was pointed out that well known trademarks differ from highly known marks, as the latter holds special registration in all classes of products and services while well known is protected independently of registration inasmuch as notoriety is confirmed in a specific business sector.

Further to that, the judges addressed 2 important issues at stake. Firstly, they informed that protection is secured locally to those well known trademarks even in those cases where notoriety is acquired after a similar mark is registered at the BTO (insofar as the coexisting brands do not violate consumer rights).

The second point was the possibility of “SKECHERS” and “SKETCH” to coexist pacifically, since they identify different products despite the fact that they were registered in the same international class 25. While “SKECHERS” identifies clothing and accessories for sports and professional use, the local company holds “SKETCH” for clothing and accessories in general, including shoes. Therefore, the judges did not see any chance for consumers to get confused by the marks.

The novelty of the rendered decision is the ability of the judges to understand the concept of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, to differentiate well known trademarks and highly known trademarks, and to set the boundaries for protection of well known marks.

This is certainly a relevant development in Brazilian law, especially if one recalls the difficulty of foreign owners to enforce well known trademarks in the near past and the hassle of the local judges to comprehend protection of intangibles.

En Chile se busca proteger expresamente rutinas humorísticas con derecho de autor

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr October 12, 2010 No comments:

En Chile los humoristas no están agrupados en un gremio formal ni tienen una entidad colectiva que vele por sus intereses. Frente a este escenario tres humoristas tuvieron la iniciativa de crear la "Corporación Cultural de Humoristas Chilenos" y para ello dieron curso a la tramitación en el Ministerio de Justicia de la personalidad jurídica de la Corporación.

Según informó la abogada de la Corporación, Mailén Mahú ,“la idea es darles una identidad a los humoristas y una representación frente a grandes grupos. El humorista está en desprotección cuando alguien le roba la rutina o si los medios lo desprestigian”, a lo que agregó que la idea es hacer “un registro de humoristas de televisión, gráficos, etc., y certificarlos como tales. También generar convenios con instituciones de salud y de previsión”. Explicó que la actividad humorística está poco reglamentada, por lo que “queremos establecer un artículo que defienda la rutina y al humorista propiamente tal dentro de la legislación de propiedad intelectual, para que tenga mayor protección”.

La legislación sobre derecho de autor en Chile fue recientemente actualizada con la entrada en vigencia de la ley 20.435 de 4 de mayo de 2010 que modificó la ley 17.336 sobre Propiedad Intelectual de 2 de octubre de 1970, y no contiene una norma que expresamente defina, regule y proteja la interpretación humorística, como tal. El problema se ha manifestado en las repeticiones de rutinas de humor en los canales de televisión, lo que ha impulsado a los humoristas a pactar cláusulas contractuales que limitan la reiteración de rutinas sin el pago de los respectivos derechos. Los humoristas que mezclan sus rutinas con música han optado, muchas veces, por asociarse a la Sociedad Chilena del Derecho de Autor para la administración de sus derechos.

Fuente: www.lanacion.cl

Foot tattoo is not worthy

Patricia Covarrubia October 12, 2010 No comments:

The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) dismisses an appeal by Editora Globo SA and photographer Cleybi Trevisan regarding the petition for the increase of amount of damages.

The background of the case goes as follows:
Trevisan took a picture of the foot of a global actor, which included a tattoo. The picture was published in the magazine “Quem Acontece” back in March 26, 2004. The photographer, through an ‘Assignment Agreement and the Definitive Purchase Order’, granted to Editora Globo the property rights for economic exploitation of the aforementioned photograph.

In April 2, 2004, the magazine Caras, published the photo in question without permission from its author or publisher. The publisher and the photographer filed a lawsuit asking for moral and material damages, as well as recognition of the infringement done by the magazine Caras "through public notice in writing recorded in the edition following their conviction, and that, alongside this, to affix the photographic work above, with the same prominence and giving credit to both authors" [I thought that there was just one author (Trevisan) – perhaps the STJ communication refers to the author and the owner, uh?]

The Trial Court (first instance) ordered the magazine Caras to pay Editora Globo the corresponding figure - around 1500 copies of the magazine that published the photo, and the photographer's compensation and moral rights in an amount equivalent to 20 minimum wages.

After a continuing battle between the parties in different court stages, the decision reached the STJ. The Editora Globo and the photographer wanted to increase the amount of compensation for material and moral damages. They claimed a more considerable sum: for copyright property to be awarded in the amount not less than the amount equivalent to three thousand copies of the magazine Caras; for moral rights, they argued that the punitive damages granted were negligible.

The minister Massami Uyeda (Rapporteur of the appeal), held that "issues relating to the fixing of compensation for infringement of the copyright and the application of Article 102 of the Copyright Act were considered in a clear and consistent manner". He continues, the findings of “the state court does not clash with the view of the Supreme Court, since the publication of the photograph encompassed a small part of the periodical, not showing that reasonable compensation is based on the full value of the magazine”. Therefore, the STJ dismissed the appeal by Editora Globo SA and photographer Cleybi Trevisan. The decision was unanimous.

STJ communication here.