Content 13 Latin America in numbers 6 8 12 13 20 30 34 36 38 44 46
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Marcasurworld
50 54 56 60 64 68 72 74 78
Editorial Marcasurworld Population by country as of 2015 Latin America in Numbers Statistics. Trademarks and Patents Marcas News Chile. National Institute of Industrial Property. PCT: International searches and preliminary examinations now in Chile Interview. Elisabeth Kasznar, President of the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI) Interview. Felipe Claro, President of AIPPI The patents landscape in Mexico, by Héctor Chagoya Interview. Juan Antonio Pittaluga, expert in Intellectual Property and founder and editor of Marcasur magazine National Industrial Property Institute (INPI). The new president has to face a series of challenges, by Luiz Leonardos Mexican Industrial Property Institute. News from Mexico WIPO in Latin America. Regional office in Rio de Janeiro Designation of Origin.To promote or not to promote: the “terroir” in Latin America and the Caribbean, by Jorge Chávarro Cuba´s New Era Mercosur Paraguay: ¿destination for traffic of counterfeit goods?, by Federico Huttemann Marcasur travelling. The Seven Wonders of Latin America International conventions used in Latin America
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Statistics Trademarks and Patents
Interview Juan Antonio Pittaluga 4
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IT REALLY MATTERS WHICH IP FIRM YOU CHOOSE
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LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Growing Strong!
staff Editor: Juan Pittaluga juan@marcasur.com
Press: Karina González kgonzalez@marcasur.com
Juan Francisco Pittaluga francisco@marcasur.com
Wina Arambulé warambule@marcasur.com
Academic Department: Dr. Daniel Lamas dlamas@lamasgrimaldi.com.uy
Our leading position among our continent’s intellectual property media drives us to take yet another step forward in conquering the international market with the publication of this special issue of Marcasur, written in English by Latin Americans for readers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The aim of this special edition is to celebrate Latin America’s hosting of two major intellectual property events: the AIPPI World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the INTA Leadership Meeting in Panama City. Based in Montevideo, Uruguay, since it was launched in August 1996 Marcasur has been the world’s window into the field of intellectual property in Latin America: its successes and setbacks, the comings and goings of international treaties, the changes in legislation, the development of new technologies, and much, much more. We hope that through Marcasur the participants at these events will be informed about what is happening in Latin America, and not just in intellectual property matters, but with respect to economic, social, and tourism aspects as well.
Contributors: Teresa Pereira tere@marcasur.com
Commercial Department: Mei-lin Che mche@marcasur.com
Subscriptions: Cintia Ferreiro cferreiro@marcasur.com
Design: LP / arte visual Communications: Natalia Domingo ndomingo@marcasur.com
Correction: Alejandro Coto Translation: Laura Pérez
MARCASUR Special edition No commercial value
Juan Antonio Pittaluga Editor
Cont. Echevarriarza 3535 A, 1501 CP 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay Tel: (598) 2628 4604 Fax: (598) 2623 2957 info@marcasur.com
Publication edited by Editorial MS S.R.L. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is correct, neither the editor, contributors or Editorial MS SRL can accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions or for any consequences resulting thereof. ©Editorial MS SRL 2015 and contributors. The contents of this magazine are protected under the copyright law of Uruguay, the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention. Any unauthorized copying of the journal may be in breach of both civil and criminal law. Infringers will be prosecuted.
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Marcasurworld
Our products Marcasur, the first Latin American intellectual property magazine, was founded 19 years ago in Montevideo, Uruguay, by lawyer and intellectual property specialist Juan Antonio Pittaluga, who brought this project to life after finishing his term as Vice President of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (Asipi).
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Spanish Editions Marcasur Magazine The first Latin American magazine specializing in intellectual property, Marcasur is published quarterly in Spanish and is available on printed and electronic formats, with additional applications and features for readers of the electronic version. www.marcasur.com The first and most popular website in Spanish focusing exclusively on intellectual property matters in Latin America and the world. With over 10,000 unique visitors per month, the site’s highlights include news, coverage of events, and a directory of law firms and professionals. www.marcasur.com
Marcasur Week A digital newsletter that brings readers the week’s most important intellectual property news. Since its launching in 2003, it has been distributed uninterruptedly to subscribers every week.
English Editions Marcasur Digital Magazine This digital magazine in English, first published in late 2010, reports on the latest Latin American events in the field of intellectual property. It is sent out to more than 10,000 contacts in North America (the United States and Canada), Europe, and Asia. Through this space we offer our advertisers a complementary format to traditional advertising, with links to their own websites and emails. As of 2011, Marcasur Digital Magazine is also available for iPads at the App Store, with an application featuring all the advantages offered by Apple technology. Marcasur International Published in English and carrying the most important intellectual property news, this bulletin is already on its 105th issue and is distributed quarterly to over 10,000 contacts in North America, Europe, and Asia. Along with Marcasur International we have also created the www.marcasurmi.com website, which targets the same market.
Mandarin Edition Marcasur in Mandarin Conscious of the growth experienced by the Asian market, and in particular China, at the end of 2011 we launched this monthly digital newsletter to report on the latest intellectual property developments in Latin America. The newsletter is sent out once a month.
follow us on social media Look for us on Twitter (@Marcasur) and on Facebook (marcasurmagazine).
know more If you wish to receive more information about our products, please contact: info@marcasur.com. You can also subscribe to our English products at www.marcasurmi.com. www.marcasur.com
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LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Mexico
Cuba 11.252.000
121.005.815
Population
by country as of 2015
Dominican Republic 9.980.000 Honduras 8.950.000
Guatemala 16.176.000 El Salvador 6.460.000
Nicaragua 6.514.000 Costa Rica 4.851.000 Panama 3.764.000
Venezuela 30.620.40
Guiana
Colombia 48.238.799
Surinam FrenchGuiana
Ecuador 16.294.474
Position Country
Population
1 Brazil 204.567.022 2 Mexico 121.005.815 3 Colombia 48.238.799 4 Argentina 43.131.966 5 Peru 31.153.000 6 Venezuela 30.620.404 7 Chile 18.006.407 8 Ecuador 16.294.474 9 Guatemala 16.176.000 10 Cuba 11.252.000 11 Bolivia 10.825.000 12 Dominican Republic 9.980.000 13 Honduras 8.950.000 14 Paraguay 7.003.000 15 El Salvador 6,460,271 16 Nicaragua 6.514.000 17 Costa Rica 4.851.000 18 Panama 3.764.000 19 Uruguay 3.467.054
Peru 31.153.000
Brazil 204.567.022
Bolivia 10.153.000
Paraguay 7.003.000 Chile 18.006.407 Argentina 43.131.966 Uruguay 3.467.054
602.260.212 Is the total population in Latin America
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Latin America in Numbers
with poverty decreasing and foreign pubLic debt shrinking, Latin aMerica has Much to ceLebrate. Let’s Look at the countries that rank highest in eMpLoyMent, entrepreneurship, QuaLity of Life, investMent, and other indicators.
By Wina Arambulé 2015 Index of Economic Freedom “Countries with higher levels of economic freedom substantially outperform others in economic growth, per-capita incomes, health care, education, protection of the environment, and overall well-being,” according to the spokespersons of the research center Heritage Foundation and the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, creators of the Index of Economic Freedom, a study that measures economic freedom around the world since 1995. For this year’s edition, 178 countries were studied. Of the South American, Central American, and Caribbean countries, Chile
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obtained the highest score, also ranking among the world’s ten best. The leading five, Hong Kong (which has held the top position for 21 years in a row), Singapore (2), New Zealand (3), Australia (4), and Switzerland (5) were classified as economically free, the highest ranking. Completing the top ten, Canada (6), Chile (7), Estonia (8), Ireland (9), and Mauritius (10) were rated mostly free. In our continent, Chile is followed by Colombia (28) and Saint Lucia (35), also mostly free economies, and the Bahamas (41) and Uruguay (43), which are moderately free. Coming in last as the lowest ranked economies in the region are Ecuador (156), Bolivia (163), Argentina (169), Venezuela (176), and Cuba (177).
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Good news
Percentage of Poor in Latin America
The Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2015, a report prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), revealed that in 2014 foreign public debt dropped by 16%, down 54 percentage points from the early 1990s, when it stood at slightly over 70% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Some notable examples are Chile, Peru, and Paraguay, which registered levels below 22% of the GDP. This good spell has been accompanied by major investments. Most significant in this sense is the role played by China, which since 2005 has been strengthening its relations with Latin America with some US$119 billion invested, of which more than US$50 billion have gone to Venezuela. Xi Jinping, president of the Asian giant that in 2014 alone brought US$22 billion in financing to Latin America, confirmed that the country would be investing another US$250 billion in the region.
44,9
25,7 Year
2004
2012
Poverty Of the 18 countries studied in ECLAC’s Social Panorama of Latin America 2014, 11 saw a reduction in their poverty levels; six (Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua) did not provide data for 2013; and one (Venezuela) increased its poverty indices in 2013 as compared to 2012. Uruguay has the lowest levels of chronic poverty, at less than 10%, much below the regional average of 21%.
100% 80%
Brazil 100% 80%
60% 40%
36.4%
20% 2005
100% 80%
Social Panorama of Latin America. Poverty levels source: ECLAC
18.6%
18.0%
2012
2013
Costa Rica
60%
40%
40%
20%
60%
60%
40%
40%
20%
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17.8%
17.7%
2005
2012
2013
100% 80%
60%
100% 80%
21.1%
Chile
13.7%
11.0%
7.8%
2006
2011
2013
Ecuador
2005
60% 35.3%
33.6%
20%
45.2%
32.9%
30.7%
2012
2013
20%
100% 80%
48.3%
Colombia
40%
El Salvador
47.5%
45.3%
40.9%
2004
2012
2013
20% 2005
2011
2013
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Quality of life
In its international 2015 Quality of Living report, the consulting firm Mercer chose Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, as the Latin American city with the best quality of life (ranking 78 in the world), followed in the region by Buenos Aires, Argentina (91), Santiago, Chile (93), Panama City (95), and San JosĂŠ, Costa Rica (106). Uruguay and Chile also emerge as examples in the fight against economic crimes, according to a global ranking by the NGO Transparency International, where they tie at number 21 among 175 countries assessed, with 73 points
100% 80%
Panama
100% 80% 60%
60% 40%
31.0%
20% 2005
100%
23.2%
2011
2013
Dominican Republic
40%
47.5%
41.2%
40.7%
20%
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2012
2013
49.6%
60% 40.7%
Peru 52.5%
40% 20%
2005
2011
2003
2013
Uruguay
100% 80%
25.8%
23.9%
2012
2013
Venezuela
60%
60%
40%
40% 20%
2005
56.9%
100% 80%
20%
100% 80%
80% 60%
Paraguay
40% 24.0%
(in a total of 100), followed by Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, which rank 31st and 47th, respectively. For the Americas Barometer, Uruguay is the second country, after Canada, with the highest citizen trust in the judicial system.
18.8%
2005
6.1%
5.7%
2012
2013
37.1%
20% 2005
25.4%
32.1%
2012
2013
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Employment For the second quarter of 2015, Panama, at 18%, heads the list of nations that generate the most jobs in Latin America. The study, conducted by the U.S. human resources company Manpower, includes 42 countries, with Taiwan (45%), India (38%), and Japan (19%) occupying the first three positions, respectively. In Latin America, the leaders are:
Panama:
18%
Colombia:
15%
Guatemala and Mexico:
11%
Canada and Costa Rica:
10% Peru:
8%
Argentina:
3%
Entrepreneurship According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Latin American and Caribbean region has the second highest rate of entrepreneurship activity (17.6%), behind Africa, which leads this ranking with 26%.
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Countries
most proficient in english
According to the English Proficiency Index, prepared by Education First, a global language training company, Argentina ranks first in Latin America and 15th in the world
among the countries with the highest English skills, followed by the Dominican Republic (23), Peru (34), Ecuador (35), Brazil (38), and Mexico (39).
Argentina ranks first in Latin America
Best cities for doing business Brazilian cities have dropped in this ranking conducted by AmericaEconomia Intelligence, in particular, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre, which are now positioned at number 4, 8, and 25, respectively. The most notable improvement is Bogotá (Colombia), which currently ranks sixth. Caracas (Venezuela) came in last, with the lowest scores in executive services (17.94), social and political framework (56.80), and economic framework and dynamism (46.22), in contrast to the 100 points obtained by Miami in those same categories.
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Country
City
United States Chile Mexico Brazil Panama
Miami Santiago Mexico City Sao Paulo Panama City LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Mexico: SPECyF, Business Ecosystems
Raúl Raygadas and Gilberto Sánchez
Sánchez, Pedraza, Escalante, Coto y Figueroa, S. C. (SPECyF) is a law firm based in Mexico City with a multidisciplinary practice formed by the union of professionals with over twenty years of experience, offering integral services to businesses and individuals in various sectors and areas, both in international and domestic operations. SPECyF is the result of the merging of two law firms and the incorporation of areas of practice from other firms. Gilberto Sánchez Escárcega brought in the intellectual property practice that he had developed independently in the Link International Mexico offices; Luis Pedraza Trejo, Luis José Coto Sánchez, and Iván Figueroa Salgado joined their firms specializing in the fields of administrative, transactional, financial, real estate, and regulatory law, as well as in dispute settlement; and Ángel Escalante Carpio added to the mix a sophisticated fiscal practice that he had built up in major law firms, such as Basham, Ringe, and Correa, S. C. SPECyF combines the experience of each of its partners to help its clients do business and it provides them with legal counseling in a range of matters, including: i) identification, protection, monitoring, and defense of their intellectual property rights; ii) design and contract structuring for business ventures, companies, and investments (both debt and equity investments) in various domestic and foreign sectors, including structuring strategic partnerships, joint investments, and their financing; iii) fiscal www.marcasur.com
Luis Pedraza
Luis José Coto, Ivan Figueroa, Gilberto Sánchez and Ángel Escalante
strategy structuring and control and compliance of tax obligations, for enhanced fiscal efficiency; iv) regulatory and administrative advice to facilitate the introduction of products to Mexico, within the framework (and in line with) the financial and business strategies of each client; and v) the prevention and settlement of disputes that may arise in the course of the client’s business activities. SPECyF works in various business sectors in Mexico and abroad to benefit its clients, toward contributing to generate a business ecosystem, forging strategic part-
nerships between groups of entrepreneurs, investment funds, and specific projects; in addition to participating actively in the internationalization of companies and their soft landing processes, adding clients and value to its practice. The firm has a wide network of strategic partners both in Mexico and around the world, which results in a global presence with an integrated and coordinated representation in multiple jurisdictions. www.specyf.com LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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STATISTICS
Trademarks and Patents Marcasur, THROUGH ITS LATINESTADISTICAS DIVISION, conducted a survey of patent and trademark offices and leading law firms in nineteen countries of Latin America to gather information on the number of applications filed in 2014, the percentage of national and foreign applicants, the procedures that can be carried out online, and how long it takes for patents and trademarks to be granted. These are the results.
In 2014 trademark applications grew by 2.5% in Latin America. The countries with the highest increase were Chile (27.4%), the Dominican Republic (22.1%) and Mexico (10.9%) (member of the Multiple Classs Application System for Marks and Distinctive Signs) . A total of 2,698,073 trademark applications were filed between 2010 and 2014. At the top of the list, with the greatest number of applications, were Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, the countries with the highest population growth rates. But not all of these registered an increase. Brazil, the most populated nation in the region, the fifth largest in the world—with over 200 million inhabitants—and the country with the greatest number of intellectual property applications, had 2.4% less trademark applications and 4.1% less patent applications last year. Ecuador is also a peculiar case. Although the number of trademark applications filed in Ecuador fell by 10.7% and the country came in second to last in the list, it saw a 60.4% increase in the number of patent applications, thus securing first place. In all of Latin America, patent applications fell by 2.3% in 2014. Of the 19 countries surveyed, 11 decreased and two (Nicaragua and El Salvador) did not provide data. The lowest figure was reg20
istered in Bolivia, with -62.7%. This study also revealed that in 2014 national applicants predominated in trademarks and foreign applicants outnumbered nationals in patents.
Trademarks
The increase in the number of applications for 2014 were secured by Chile (27.4%), the Dominican Republic (22.1%), Mexico (10.9%), Guatemala (8.4%), Colombia (7.5%), Argentina (4.9 percent), and Costa Rica (2.2%). Peru remained stable, and Paraguay, Panama, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, and Venezuela decreased by 2.6% to 16%. The most affected was Venezuela, which in 2014 had the lowest number of trademark applications of the last four years, resulting in a drop of 16%, despite being the seventh nation with the highest number of applications from 2010 to 2014 (118,043) (see Table 1). National and Foreign Applicants In 2014, 312,142 nationals filed trademark applications, outnumbering foreign applicants with 67.2% of all applications. Of the 13 countries that provided data, Honduras had the lowest number of both national applicants (1956) and foreign applicants (4951) (see Graphic 2).
Online Procedures Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador have enabled online trademark registration systems, accessed through the websites of their patent and trademark offices. Others, such as Peru, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Costa Rica allow applicants to carry out certain procedures online, including filing the initial application and paying official fees (see Graphic 3). Granting of Trademarks without Opposition In Latin America, the average time for the granting of a trademark that has received no oppositions is 9.2 months, although there are some countries, such as Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, where there is a three-month limit. The countries that take the longest are Brazil (36 months) and Cuba, where in practice it takes from 15 to 18 months, although Cuban legislation stipulates that trademarks must be granted within one year (see Graphic 4). Globally, the European Union and Spain hold the record times, granting trademarks without opposition within 7.5 months, half of what it takes in China, where the time frame is usually 15 months (see Graphic 5). www.marcasur.com
Trademarks
Table 1. Trademark Applications in Latin America (2010-2014)
COUNTRY
Totals by country 2010 a 2014
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
31,601
35,911
33,693
33,560
42,772
177,537
27.4
7,871
8,632
9,381
8,122
9,919
43,925
22.1
Mexico
87,470
92,671
98,628
107,063
118,745
504,577
10.9
Guatemala
11,224
11,221
10,208
11,200
12,140
55,993
8.4
Colombia
26,713
29,084
31,357
35,555
38,238
160,947
7.5
Argentina
69,565
62,607
60,019
55,177
57,908
305,276
4.9
Costa Rica (*)
11,264
12,218
11,912
11,019
11,257
57,670
2.2
Peru (*)
23,120
24,711
25,295
25,258
25,258
123,642
0.0
Paraguay
22,102
17,492
23,790
25,395
24,734
113,513
-2.6
Panama
9,590
11,347
11,847
9,201
8,932
50,917
-2.9
Uruguay (*)
5,690
6,312
5,992
6,027
5,834
29,855
-3.2
Nicaragua (*)
4,037
5,237
4,615
4,900
4,745
23,534
-3.2
Bolivia
5,991
7,229
7,550
8,222
7,928
36,920
-3.6
Chile (*) Dominican Republic (*)
Brazil
Percentage of increase or decrease, 2013-2014
129,620
152,123
150,107
163,587
156,898
752,335
-4.1
El Salvador
11,253
S/D
8,581
8,775
8,099
36,708
-7.7
Honduras
6,088
7,397
6,938
7,608
6,907
34,938
-9.2
Ecuador
15,551
13,049
14,378
15,197
13,568
71,743
-10.7
Venezuela
21,345
24,213
27,012
24,718
20,755
118,043
-16.0
500,095
521,454
541,303
560,584
574,637
2,698,073
2,5
TOTALS
Notes: * Countries that admit the Multiple Class Application System for Trademarks and Distinctive Signs (in Chile’s case goods and services cannot be included in the same application); N/D: No statistical data available. The 2014 figure for Nicaragua is not official. Cuba was consulted but did not provide data.
Graphic 1. Growth of Trademark Applications in Latin America, (2010-2014)
574,637 560,584 541,303 521,454
14.9%
500,095
Year www.marcasur.com
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
The percentage of growth for trademark applications in Latin America from 2010 to 2014.
LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Graphic 2. Annual Growth in Trademark Applications in Latin America (2010-2014)
2010 500,095
2011
2012
521,454
4.3 %
541,303 3.8 %
2013
2014
560,584
574,637
3.6 %
2.50 %
Table 2. Trademark Applications in Latin America Filed by National and Foreign Applicants in 2014
(%)
Foreign
(%)
Brazil 127,810
81.5
29,088
18.5
Chile 22,906
71.9
Mexico 79,840
67.2
Country
National
8,963 38,905
28.1 32.8
Peru 16,381 64.9
8,877
35.1
Paraguay 15,354
62.1
9,380
37.9
Ecuador 6,785
57.5
5,024
42.5
Colombia 20,118
52.6
Costa Rica
51.9
5,415
48.1
Guatemala 5,777
47.6
6,363
52.4
Uruguay 3,774
37.8
6,203
62.2
Panama 3,169
35.5
5,763
64.5
Bolivia 2,430
30.7
5,498
69.3
Honduras 1,956
28.3
4,951
71.7
TOTAL
5,842
18,120
47.4
312,142 67.2 152,550 32.8
Note: No data could be obtained for Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.
67,2%
The percentage of all trademark applicants in Latin America in 2014 that were nationals.
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Graphic 3. Procedures that Can Be Carried Out Online to Apply for a Trademark in Latin America
FILING THE POWER OF ATTORNEY FILING THE APPLICATION
Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina
Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Peru Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay,
Brazil
146,693
FILING THE PRIORITY CLAIM
Chile
35,029
Ecuador
11,809
Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina
Argentina
N/D
D. Republic
N/D
Peru
364
Colombia
N/D
Mexico
ONLINE PROCEDURE
NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina
RESPONSE Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina
Number of Online Procedures Carried Out in 2014
151,63
PAYMENT OF OFFICIAL FEES
Guatemala
5,963
Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Uruguay Costa Rica, Mexico y Guatemala
Costa Rica
N/D
Uruguay
N/D
NOTICE OF EXAMINATION Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina
Note: Honduras, Panama, Cuba, El Salvador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela do not allow any online procedures for trademark applications. N/D: No statistical data available.
Graphic 4. Average Times for Granting a Trademark without Opposition in Latin America in 2014 (in months) Dominican Republic 3
Costa Rica 3 4.5
Mexico
Chile 6.4
Honduras 5
European Union
7.5
Colombia 6.5
Spain
7.5
Latin America
9.2
El Salvador 8 Guatemala 6.5 Panamรก Uruguay
Peru
8
United States
10.5
Ecuador
9
China
15
8
8
Nicaragua 12
Venezuela 12 Paraguay 12.5
Argentina 12 Cuba
Graphic 5. Average Times for Granting a Trademark without Opposition around the World (in months)
16.5
Brazil
36
Average time
9.2 Months
Note: No data was available for Bolivia. www.marcasur.com
LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Patents
From 2013 to 2014, the number of patent applications filed in Latin America dropped by -2.3% (see Table 3). Brazil, Honduras, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia decreased by 2.4% to 62.7%. A peculiar situation: In Venezuela, the Autonomous Intellectual Property Service (SAPI) receives patent applications and processes them up to the patentability examination stage, but then leaves them pending. It has not granted a single patent since 2007. Although Panama had one of the lowest demand levels last year (with only 287 patent applications), this Central American nation grew by 35.4% and came in second among the countries that were strengthened in 2014, behind Ecuador, which almost doubled it with a 60.4% increase. Next on the list are Guatemala (18.4%), Chile (7.3%), and Mexico (4.5%). Chile and Mexico were also among the coun-
tries with the greatest number of patent applications filed between 2010 and 2014, along with Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. National and Foreign Applications In 2014, 50,273 foreign applicants filed patent applications in Latin America, accounting for 83.5 percent of all applicants (see Table 5). Of the 13 countries that provided data, Brazil (with 25,787) and Honduras (with 227) were the countries that received the most and the least applications, respectively, from foreign applicants. According to the information provided, Guatemala was the only country with no patent applications filed by nationals in 2014. Online Procedures Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay are the only countries that provide the possibility of filing patent applications online, through their offices’ websites.
Others, such as Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico offer some procedures online, including payment of official fees (all except Chile), filing the application, and furnishing other documents (see Graphic 7). There are some countries, like Peru, that only admit querying, performing decision searches, and scheduling appointments to consult records. Granting Patents The average time it takes for a patent to be granted in Latin America is 4.3 years (see Graphic 8). The fastest countries are Nicaragua (1.6) and Colombia (1.8), almost nine years less than Uruguay (10) and Brazil (10.4). Among the countries researched the United States si the countries that takes the least time to grant a patent (2.5 years), followed by China (3.5). The European Union and Spain come in after Latin America, with a waiting time of 4.5 years (see Graphic 9).
Table 3. Patent Applications in Latin America (2010-2014) COUNTRY
2010
2011
2012
Ecuador
884
408
506
Panama
586
403
378
Chile (*)
1,653
3,381
3,019
Guatemala
442 409
429
Totals by Country 2010-2014
2014
437
701
2,936
60.4
212
287
1,866
35.4
3,076
3,643
14,772
18.4
426
457 2,163
Mexico
18,726 18,785 15,314 15,444 16,135 84,404
Brazil
28,052 31,924
Honduras
360 306
33,395 33,989 293
Percentage of Increase or Decrease 2013-2014
2013
255
33,182 160,542 245 1,459
7.3 4.5 -2.4 -3.9
Argentina
4,935 4,959
4,994 4,960
4,673 24,521
-5.8
Colombia
2,507 2,626
2,687 2,684
2,357 12,861
-12.2
Uruguay (*)
940
837
903
916
795
4,391
-13.2
Costa Rica (*)
616
706
668
695
597
3,282
-14.1
Dominican Republic (*)
405
405
328
315
259
1,712
-17.8
Venezuela
2,120 1,804 2,061 2,009 1,602 9,596 594 638
Peru (*)
295
Bolivia
413 440
453
402
150 1,858
Nicaragua (*)
237
226
196
144
N/D
803
N/D
El Salvador
337
319
268
238
N/D
1,162
N/D
64,102
69,744
68,215
68,763
66,820
337,644
-2.3
TOTALS
1,168
589 1,734
656 1,905
450 2,927
-20.3
Paraguay
1,287
6,389
-31.4 -32.4 -62.7
Note: * Countries that admit the Multiple Class Application System for Trademarks and Distinctive Signs (in Chile’s case goods and services cannot be included in the same application). N/D: No statistical data available. Cuba was consulted but did not provide data.
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Table 4. Patent Applications in Latin America Filed in 2014 under the International Patent System (PCT) Country
2014
Brazil
22,695
Mexico
12,409
Chile
2,474
Colombia
1,829
Ecuador
681
Costa Rica
506
Guatemala
279
Dominican Republic
254
Panama
247
Honduras
227
Totals
41,601
Graphic 6. Patent Applications in Latin America (2010-2014)
69.744 68.763 68.215
66.820
64.102
Year 2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Note: Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela are not part of the International Patent System (PCT).
Table 5. Patent Applications in Latin America Filed by National and Foreign Applicants (2010-2014)
Country
Foreign
%
National
%
Guatemala
279
100.0
0
0.0
Ecuador
681
98.6
10
1.4
Dominican Republic
254
98.1
5
1.9
Paraguay
440
97.8
10
2.2
Panama
274
95.5
13
4.5
Costa Rica
568
95.1
29
4.9
1,204
93.6
83
6.4
227
92.7
18
7.3
14,891
92.3
1,244
7.7
714
89.8
81
10.2
Chile
3,033
83.3
610
16.7
Colombia
1,921
81.5
436
18.5
Brazil
25,787
77.7
7,395
22.3
Total
50,273
83.5
9,934
16.5
Peru Honduras Mexico Uruguay
Note: No data could be obtained for Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
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Graphic 7. Procedures that Can Be Conducted Online to Apply for a Patent in Latin America
FILING OF OTHER DOCUMENTS Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay
FILING OF APPLICATION
PAYMENT OF OFFICIAL FEES Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Costa Rica
Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Uruguay.
Graphic 9. Average Times for the Granting of Patents Around the World (years)
2.5
United States
Spain
ONLINE PROCEDURE
China
2.5
3.5 Latin America
RESPONSE TO NOTICE
4.3
European Union 4.5
Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay
NOTICE OF REPORT Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay
RESPONSE TO REPORT Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay
Note: In Spain a patent can be granted in just 12 months if the application is filed under an express procedure.
Note: Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela do not allow any procedures through the websites of their patent and trademark offices.
Graphic 8. Average Times for the Granting of Patents in Latin America
Nicaragua 1.6 Colombia 1.8
Guatemala 2.5
Ecuador 3
Panama 3
Mexico 3 3
Bolivia
Honduras 3
3
Peru
Argentina 4
Chile 4.4 Costa Rica 4.5
Dominican Republic 4.5
Paraguay 7.5 Brazil
10.4
Uruguay 10
Average time
4.3 Years
Sources Consulted Argentina: Claudia Serritelli and Paula Galván (Estudio Chaloupka). Bolivia: Wolfgang L. Ohnes (Orpan). Brazil: Bruno Rohde (National Industrial Property Institute). Chile: National Institute of Industrial Property / Marcos Morales (Alessandri Abogados) China: Gordiano Casas (Unitalen Attorneys at Law). Colombia: Luis Antonio Silva Rubio (Superintendency of Industry and Commerce). Costa Rica: Silvia Monge Quesada (National Registry of the Republic of Costa Rica). Cuba: Yordanka Ramírez Pastor (Claim). Dominican Republic: Ana Paula Campusano and Sharin Pablo (J. J. Roca & Asociados). Ecuador: Adriana Hidalgo (Ecuadorian Intellectual Property Institute) / Esteban Riofrío (Barzallo & Barzallo Abogados). El Salvador: Edy Guadalupe Portal and Annette Herrera (Portal & Asociados) / Marcela Mancía (Romero Pineda & Asociados). Guatemala: Marina Girons (Intellectual Property Registry). Honduras: Marvin Yovanni Silva Andino (General Intellectual Property Office). Mexico: Mexican Institute of Industrial Property Nicaragua: Mayra Navarrete Crovetto (García Bodán) and Julián J. Bendaña Aragón (Guy José Bendaña Guerrero & Asociados). Panama: Leonardo Uribe (General Industrial Property Registry Office). Paraguay: Lorena Mersan (Mersan Abogados). Peru: Virginia Delion (Estudio Delion) Spain: Carlos González (Abril Abogados) United States: Yadira Rosario Rivera and Yolisamar Vásquez Delgado (Ferraiuoli LLC). Uruguay: Nation Industrial Property Office Venezuela: Adolfo López Moreno (Ayala & López Abogados).
Note: No data could be obtained for El Salvador and Cuba. In Venezuela there is an indefinite waiting time. 26
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Portal & Asociados, the hub for IP Services in Central America. For over thirty years, PORTAL & ASOCIADOS has been recognized as a Salvadoran law firm synonymous of high quality, integrity and value by leading domestic and multinational corporations and law firms seeking to invest or expand operations in El Salvador and Central America. We provide intellectual property services with a high level of professionalism no matter the size or nature of the operations of our clients. The firm provides Intellectual Property services to businesses of all sizes, across all industry segments. Our multidisciplinary approach and multilingual staff appeal to inside and outside counsel who need a cooperative, responsive and cost conscious legal team on the ground to represent their clients’ interest in the Salvadoran and Central American region. Portal & Asociados also stands at the forefront of CAFTA related opportunities assisting manufacturers and companies to take full advantage of CAFTA market opening provisions by helping clients navigate the important reforms of domestic legal and business environments. Because it is so time consuming and therefore expensive to establish and maintain relationships with five different law firms located and operating within a small geographical region, the firm´s Central American services consolidates clients’ efforts and offers one point of contact for all legal needs in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua and that is why we are your CENTRAL AMERICAN HUB FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICES. www.portallaw.com The current Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and firm’s Managing Partner, Edy Portal has been recognized as the Salvadoran voice of Intellectual Property protection since 1995. During the course of her career, Edy Portal has helped national and international corporations and outside counsel with all facets of their IP interests in El Salvador and Central America. She has been the Salvadoran correspondent for INTA’s The Trademark Reporter and Country Guides and a Founding Member of the Board of
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Directors of the Salvadoran Association of Intellectual Property (ASPI). Edy also serves as a member of the Center of Legal Studies and she is the President of AIPPI first regional group of Central America and Caribbean She has also coordinates global Intellectual Property Protection and has IP studies from Florida International University, YALE, Franklin Pierce (UNH) and University of California-Berkeley.
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M A R C A S news Amazon & Amazonas
Amazon continues firm in its intention to obtain the top-level domain .amazon denied by ICANN earlier this year, following the opposition from the governments of Brazil and Peru. In recent years, ICANN has sought to encourage the registration of additional top-level domains, and that has triggered more disputes in court. One of the most high profile cases is that of Amazon, which in 2012 made a bid to register the .amazon domain. The Brazilian and Peruvian governments immediately opposed the bid, as they wanted “the domain preserved for the protection, promotion, and awareness raising on issues related to the Amazon biome.” ICANN sided with Brazil and Peru and turned down the request by the U.S. technology company. But Amazon is not giving up. It claims that the argument given by the governments of these two countries has no legal basis and tries to convince them that the domain .amazonas is more suitable for their interests.
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Colombia: El Rey takes Burguer King´s Crown
The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) of Colombia turned down for the second time Burger King’s application for the trademark “El sabor es el rey” (“Flavor is King”). It rarely happens, but big players also lose. This time, Burger King came up against El Rey (The King). The U.S. fast food giant feeds 11 million people in 76 countries each day. El Rey, for its part, has been operating in Colombia for 70 years and is very well established in the seasoning and spices sector of the food market. Burger King applied for the trademark “El sabor es el rey,” but in April of last year the SIC denied the application on the grounds of its similarity with the previously registered trademark “El Rey.” The U.S. company appealed the decision, claiming that its trademark was famous and distinctive in the market, that it already had a mascot called “El Rey,” and that the services protected under the trademark El Rey (seasoning production) were not likely to be confused with the services provided by Burger King. El Rey, however, furnished documents that proved that consumers recognized its name and that it was a famous trademark in the market.
Adidas wins in Peru
After a long battle, Adidas obtained the registration for the trademark formed by three stripes and used on sports clothes, claiming secondary meaning. Over 15 years ago, Adidas applied for the three stripes device that identifies all of its sports and casual wear. Peru’s National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) denied the registration of the trademark at each stage of the proceedings, arguing that the design constituted a sign that lacked distinctiveness. In 2008, Adidas applied for the trademark again, requesting a reconsideration action in which it claimed that the sign applied for had acquired distinctiveness (“secondary meaning”) both in the Peruvian market and globally. To back its claim, Adidas furnished extensive documents as proof that the sign had acquired distinctiveness. On June 3, 2015, the Intellectual Property Division of the Indecopi Court handed down a decision stating that the evidence provided proved the constant use of the sign for which registration was sought. The Division found that Adidas had duly proven that the sign has been widely disseminated by mass media, and therefore it could be inferred that consumers have had access to that information and can associate the logo in question with a given business source, in this case Adidas. Consequently, it concluded that the sign applied for had acquired distinctiveness (secondary meaning) based on its use in the market. In the end, Adidas was granted the registration of the trademark consisting of the three parallel lines used in items of clothing protected under class 25 of the Official Nomenclature.
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M A R C A S news Justice rules against Coca-Cola in Brazil
Coca-Cola did not prevail in its action against a company it accused of violating its registered trademark by using a green label and the word “life.” Although the initial court ruling had been favorable to Coca-Cola, on second instance, the multinational giant lost in the Higher Court of Justice against Fors, a Brazilian soft drink company. Coca-Cola claimed that Fors was infringing its registered trademark with its use of the word “life” and the color green on the labels of its products (the same green used by the U.S. company’s Life drink). In the ruling the Court argued that “the claimant (Coca-Cola) does not have exclusive rights over the use of the color green or over the word ‘life,’ in accordance with the provision that regulates industrial-property-related rights and obligations.”
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Philip Morris & Uruguay In March 2008, the Uruguayan government passed the law No. 18256, which includes six different strategic anti-smoking policies. In response to this, Philip Morris filed a claim at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes arguing that the Uruguayan anti–tobacco law, which requires that graphic health warnings cover 80 percent of cigarette packets and introduces other important label limitations, obliges them to withdraw 7 of its products from the Uruguayan market. According to the tobacco company this violates its intellectual properties rights and an Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments celebrated between Switzerland and Uruguay. Philip Morris understatement is that they were not treated fairly and equitably and that the application of the anti-tobacco law thereof would provoke a substantial loss of market. In this connection they claim for the Uruguayan state a financial compensation of two billion dollars. In its answer to the complaint Uruguay stated that first of all, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes had no jurisdiction or competence in this matter, and second, that all measures against tobacco were taken for public health reasons, explaining that the country´s high percentage of adult and teen smokers constituted a “public health crisis”. Article 2 of the agreement with Switzerland provides the right for the parties of not allowing economic activities for various reasons, among them public health related ones. However in its decision of July 2013 the court asserted that it had jurisdiction and competence, and that Uruguay not only accepted tobacco investments but also granted millionaires tax benefits in order to promote it. The court declared that despite the efforts made at the time to combat tobacco consumption, Uruguay “encouraged the activity by promoting the investments”.
Ritz-Carlton wins
A new conflict was brought to the attention of the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC). Promotora Apartamentos Dann filed an opposition against the application for Ritz-Carlton by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, alleging the similarity of the referenced mark to its prior registrations of Dann Carlton and Hoteles Dann Carlton. In the first instance, the SIC’s Office of Distinctive Signs upheld Promotora Apartamentos Dann’s position and rejected the registration of Ritz-Carlton. On appeal, the SIC reversed its prior decision and granted the Ritz-Carlton registration. In this opportunity, said body understood that “although the conflicting marks share certain similarities, comparing them as a whole, as the comparison should be performed, each mark is unique and features additional elements, both denominative and graphic, that create a different impression on consumers. Thus, the coexistence of the marks in question does not imply any risk of confusion or association”.
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Considerations when trying to register marks in the United States based on a foreign registration from applicant’s country of origin. By Arturo Pérez Guerrero Perez Guerrero LLC Puerto Rico United States (US) trademark legislation provides for the registration of marks whose applications are based on foreign registrations from the applicant’s country of origin. This allows achieving registration in the US without having to credit use in interstate commerce or between a state and a foreign country. Of course, applicant must have a bona fide intent to use the mark in the United States in connection with the recited goods or services. As long as there is total coincidence between the mark in the foreign registration and the mark object of the US application, the applicant is the same, the mark is otherwise registrable and the US application does not purport to cover goods and/or service that fall outside the scope of the goods and/or service covered by the foreign registration, the US application will be approved for publication and if no opposition is filed, the mark will register in the US. US trademark legislation is very strict on the level of specificity of the recitation of goods and services of mark applications. Broad and open ended language cannot be used. Many countries, on the other hand, have less strict rules with regards to the recitation of goods and services. Some allow the use of class headings. Others even allow the description “all goods / services in the class”. As previously stated, applicants using this basis to achieve registration in the US must always have a bona fide intent to use the recited goods or services in the US. And as a matter of fact, down the road, when the time comes to take actions to maintain the achieved 32
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registration, it will be necessary to submit evidence of use. So clearly, it is a necessity for an applicant (and eventual registrant) that bases its US application on a foreign registration from applicant’s country of origin to have the actual goods and services on which it plans to use its mark listed in the recitation of its US application. There are three possible scenarios that applicants face in this regard: -If the foreign registration contains a recitation with the level of specificity required in the US, the US application may contain all, some or one of the goods and/or services included in the foreign registration, -If the foreign registration’s recitation reads “all goods / services in the class, the US application will be allowed to cover all of the goods and/or services on which applicant has a bona fide intent to use the mark, assuming, of course that the required level of specificity is provided, and may achieve registration if no opposition is filed. To maintain these registrations, the registrant will eventually have to submit evidence of use in the US of at least one of the goods or services recited in the US application. If the applicant cannot produce such evidence, the registration will be lost. -The trickiest scenario is when the foreign registration covers a class heading. In the US, this is NOT equivalent to covering the entire class. The US application will only be allowed to cover goods or services that are considered within the scope of the language of the class
heading covered by the foreign registration. For example, if the foreign registration covers “paper goods and printed matter”, which is the class 16 heading, and applicant’s actual products are “adhesive tapes for stationery or household purposes and painter’s brushes”, applicant will not be able base its US application on the foreign registration because said goods are not considered within the scope of the foreign application’s coverage of “paper goods and printed matter” even when that is the heading of class 16. Applicant may be able to achieve registration based on said foreign application by covering, for example, “printing paper and paper gift cards” which are considered within the scope of “paper goods and printed matter.” However, even with the registration attained, the same may be challenged by lack of a bona fide intent to use the mark in connection with “printing paper and paper gift cards”, and if that does not happen, when the time comes to file the declaration of continued use between the 5th and 6th year from registration, the now registrant will NOT be able to maintain the same because the goods it sells in commerce under the mark are “adhesive tapes for stationery or household purposes and painter’s brushes” and not “printing paper and paper gift cards”. So the registrant will have attained a registration that did not amount to much. The above are basic essential considerations when filing for registration trademarks or service marks based on registrations from applicant’ country of origin in the United States. www.marcasur.com
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Chile. National Institute of Industrial PropertY
PCT: International searches and preliminary examinations now in Chile
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, the director of INAPI Maximiliano Santa Cruz and Jose Graca-Aranha regional director of WIPO at the inauguration of the new services. On October 22, 2014, by way of its National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI), Chile became the second Latin American country (after Brazil) and the second Spanish-speaking country in the world (after Spain) qualified to prepare patentability reports as International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Applicants from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ec u ador, E l S a l va d o r, G u a te m a l a , Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, which are the Latin American and Caribbean countries that are parties to the PCT, can now choose the INAPI for 34
their international searches and preliminary examinations. “We are pleased with the number of applications that have appointed us ISA/IPEA under the PCT in these first few months, as it shows the trust that the INAPI inspires in the region’s industrial property community. We have the enormous responsibility of providing a quality and efficient search service,” INAPI director Maximiliano Santa Cruz explained. The service, which has a PCT administrative management system (SGA) to guarantee that the terms established by the PCT are complied to the letter, offers the possibility of filing PCT applications in Spanish and it gives access to more than
13 specialized databases and over 5,000 scientific and technological magazines. At the end of 2014, and with a little over two months operating as ISA/IPEA, the INAPI received 37 PCT international applications (35 from Chile and two from El Salvador), in the fields of mechanics, chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and electricity. Of that total, 18 were filed by universities, 8 by individuals, and 11 by companies. The INAPI has one of the lowest preferential rates in the world, at USD 400 for Latin American applicants and USD 300 for Latin American universities.
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Interview with Elisabeth Kasznar, President of the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI)
In Search of Efficiency
“The delays in the granting of patents in Brazil is something that worries us all. From 2003 to 2013, there was a twofold increase in the waiting time for a response from the National Industrial Property Institute (INPI). This not only weakens potential businesses, there is also the risk that after such a long time the technology may have become outdated and the product obsolete,” Elisabeth Kasznar, ABPI president since 2014, says. A non-profit organization, the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI) was founded on August 16, 1963, and gathers Brazilian and international companies, law firms, and industrial property agents. Kasznar believes that the great number of trademark and patent applications that are pending examination at the INPI is caused by a failure to update operating procedures. “The ABPI and the INPI maintain an ongoing dialogue. The INPI participates in events organized by the ABPI, including its annual congress, and the ABPI participates in INPI activities (technical trials, implementation of new systems, and public consultations).” The INPI is currently conducting public consultations to improve its examination guidelines and, while the work has been properly researched and grounded, Kasznar says, the shortage of examiners affects the quality of the examinations and the service provided to users. “The INPI would be more efficient if it were financially autonomous. Some 150 examiners are expected to be hired annually until 2018, but that will not be enough to solve, in the short term, the delays in granting patents. The problem will persist and may even be aggravated by the exponential increase in patent applications, even with the country growing at average rates.”
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In 2013, the longest delays in the granting of patents were: Telecommunications Food & plants Molecular biology Physics & electricity Biochemistry Computer technology & electronics Pharmaceuticals Agrochemicals
14.2 years 13.6 years 13.4 years 13.0 years 12.9 years
Year 2003 2008 2013
Waiting times for the granting of patents in Brazil 6 years 9 years 11 years
12.6 years 12.3 years 12.2 years
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“Hoglund & Pamias, the top U.S. patent filer law firm in Puerto Rico”
It all started back in the late 1990’s when a striving patent attorney, Mr. Heath W. Hoglund, moved to Puerto Rico and founded the Patent Law Offices of Heath W. Hoglund establishing for the first time a full service intellectual property law firm in Puerto Rico. As the firm’s clientele continued to grow, Mr. Samuel F. Pamias joined the firm in the year 2000 setting the stage for what later in the year 2004 became Hoglund & Pamias, P.S.C. (Hoglund & Pamias) solidifying the firm’s position as a leading and only intellectual property boutique firm in Puerto Rico. Hoglund & Pamias offers a comprehensive and complete solution in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, technology transfer, corporate and commercial law and litigation. The firm represents local and worldwide clients including “Fortune 500”, small and medium companies, entrepreneurs, investors, the entertainment industry and higher education institutions. Due to Puerto Rico’s unique relationship with the United States, Hoglund & Pamias is a fully bilingual (English and Spanish) law firm serving as the perfect liaison between the United States of America and the rest of
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the world. Our staff has dedicated their entire professional lives to the study and exclusive practice of intellectual property representing clients before the courts in Puerto Rico and the United States, before the Trademark Office in Puerto Rico and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. For that reason, Hoglund & Pamias is the top U.S. patent filer law firm in Puerto Rico securing more patents than any other local firm in areas such as: aesthetic designs, electrical, mechanical, chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, nanotechnologies and genetics among others. Hoglund & Pamias is also one of the leading firms in other areas of intellectual property such as trademarks and copyrights serving local clients as well as clients from all around the world. Hoglund and Pamias is consistently praised for its track record, work excellence and core ethical values that allows providing cost effective solutions specifically tailored to the client’s needs. www.hhoglund.com
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Interview to Felipe Claro, President of AIPPI
It is the first time a Chilean national heads the International Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (AIPPI). Felipe Claro, the third Latin American to occupy the position of AIPPI President, talks about the plans and relations of this institution founded in 1897.
“The Governments that Fail to Take the AIPPI into Account Are the Same Governments that Ignore Intellectual Property� 38
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“i wouLd Like to be reMeMbered for raising awareness and trying to educate chiLdren on the issue of protection of inteLLectuaL property”
By Wina Arambulé Seventeen years ago Rio de Janeiro was chosen by the Swiss-based International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) as the venue for its first event in Latin America. This year, it returns to Brazil’s most visited city to celebrate the AIPPI World Congress Rio de Janeiro, which will also address issues of interest to the region proposed by the AIPPI Brazilian chapter, which, with its 276 members, is the largest in the region. “Except for a few exceptions, Latin Americans do not often attend our meetings. We hope that the proximity of the venue will make their participation more accessible,” AIPPI President Felipe Claro says. The Congress this year at Rio de Janeiro will be followed by congresses in Milan, Italy (2016), Sydney, Australia (2017), Cancun, Mexico (2018), Istanbul, Turkey (2019), Hangzhou, China (2020), and San Francisco, United States (2021). “Nobody should be left out of the possibility of creating and protecting intellectual assets. There may be differences in degrees, but we should all have effective access to intellectual property protection systems. As the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevêdo, says, everyone must have a seat at the table of trade.”
The silence in Latin America A former vice president of the Chilean Industrial Property Association (ACHIPI) and head of Patents and Internet committees of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI), Claro has spoken out against the silence in Latin America and assures that AIPPI is willing to collaborate with any national groups and entities or governments that request its cooperation, as “it is not our intention to invade spaces where we are not invited, but the invitations are many and one example of such invitations is our recent appointment as observers of the Office www.marcasur.com
for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). We are helping to integrate intellectual property systems, respecting their characteristics.”
The AIPPI´s relations with the governments of Latin America The AIPPI’s relations with the governments of Latin America are channeled through its national chapters. “Each year we receive suggestions for issues that should be addressed, and we study the most relevant and controversial, because they are the ones that require urgent action. Our resolutions try to give an objective view so that the most appropriate decisions can be adopted. The governments that fail to take the AIPPI into account are the same governments that ignore intellectual property.” Although in the last five years Latin America has advanced in terms of enhancing database accessibility and updating infrastructure, promoting local innovation, and integrating intellectual property offices, Claro considers that improvement is needed in enforcement, harmonization of intellectual property systems, training of judges, and early education on the subject of intellectual property, at the preschool level.
The lack of harmonization in Latin America “The lack of harmonization and enforcement in Latin America is viewed with concern by Europe and the United States. The region is continuously updated because it has outstanding professionals. However, it would seem that there is no efficient way of enforcing rights through the corresponding bodies, especially with the vastly different situations that exist from country to country, even if we speak the same language. A government’s will to protect intellectual property can vary with every election and at the level of judicial discussion significant details are sometimes overlooked.”
Now that the United States has reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba, will the AIPPI be planning any activities in the island? Our initiatives began long before. On March 18, 2013, we formally created the AIPPI Central American and Caribbean chapter at Havana, Cuba, formed by Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. Holding that ceremony in Cuba was a way of telling our Cuban friends that we need them and want them to be part of this international forum, to benefit from their knowledge and drive. We now have four Cuban members in that regional chapter.
You have said that the AIPPI is undergoing a process of change. What are those reforms? We have our new Executive Director, John Bochnovic, who will bring greater dynamism to the national chapters.
What plans does the AIPPI have? Modernizing and streamlining internal systems and structures to attract more members and make ourselves heard by authorities and relevant intellectual property bodies.
What would you like to be remembered for as head of AIPPI? For raising awareness and trying to educate children on the issue of protection of intellectual property, which are efforts that we share with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). As an anecdote, I can tell you that I make sure my kids don’t download music illegally and that they all subscribe to legal download websites. And they tell me that I’m the only dad they know who pays to download music. That’s something that we need to change and the best way to do it is to start at home.
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“Our new Executive Director, John Bochnovic, will bring greater dynamism to the national chapters”
Felipe Claro’s Great Leap Felipe Claro studied at Santiago’s Colegio del Verbo Divino, where former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera Echenique (2010-2014) also went to school. In 1986 he graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he earned a degree in law, and the following year he joined the Chilean Intellectual Property Association (ACHIPI), the AIPPI Chile chapter. “Being president of AIPPI is an honor and at the same time a responsibility. I like to see Latin America stand out in different areas, whether it involves me or somebody else, what matters is being able to contribute with someone from the region to positions such as this.” Winner of the Gold Marcasur Excellence Award 2014, Claro is a descendent of the founder of Claro & Cia, created in 1880 by the jurist Luis Claro Solar. His great grandfather and grandfather were also partners in this law firm, which in 2012 was named Chile Law Firm of the Year by Chambers & Partners. Felipe is also an amateur photographer and for 31 years he has been a volunteer firefighter with the First Firefighters’ Company of Santiago, “the world’s largest body of volunteer firefighters.” He is married to Bernardita Wünkhaus, also a lawyer, as well as a coach and a philanthropist, with whom he has four children, including triplets.
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danneMann sieMsen
By Eduardo de Mello e Souza
How do you know if your brand is working for you? One clue can be gathered by looking at your ratio of marketing expenditure to sales over time, i.e. how much do you have to spend in order to generate one Dollar’s worth of sales. Startup businesses, early on, often run a one-to-one or higher ratio, having to spend one or more Dollars in advertisement, business trips and networking conferences, for every Dollar in sales. But hopefully that’s an extremely short-lived phase, as it is impossible to build a successful company on that basis. More often than not, companies go thru a growth phase and after a while their brand picks up momentum and sales grow on their own, without the need for matching increase in expenditure, and often allowing for a scale down in the ratio, up to a steady state point. Firms not experiencing a decrease in their ratio should consider this a sign that something may need to be done. Brands can also fail large firms, if they become synonymous with negative attributes such as high fees, low flexibility, or conflict of interest in the eyes of the market. In these cases, when changing the traditional brand is either not possible or undesirable, creating new and separate working groups under different brands for new markets, or market segments, is one way to get back on a growth path. This requires both innovation and the use of objective metrics to ascertain performance, lest the issue becomes the topic of endless partner meetings that lead nowhere. How do you fix the problem? First, heed the old adage that says you should start by www.marcasur.com
Return on Brand Investment fixing your product. No amount of branding effort will save a bad product. This requires getting out of the building and listening to your clients’ needs, even those they are not telling you about, but signaling with their new purchases. For instance, trademark attorneys will likely note the increase in use of automated filing systems, and even the outsourcing of entire departments to these automation providers, by clients who wish to focus on their core business. Having collected a list of expectations and desires don’t rush to implement them. Look for those which will benefit from synergies within your current practice, likely to result in the most valuable and unique offering to the market. Ideally, if the solution requires incorporating new technologies, seek exclusive agreements so that you will be the only one in your territory with that offer. Last and most important write down the objective metrics by which you define success and track them vigorously. Branding efforts, here defined in the broadest possible sense to include how to change the market’s perception of your firm, can be undertaken through several different strategies. But without objective metrics, such as your marketing to sales ratio, it is hard to measure actual progress. At your next strategy session, after considering how
you can improve your product offerings, rather than argue in fuzzy concepts about your firm’s sales, recognition and branding efforts, look for quantitative measures to gage the return on investments in your own brand.
About the author Eduardo C. A. de Mello e Souza is head of IP Valuation for Dannemann Siemsen, with over 15 years of experience in intellectual assets valuation, negotiation and business development throughout the Americas. LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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The patents landscape in Mexico
Evolution of the patent system in Mexico
HĂŠctor Chagoya Becerril, Coca & Becerril Mexico
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Mexico is perhaps one of the first countries in Latin America that moved to a system more consistent with international treaties and the realities imposed by international commerce back in 1991. Before that, Mexico had a patent system that did not allow protection to pharmaceutical products at all, and that controlled technology transfer in very restrictive and specific terms. By 1994, while the TRIPS Agreement was adopted in Marrakesh, Mexico had to comply with obligations under the NAFTA. Major changes that were aligned to both treaties, including
new regulations to the Mexican patent law led to the current Industrial Property Law. The system was shaped in the final details with the entry of Mexico into the PCT in 1995. Since then, the Mexican patent system has evolved and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has developed the skills and systems to manage it more or less steadily. However, and as expected, new technologies, social needs and policy trends are putting new pressure to the patent system globally, and particularly of course, to the Mexican patent system. www.marcasur.com
in Mexico, there is a Lack of courts criteria in patent Litigation
the Mexican patent systeM wiLL certainLy evoLve but the speed wiLL depend on the nuMber of Mexican patent owners enforcing their own patents doMesticaLLy.
Enforcement: A second round of evolution
While patent prosecution is well established in Mexico, patent enforcement seems to be pending of evolution in the Mexican patent system. Around 95% of the patents filed in Mexico are from foreign applicants. In Mexico, there is a lack of Courts criteria in patent litigation, from claim construction to other concepts such as doctrine of equivalents, inherency or prosecution estoppel, amongst others. Meanwhile, high profile litigation occurs in countries with more mature patent systems. The manufacturing capability of Mexico and the strong pharmaceutical industry has led to the development of some criteria related to patent litigation, but the scarcity of cases is still an issue. The Mexican patent system will certainly evolve but the speed will depend on the number of Mexican patent owners enforcing their own patents domestically.
Defining patent eligible subject matter
The world is struggling with the definition of clear and concrete criteria for eligibility of subject matter for patentable inventions, and Mexico is not an exception. Biotechnology and computer-implemented inventions, and the necessary level of human intervention to consider an invention as eligible subject matter are a common issue dealt with in almost all jurisdictions. Trends such as open innovation, personalized medicine, Internet of Things, cloud computing, and 3D printing have impacted the innovation process in a way that informatics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, electronics, and communication tools are used altogether to solve human needs at an unprecedented speed and at a complexity level that makes it less and less clear what may be eligible for a patent. This reality puts pressure to the old paradigms that living organisms and mathematical methods cannot be considered an invention because they lack of a human contribution to the solution of a need. Mexican policy makers are watching the
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discussions worldwide and expecting the results of the negotiations of free-trade agreements in order to move, neglecting the fact that the Mexican patent law includes valuable definitions that could actually help to the ongoing discussions in the international arena.
The challenge of examination quality in Mexico
The above described complexity of trends and tools in the innovation process, along with other realities such as traditional knowledge and the international agreements related to access to genetic resources are also challenging the patent examination landscape from the quality perspective in our country. While a simple division of technical areas of expertise in Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Mechanical-Electrical and Electronics within the examining department at the IMPI used to work very well, the fusion of the different specialties in a single invention is, in the practice, making more and more difficult to the patent office to make an election of the ideal “skilled in the art” examiner that will assess patentability of inventions. Furthermore, considering their workload and resources that they have available, managing Big Data related to specific inventions becomes a great challenge, and makes it more compelling for examiners to perform a good examination. Moreover, the role of the IMPI at interpreting patents for regulatory purposes or government purchasing is increasing such workload significantly.
About the author
Hector Chagoya. Chemical Engineer. Partner, Patents and Technology Department, Becerril, Coca & Becerril, SC, México.
As well, from the budget perspective, the IMPI unfortunately seems not to be getting enough support to face such challenges. Like some other patent offices worldwide, it seems to be having a difficult time convincing the patent system budget decision makers to put the needed resources into place for a good quality examination. Challenges are many and resources should be there, at patent offices in general, to be used for performing quality examinations in the benefit of society. The more qualified, with better resources, and reasonable workloads the Examiners are, the better the patent system will be. Hopefully, in the years to come, the importance of quality in the examination will become more apparent for policy makers.
…the Mexican patent Law incLudes vaLuabLe definitions that couLd actuaLLy heLp to the ongoing discussions in the internationaL arena.
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Interview to JUAN ANTONIO PITTALUGA
Latin America IP
Juan Antonio Pittaluga is the founder and editor of Marcasur magazine, which was launched twenty years ago and has consolidated its leading position as the most prestigious and popular among Latin America’s Intellectual Property media. At the age of 66 he is also the founding partner of the Uruguayan law firm Pittaluga Abogados, where he combines his legal practice with his journalistic work. His knowledge of both areas makes him particularly well-suited to assess the current and future situation of IP in the region. 46
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What advances have been achieved in IP matters in Latin America over the last twenty years? Major steps have been taken toward securing better and more effective protection Intellectual Property rights, in terms of legislation, enforcement, and the private sector. Could you give us some examples? With respect to legislation we could say that almost every Latin American country—twenty in all—have adapted their laws in accordance with the latest and most important applicable international conventions. Laws have also been passed to take into account new technologies, as well as the problems emerging from the use of social media, in order to regulate them. As for enforcement issues, save for a few exceptions, they are generally resolved independently by professionals, judges, or other people duly prepared academically. But we would still like to see our judges better prepared to handle IP matters. Some countries have judges specialized on the subject, but they are the exception. Anyway, there are topics of IP in which Latin America should advance even much more. What about the private sector, what advances do you see there? Latin American professionals today are in constant contact with the world outside the region. They attend congresses and conferences, they participate in courses, speak several languages, and share their experiences with colleagues from around the world. This has enhanced the legal services they provide, bringing them to the same level as those provided anywhere in the world. Are Latin American professionals better prepared academically? There has been much progress in that sense because intellectual property has
My dream I dream of the day when Latin America will have a great and single IP forum, with the participation of IP experts, local associations, the leading international associations, WIPO, universities, governments, and judges. What a wonderful thing that would be for Latin America!
earned a place in Latin American universities, where it is now treated as a major subject. It has gone from being a legal area that was practically ignored to having special courses and master’s programs on it, which are at the same level in quality as those in other continents. As a result universities are now playing a major role, as they are educating future professionals, many of whom will go on to become political authorities and judges. I think that, with this scenario, international associations should give greater support to the Latin American university sector. You mentioned that there have been significant advances in IP regulations. Has this affected registration procedures? Have the time frames been shortened? Procedures in Latin America are now at the same level as others around the world, having been brought in line with international conventions, like the legal framework. As for time frames, we conducted a statistical study for this issue of Marcasur that shows that with respect to trademarks Latin America is on a par with European countries and the United States. Moreover, the vast majority of trademark
offices in Latin America are offering online procedures, thus speeding up the whole process. As for patents, the time frames are not bad compared with the situation worldwide, but there are some countries with significant delays because of the insufficient number of examiners, due to infrastructure and budgetary problems affecting those offices. Have these advances succeeded in reducing the number of trademark infringements? If by that you mean the manufacture and sale of counterfeit goods, for years Latin America was considered a problematic continent in that sense, but since the turn of the century, there has been a change, because the authorities have become more concerned with penalizing infringers and eradicating this illicit activity. Today, most of the counterfeit products come into the region from other continents and those who try to commercialize them find law enforcement officers more willing and prepared to stop them, although it’s not always easy to punish them. In another article featured in this issue we examine this more thoroughly.
“…internationaL associations shouLd give greater support to the Latin aMerican university sector”
Juan Pittaluga is the senior partner of Pittaluga Abogados and editor of Marcasur. He has served as as secretary and vice president of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (Asipi) and president of the Uruguayan Association of Industrial Property Agents (Audapi), and is currently a member of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and the International Trademark Association (INTA). A speaker at international conferences, advisor to the government in the drafting of the Patent Act, and essayist, he has received international awards for his works on Intellectual Property and journalism.
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The challenges that international associations face in Latin America I would like to point out that while the overall in Latin America is that the relationship between the private and public sector is good and they both respect each other, when it comes to deciding the implementation of IP issues the public sector most of the time do not listen to the private sector. Many international associations are familiar with this problem. And in my opinion the associations must also join in the efforts to further this process. They often have the same goals, but they pursue them separately, with different approaches, and this affects efficiency. Efforts must also be made to find support and dissemination for their objectives through the media and the universities of Latin America. Today, without the collaboration of these instruments it is very hard for associations to achieve their objectives and enhance the protection of IP rights in Latin America.
We talked about the strong points of the system, what are the region’s weaknesses in IP? I could mention five or six, but I’m going to highlight one that in my opinion is the most important. It is the weakness in the lack of investment for the development of technology. While there has been an improvement and some countries are implementing interesting projects, I’d say that Latin America has not been able to develop its own technology in the degree necessary to consolidate the economic development that the region has achieved in the last ten years. Today there is a lack of finance for projects that research and develop new technologies and therefore are low the numbers of patent applications that are filed by local researchers and companies as shown in the article is published about the statistics on patents. And without a technological development of our own , we lag behind the developed world.
“legal services at Latin America are at the same level as those provided anywhere in the world”
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NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY INSTITUTE (INPI)
The new president
has to face a series of challenges By Luiz Leonardos & Advogados
The new President of the National Industrial Property Institute (INPI) has finally been announced and nominated, Professor LUIZ OTAVIO PIMENTEL, on July 28, 2015. He will surely have to face a series of challenges in the administration, which has been struggling for years with lack of personnel, lack of funds and a backlog of years to be surpassed. It goes without saying that the INPI has been struggling in its last administrations to become more international, with the adoption of electronic procedures and a modernization of its headquarters and working environment, including the digitalization of all its files and hiring new people. For example, we have very recently seem the final implementation of the INPI’s system of e-filing for industrial designs, and even more recently the launching of its electronic platform for the recordal of contracts. Nevertheless, the INPI still has a long way to go until it reaches a point where it will be capable of performing its role of preserving the rights of industrial property owners in a timely and orderly fashion, by offering assurance of practice. The INPI, for instance, has recently provided a list containing the timeframes (backlog) that it is currently operating on for each step of a trademark registration procedure. This transparency is welcomed and this list guides those who interact with the INPI and need to forecast an estimated time for actions to happen as far as their trademark rights or expectancy of rights are concerned. The list reveals that the INPI is currently undertaking the examination of the following steps:
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Professor Luiz Otavio Pimentel
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Action being examined
Cases currently under examination
Formal examination of electronically filed trademark applications
Applications filed on May 31, 2015
Formal examination of paper filed trademark applications
Applications filed on May 20, 2015
Thorough examination of trademark applications (concerning relative and absolute grounds of refusal)
Applications filed in August of 2012
Thorough examination of trademark applications (concerning relative and absolute grounds of refusal) that were opposed, including the simultaneous analysis of the opposition(s) and of possible reply(ies) thereto
Applications filed in June of 2010
Renewal requests
Requests filed in March of 2012
Issuance of electronic certificates of registration
30 days
Appeals
Appeals whose notice was published until 2008
Administrative Nullity Action
Those presented against registrations that issued until 2010
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URUGUAY - WTC 3 Luis A. de Herrera 1248 2nd Floor, of. 258 CP 11300, Montevideo Ph: +598 2622 9990*
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cervierimonsuarez@cmlawyers.com.uy
www.cmlawyers.com.uy Chambers Latin America & Global 2015 - Leading Firm Band 2; Dr. Virginia Cervieri, Leading Lawyer Band 2. WTR 1000 2015 - Top ranked Gold trademark prosecution firm; Dr. Virginia Cervieri Gold Ranked and Dr. Mark Teuten, Silver Ranked. Legal 500, Intellectual Property - Leading Firm Tier 2; Dr. Virginia Cervieri and Dr. Mark Teuten, Recommended Lawyers. IFLR 1000 2013 - Notable Firm; Dr. Virginia Cervieri and Dr. Pablo Monsuárez, Leading Lawyers. Member of MARQUES, INTA, IACC.
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Mexican Industrial Property Institute (IMPI)
Miguel Ángel Margáin. General Director of the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (IMPI). A lawyer with a law degree from Universidad Panamericana and a Master of Law from Cambridge University, Margáin is also a British Council Fellow.
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News from Mexico
Miguel Angel Margáin, General Director of the IMPI emphasizes the most relevant activities of the Institute.
the industrial property system more and more as a tool for creating better goods and services.”
Protected Innovation Program For the first time in the history of Mexico’s intellectual property a programe is been implemented to enhance the services provided by the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (IMPI). The 2013-2018 Protected Innovation program, launched the same year that Miguel Ángel Margáin was appointed director of the IMPI, seeks to promote and raise awareness in society regarding the benefits of industrial property, contribute to the protection of productive knowledge, discourage unfair competition, and strengthen the international presence of intellectual property. Margáin believes that the IMPI must always strive to be one step ahead, looking for potential intellectual property system users and providing follow up for their cases until they materialize their business dreams. “We will continue our efforts to encourage all those engaged in Mexico’s economic development to use
Counterfeit goods The Divisional Sub-Directorate of Famous Trademarks, Investigation, Control, and Document Processing was established to strengthen the IMPI’s actions against piracy and unfair competition. The IMPI also cooperates with the General Customs Administration in detecting and stopping counterfeit goods that attempt to enter the country, as well as with the Federal Consumer Protection Office (Profeco). Collective trademarks “We are working to give Mexico a solid intellectual property system that will serve as a model for other countries. Which is why I think it is essential for intellectual property to be mainstreamed across all levels of education. We are also promoting the registration of collective trademarks with appellation of origin, to enhance the competitiveness of organized producers in the market.”
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José Graça Aranha, regional director at the WIPO Brazil Office.
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Regional office in Rio de Janeiro
The Government of Brazil and WIPO signed an agreement in 2009 with the aim of giving the organization a stronger presence in the region promoting intellectual property. “We organize events in Brazil and in the region,” José Graça Aranha says, regional director at the WIPO Brazil Office. The office has a staff of five working in a 150-square-meter space located in Ipanema, which he describes as “a safe part of Rio with a good commercial area.” The office currently manages two funds in trust through agreements with the Government of Brazil for technical cooperation and South-South cooperation activities. This means that most of the budget for the office comes from two funds in trust that WIPO has with the Brazilian Government and a minor portion of that budget is provided by WIPO itself for promotional activities. The first fund in trust was established in the 1970s with funds from the Government of Brazil for the creation of the INPI, which operates since then. “WIPO then signed an agreement with Brazil for another fund in trust for activities of countries in the South,” he explains. This fund is used to organize activities with Latin American countries, in Africa and Asia. WIPO performance indicators are measured in terms of activities, contacts, event participants, and services provided. In fact, a unique feature that sets this organization apart from other United Nations agencies is that it provides services. “This characteristic means that it does not rely exclusively on member state contributions; WIPO does not need them and 21 years ago it even tried to eliminate them but the member states did not accept it.”
In Perspective Since 2009, Brazilian national José Graça Aranha has held the position of regional director at the WIPO Brazil Office. His appointment came after a tense election in which he came short of winning the top position at WIPO, losing by only one vote to the current Director General, the Australian Francis Gurry. He joined WIPO in 1993 and worked in the Development Cooperation and External Relations Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean until he was transferred to the International Registrations Department in 1998. In 1999 he was appointed President of Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and at the request of the Brazilian Government he also headed the Institute in Rio de Janeiro. After completing his four-year term he returned to WIPO to serve as Director of the Resources Department, WIPO’s second largest area. As of five years ago he occupies the position of Regional Director at the WIPO Regional Office in Rio de Janeiro. “My duty is to supervise the tasks and activities of the regional office, as well as the relations with WIPO,” he summarizes.
More Is Less
“WIPO has a project, which is being enhanced, to open offices around the world,” Graça Aranha says. The aim is to reduce costs. “The idea is to be closer, without the Geneva costs, and today, with the Internet, the staff can have a different structure from what it has had in the past,” he explains. For example, the Rio office is permanently in contact with the organization through videoconferences, for which it has a special room. It also takes calls made to the WIPO call center that operates 24 hours a day. “We devote some hours each day to answer calls coming in through the center, when WIPO Geneva is closed.” “So our office is a pilot experience for WIPO of how such a structure could work,” he says smiling. The organization plans to open two offices in Africa, another office in Latin America, and one more in Asia. “The idea is to strengthen WIPO’s presence in these regions,” he says. www.marcasur.com
“wipo has a proJect, which is being enhanced, to open offices around the worLd.” “My duty is to supervise the tasks and activities of the regionaL office, as weLL as the reLations with wipo.”
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To promote or not to promote: the “terroir” in Latin America and the Caribbean
by Jorge Chávarro Cavelier Abogados Colombia
Designation of Origin The Designation of Origin is without a doubt, a useful instrument in the field of Intellectual Property, since it allows countries and producers to economically develop a particular geographical location. The concept of Designation of Origin was born in Europe a couple of centuries ago, and thanks to the Paris Convention of 1883, it is used to protect and recognize the quality of agro-food products in the world. This concept currently has an important role in the Americas and it is constantly used.
National Designations
Most of Latin American and Caribbean countries in the XXI Century recognized the Designation of Origin and the Geographical Indication in their national legislations through the enactment of protection laws which are used, mainly and traditionally, to protect agriculture, wine and, more recently, handicraft products. Although most Latin American countries showed a great development in industrial property -since almost everyone signed
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braziL is the country froM the aMerican continent that has More protected designations of origin, it has a totaL of 41 and ratified the Paris Convention and other WIPO treaties to protect Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin such as the Lisbon Agreement and the TRIPS-, there are still some countries that do not show such a development, not even in their national law.
European continent
It is clear that the European continent is the leader in Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications, with more than 1000 products protected through these tools, followed by India with around 178. Latin American countries have been receiving this influence by also implementing such protection.
Brazil and Mexico
For example, Brazil is the country from the American continent that has more protected Designations of Origin, it has a total of 41. Brazil is followed by Colombia with a total of 21 Designations of Origin, a country not only having agricultural but also craftsmanship products; the latter which make it the leader in this category. Mexico also widely developed Designations of Origin and implemented protection by national and international regulations, which is why this country has a total of 14.
About the author Jorge Chรกvarro. Attorney at law, partner, Cavelier Abogados, Colombia. Co-author of the publication The awakening of geographical indications in America (ASIPI)
Geographical and human facts
Designations of Origin allow Latin American countries to develop their economy through high quality products, which belong to a specific region, with particular features that make the product different from others because their process and production methods are unique to an area, where the geographical and human factors play a key role in protecting products. Designations of Origin allow producer groups and entrepreneurs to go into partnerships. Associativity is the concept that makes it possible to reach a happy ending. The fact that farmers and peasants achieve to lay their individualism aside and join forces together looking forward to a common benefit, results in cost reduction,
our products that are getting advantage froM designations of origin coMe to the worLd with the vaLue they deserve
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local integration, transparency, control mechanisms and commitment of sectors involved in the chain of production and marketing.
same features, qualities and attributes of those originated on the other side of the Atlantic, which give them their prestige and notoriety.
The perverse side
Our value
But not everything that glitters is gold. Sometimes the perverse side of success acquired by Designations of Origin or Geographical Indications appears. For example, some large companies in our American continent want to take advantage by making the consumers believe, as a marketing and sales strategy, that their products have the special qualities of the most recognized Designations of Origin around the world, and consumers think they are actually buying top quality products. An example that refers to what was mentioned above is the use, increasingly common in the Americas, of expressions referring to European products that actually identify cheese and wine, which are fully and only developed in the American continent but do not have the
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Thanks to the unique features of the geographical environment (terroir), there are mountains, hills, plains, valleys with rich soils or lands from Alaska to Patagonia, which together with natural and human factors make native products, something really valuable. It is time to feel proud of everything that is produced in our Latin American and Caribbean countries and cease to put foreign names or marks in our own products. Fortunately, as protective legislation implements the Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications, we find and identify that we have agro-food products (organic or not) as well as exotic, excellent quality or craftsmanship, with special features that make them unique. I hope that in the following decades our products that are getting advantage from Designations of Origin come to the world with the value they deserve, since they are the result of the work and perseverance of our people, with the know-how passed down from generation to generation.
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By Wina Arambulé With the phrase “…and the rafts from Miami to Havana,” popularized by the song “Si el norte fuera el sur” (If the North Were the South), from the CD of the same name released in 1996, Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona began a reflection of what the world would be like if Cuba and the United States were to switch places. In May 2016, twenty years after that song first played on the radio, and fifty-six years after the United States imposed an embargo on Cuba, the first cruise ship will set sail from Miami to Havana. The U.S. company Carnival Cruise Lines— the largest in the world—will offer weekly seven-day-long cruises to the island in ships with a capacity for 710 passengers. And it’s only natural, as tourism is one of the leading engines driving Cuban economy, leaving an estimated US$2.6 billion annually. It has been many years since such auspicious winds have blown in the nation, not since February 3, 1962, when the United States imposed an economic, trade, and financial embargo that is known as the 64
Cuba´s New Era Many things have changed in Cuba since December 17, 2014, when it was announced that the United States would be resuming diplomatic relations with the island. The reactivation of the economy, which could close the year with a growth rate of 4%, is leading many to set their sights on this Caribbean country, which for decades had been forgotten by the big fish. www.marcasur.com
longest embargo in modern history. Personalities such as François Hollande (French President), Fumio Kishida (Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister), Beniamino Stella (Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy), Federica Mogherini (Head of Foreign Policy of the European Union), and Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India) have visited the archipelago to strengthen relations and support the island’s process of opening up to the world.
Intellectual Property in Cuba
It is still too early to say if there will be any changes in this area, as Cuba’s position toward U.S. applicants and IP holders has never been conditioned by the severed diplomatic relations with the United States. “The embargo laws and limitations were imposed by the United States, not by Cuba, so the changes have to come from the United States. Although we have always processed all trademark applications filed by U.S. individuals and companies without problem, in the last few months we have seen an increase in such applicawww.marcasur.com
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tions,” Yordanka Ramírez Pastor, official IP agent and head of the Trademarks Group at the firm Claim S.A., says. In Cuba trademark applications are filed with its Industrial Property Office (Oficina Cubana de la Propiedad Industrial, or OCPI) and it can take from 12 to 15 months for a trademark registration to be granted. If an application receives oppositions, the process can take up to four years. A positive outcome depends on whether the mark meets all the requirements established under Decree-Law No. 203, of December 24, 1999, which regulates the application, processing, granting, administration, and enforcement of industrial property rights over marks and other distinctive signs. “To determine what goods or services to apply for registration, applicants must refer to the International Classification of Goods and Services, adopted under the Nice Agreement. Cuba is already applying the tenth edition, which is the version revised in 2015. Cuban laws also require a letter of representation authorizing the Cuban official agent who files the application, granting a term of sixty days after filing the application to present the letter of representation at no additional cost, so that it does not have to be included with the application, but it must be submitted within that time frame. This letter of representation can be submitted without any formalities, it only needs to be completed and signed and it can be sent via email.” Ramírez notes that Cuba applies the multiple class system for applications, which means that applicants can include all the classes they are interested in on a single application, paying additional fees when applying for more than three classes. With respect to patents, the law that is in force as of February 20, 2012 is DecreeLaw No. 290, which includes utility models.
Steps for Applying for a Trademark in Cuba 1. After receiving the application and completing the formal examination, the OCPI publishes the trademark application in the Official Industrial Property Gazette (Boletín Oficial de la Propiedad Industrial). 2. Oppositions must be filed within a term of sixty days as of the date of publication, pursuant to Section 23.1 of Decree-Law No. 203. Applicants must respond to oppositions within thirty days of being notified of such actions by the OCPI. 3. Once these terms have expired, the OCPI conducts a substantive examination in which it analyzes absolute and relative prohibitions. This must be completed within a year after the filing date.
Who Can Apply for a Trademark in Cuba? Any national or foreign individual or legal person in full use of their legal capacity can apply for trademarks. Foreign legal persons without an actual and effective domicile or industrial or commercial offices in Cuba must be represented by an official agent, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 203, Section 8.1, paragraph 3.
Oppositions
- Oppositions must be grounded and accompanied by supporting documents. Whoever makes the observations is not a party to the proceedings. - If the holder of a prior right is harmed by the registration of the mark applied for, an opposition can be filed within sixty days following the publication date, prior payment of the established fees. In such cases, the opponent is considered a party to the application proceedings. - When an application receives observations or oppositions, the applicant has thirty days to respond. If the applicant fails to respond, the OCPI proceeds ex officio. Sources Consulted www.claim-sa.com www.gestiopolis.com 66
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Mercosur The Southern Common Market (Merco-sur) is a regional integration treaty signed between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay that went into force on March 26, 1991, adding a fifth member three years ago with Venezuela’s accession. Bolivia is now completing its accession. Today Mercosur is the largest integration process in Latin America.
Present and future
Twenty-five years have passed since this ambitious integration treaty was adopted and in practice it has not favored as expected the exchange of goods, services, and people among member countries. With respect to the exchange of goods, an external tariff on trade with countries outside the treaty was set over fifteen years ago and it is revised periodically. But no other progress has been made toward a customs union. For example, Argentina recently put up barriers to the import of goods from other member countries, a move that for many entails a step backwards in this process of integration. But Argentina cannot be blamed as the other member countries have at other times also complicated and hindered the exchange of certain products, giving way to many controversies, most of which have remained unresolved.
Mercosur’s Power
If Mercosur were a country, it would be the world’s fifth economy. Globally, this South American bloc controls:
55%
of soybean trade
70%
7
of flour exports
of every 10 South Americans are Mercosur citizens
61% of soybean oil
750 billion dollars is its combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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Its 3 official languages are Spanish, Portuguese, and Guaraní.
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Headquarters of the Mercosur in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay Today, for example, there is also concern among much of the private sector because after five years of negotiations internal commercial differences between Mercosur countries have prevented an agreement with the European Community and the member countries cannot sign an agreement unilaterally. Neither has there been any progress in the movement of nationals traveling between Mercosur countries, as they are practically treated as any foreigner from outside the bloc. The exchange of services has not progressed as expected either. For example, with respect to IP registrations, Mercosur
has failed to establish a single or community registry for trademarks or patents. While common regulations have been adopted on this subject, most of them are not important or merely replicate what the member countries have already adopted under international treaties. The bloc is still very far from having a community trademark and patent. In sum, the political agendas of the member countries have allowed Mercosur to subsist in the hope that technical and economic issues among the countries will be worked out so that they can move forward toward a real integration. And this will still take a long time.
15 million square kilometers make up its surface area, not including disputed territories and adjacent seas.
300 million people live within its territory. www.marcasur.com
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Simulation of product as an act of unfair competition by Ana Hernández. Hoet Pelaez Castillo & Duque Venezuela
In the trade, economic competition is a race of all agents involved, to meet the needs of consumers, increasingly imaginative and efficient. Different suppliers and consumers’ rights come into play in the evolution of the trade in commerce. The Venezuelan Constitution establishes economic freedom, with limitations envisaged therein and in the laws, as well as the prohibition of monopolies that disturb all competitive practice. In matters of unfair competition, there is a recent antitrust law enacted on November 26, 2014, which abolished the Law to promote and protect the exercise of free competition (antitrust law). It also created a Superintendence which will be in charge of surveillance and control of the economic practices as they prevent or restrict free competition, and considers as unfair practices: misleading advertising; commercial bribery, violation of rules and simulation and imitation. In that sense, we highlight the definition of simulation as: “the situation which creates confusion about the undertaking of a product, self-serving or economic agents linked among themselves, as a means through which intends that the public associated the company of the impersonator with another or others that enjoy prestige or a notoriety which the unfair competitor lacks. In this sense, shall be deemed unfair use of distinctive signs outside or denominators of origin, false or misleading, imitation of packaging or packaging”. By virtue of this, any agent of trade that detects a conduct of imitation regarding a product, must denounce it with before the Superintendence. It should be pointed out that the newly created Superintendence has not issued yet any decision within the framework of its competences. In addition, to check the imitation of packaging or packaging made reference to the “standard COVENIN 2952 - 2001” for labeling of packaged foods, which establishes guidelines for the legends. From the technical point of view, the characteristics of the packaging such as: elements of identification; distinctive signs; size, style and 70
color of the letters; would serve the purpose of demonstrating the similarities that show the simulation. It should be noted that the former Superintendence did not analyzed the issue regarding brands, but only the graphic signs of an allegedly simulator product, since the authority to rule on those issues is the autonomous service of intellectual property. Previous decisions of the former Superintendence stated that when a company sells a new product becomes temporarily a monopolist, and that within time, other companies would enter into this market trying to manufacture a similar product and from there it concluded, that allowing “simulation” in that stage, serve the purpose of allowing other companies to enter the market, create more competition and benefit the consumer since there would be more options to satisfy the need of a product or service. We recommend to take into account the above mentioned criteria in the course of formulating a complaint regarding a product simulation, for the purpose of delineating the arguments to demonstrate the simulative unfair practice. We strongly disagree with this criteria, and we are of the opinion that the new authority should harmonize their decisions to the text of the law, meaning that any attempted simulation of product which shows enough elements that lead to the conclusion that it might mislead the consumer, must be declared as a practice that violates the fair market competition, regardless of stage of the introduction of the product in the market.
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New shocking official fees and mechanism of payment applicable to Industrial Property rights in Venezuela. new shocking official fees and mechanism of payment applicable to industrial property rights in venezuela, are a consequence of new law, recently enacted by the government using the authority rule given by the national assembly. In view of the Venezuelan Government’s fiscal crisis, which is a worldwide known issue, laws that affect applicants of intellectual property rights and their agents have been recently enacted and enforced. The new Tax Stamp Law enacted on November 28, 2014 and which was enforced by the Venezuelan Patent and Trademark Office on May 15, 2015, establishes discriminatory rules on the method of payment and the official rate to use for calculating the official fee. Accordingly, the new law establishes that foreigners and foreign companies must pay the official fee in dollars of the United States of America at a very detrimental
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exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar, and that such payment must be done by bank transfer from a foreign bank account. This change significantly increases the fees, which is considered by most agents as a confiscatory fee. The Venezuelan Association of Intellectual Property Agents, have filed a Nullity Petition against the Stamp Tax Law before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice based on constitutional grounds and breach of numerous International Treaties, which has been admitted by the Chamber, and of which we are now expecting a decision.
We expect a favorable decision, and if the exchange rate as established in the law is changed to a more favorable; or if the method of payment in US$ is abolished, then that would bring an end to the discriminatory treatment for the foreigners and foreign entities; and to such confiscatory payment. www.hpcd.com
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Anticounterfeiting
The so-called “Heart of South America” was considered for a long time now -as several other countries in Latin America- as a destination marked by underdevelopment, underemployment, counterfeiting, traffic and impunity. However, the joint efforts of recent years, coupled with precise strategies, managed to shortening the distance for making the same a better country and a more “fair” market.
Paraguay: ¿destination for traffic of counterfeit goods? By Federico Huttemann Berkemeyer Attorneys and Counselors
“tri-border” area -with about 2,500 km2 comprised by the cities of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguacu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina)- seems to be the main reason for the traffic of such goods. For decades this area was used for storing counterfeit products, which were introduced in the country in containers to be later distributed in smaller quantities in cities located in the “tri-border” area, situation that for some time now suffered a positive change due to the efforts made for enforcing Trademark laws.
Shortening the distance
The so-called “Heart of South America” was considered for a long time now - as several other countries in Latin America- as a destination marked by underdevelopment, underemployment, counterfeiting, traffic and impunity. However, the joint efforts of recent years, coupled with precise strategies, managed to shortening the distance for making the same a better country and a more “fair” market. Located in the heart of South America, with about seven million people, Paraguay is, since several decades ago, one of the main in transit destinations for the traffic of counterfeit goods, coming from different places of the world, especially from Asia. Its geographical position as part of the 72
In 1988 Paraguay enacted the Law No. 1,294 for Trademarks, whereby all matters related to Intellectual Property were regulated as well as the civil and criminal actions provided for infringing said Law. The law is very explicit in regard to the exclusive use of a trademark or trade name, to the extent of establishing that the holder of a right for the exclusive use of a trademark or trade name may bring an action before the courts against anyone who infringes this right. Is also very important to mention the modification of the Criminal Code, given in 2008 through Law Nº 3440, provided PUNISHABLE OFFENSES AGAINST TRADEMARK AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY www.marcasur.com
RIGHTS and increased the maximum penalty to eight years of imprisonment for acts like falsify, adulterate or fraudulently imitate a registered trademark for the same products or services or similar to the protected mark and for keep in storage, make available for sale, sell or aid to sell or circulate counterfeit, adulterated or fraudulently imitated products or services, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years; in particularly serious cases, imprisonment might be from two to eight years.
Sofia System Paraguay also implemented Trademark Registration before the National Directorate of Customs in 2008. This initiative was designed to strengthen the fight against piracy and counterfeiting in the country through the Registration of Trademarks. Registration allows the inclusion of such Intellectual Property rights in the “Sofia System”, name of the computer control system in Customs clearances, and withholding of goods when they do not belong to the holders of such intellectual property rights. Registration before Customs is an implementation of the TRIP’s Treaty, which Paraguay ratified. Upon starting the clearance procedures for any goods and confirmed the registration of the mark before Customs, the relevant Customs Office must send a communication to the responsible Trademark Agent reporting the existence of the shipment and sending copy of documents of origin (invoice) accompanying the shipment, so the owner of the trademark registration may inform whether is interested or not in proceeding with the verification of the goods and, where appropriate, withholding the same. This procedure is not applied to cargo containers or goods imported into the country by local firms identified as authorized distributors by the owners.
New State offices Enactment of these measures and the creation of new State offices such as the Administrative Coordination Office for Customs Investigations (CAIA), under the National Directorate of Customs, the National Directorate for Intellectual Property, as well as the strengthening of the Specialized Units for Crimes against Intellectual Property, under the Attorney General Office, along with the work done by Law Firms focused on Intellectual Property matters, have reached encouraging results related to seizure and destruction methods for counterfeit goods. As an example, results obtained in 2014 by CAIA can be mentioned, being one of www.marcasur.com
Seizure of goods during 2014 in Paraguay and the monthly evolution December November October
15% 18% 10%
September
4%
August
6%
July
5%
June May
4% 7%
April
5%
March
6% 12%
February January
8% 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
the entities that is most involved in the struggle against piracy, which obtained the seizure of counterfeit goods worth approximately U$D 115,000,000.
The challenge Based on these data we can conclude that gradually the stigma of Paraguay labeled as “piracy country” is being reversed with laws and concrete actions before an issue that, with joint efforts and year after year, will be reduced in the country. The challenge is to continue what has already been built, in the understanding that the road is long and the goal is one: to eradicate illegality in a broad sense, and specifically the traffic of counterfeit goods. Actualmente estoy cursando un LLM in Law and Management en INIDEM Business School en conjunto con la INCAE y ESADE, terminaré dicha maestría en noviembre del presente año.
About the author Federico Huttemann. Attorney at Law, Department of IP Enforcement, Berkemeyer Attorneys and Counselors, Paraguay. LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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The Seven Wonders of Latin America The Seven Wonders of Latin America These rainforests, glaciers, beaches, and archeological treasures have not only been declared World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), they are also included in the coveted New7Wonders lists. Iguazú Falls
These 275 spectacular waterfalls and cataracts straddle South America’s two largest countries. Eighty percent of the jumps, including the highest and deepest, Garganta del Diablo (or Devil’s Throat), are on the Argentine side, in Parque Nacional Iguazú, a rainforest spanning almost 70,000 hectares, and the other 20% are located in Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, in Paraná, Brazil. The Iguazú Falls are one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Its circuits can be
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toured on foot, by boat, on off-road fourwheel drives, or on the ecological trains that travel between the two countries. One of the best places to stay on the Argentine side is the Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa, featuring a panoramic view of Garganta del Diablo and the Brazilian jumps. The Puerto Iguazú International Airport (located 7 km from the Argentine cataracts and 12 km from the Brazilian falls) receives flights from several cities.
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Amazonia Giant toads and spiders, aquatic turtles and tortoises, caimans, crocodiles, snakes, dolphins, monkeys, deer, pumas, and jaguars all live together in this majestic region spanning six million square kilometers across Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, and Suriname. The largest tropical forest in the planet, also declared one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, holds 30% of the Earth’s biodiversity, including 20% of all plant species in the world, such as the Victoria amazonica, the world’s most colossal water lily. Home to the greatest mineral reserve, with 182 million tons of gold, and the Earth’s largest river by discharge of water, the Amazon River, with 23,000 kilometers of navigable waters, it has 390 billion trees that produce vast amounts of oxygen. The best way to experience the Amazon River is aboard cruise ships that ply its waters, such as Mystic Cruises, Delfín, Aqua y Aria (of Aqua Expeditions), and Iberostar. There are recommended tours than can last one or several days or even weeks.
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Machu Picchu ‘Old mountain,’ that is what Machu Picchu, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, means. Built as a lavish complex in the fifteenth century, under the orders of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (the ninth Incan emperor), it is the most widely known symbol of Incan civilization. Located more than 2,400 meters above sea level, in Urubamba Province, in Peru’s Cusco Region, it is formed by 172 structures, among which the most important are the Inti Watana (Hitching Post of the Sun), Qurikancha (the Temple of the Sun), and the Temple of the Three Windows. It lay forgotten, covered by thick
vegetation, until 1911, when it was brought to the attention of the world by an expedition headed by Hiram Bingham, an explorer and politician from the United States. Before then, nobody had excavated these ruins, which at their height had been home to some 1,000 people. To reach it, you must first go to Cusco and from there to Ollantaytambo. In Cusco you can take the Hiram Bingham luxury train, making the four-hour journey to the town of Aguas Calientes. If you are in good physical shape and you like hiking, you can take the Incan Trail on foot for a four-day walk. LATIN AMERICA 2 0 1 5
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Chichén Itzá The ancient home of the Mayans, now one the New 7 Wonders of the World, is located at Tinum, in Yucatán, Mexico, and dates back to the year 525 A.D. Chichén Itzá is a Mayan phrase meaning ‘at the mouth of the well of the Itzá (water enchanters).’ Its attractions include the Great North Platform, the Observatory, the Sacred Cenote (or well), the ball courts, the Temple of the Thousand Columns, and Kukulkán, the most famous of the temples and popularly known as El Castillo (The Castle). Its structure has four staircases, each with 91 steps, for a total of 365, counting the upper platform. Each step was meant to represent the days on the Haab’, the Mayan calendar, which coincides with the Gregorian calendar that we use today. Chichén Itzá can be accessed by air from Cancún—a one-hour trip—or by land from Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, 188 km away.
Salto Ángel Its spectacular views inspired such Oscar-winning movies as Disney Pixar’s Up, James Cameron’s Avatar, and What Dreams May Come, featuring Robin Williams. The Salto Ángel (or Angel Falls), the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world, with a height of 979 meters, is located in the Venezuelan State of Bolívar, within the Parque Nacional Canaima, a protected area bordering Guyana and Brazil and spanning more than 30,000 square kilometers (about the size of Belgium), making it the planet’s largest natural reserve. The camp is reached by a small aircraft 76
from Caracas or Ciudad Bolívar. From there, visitors continue by land or water for some 13 hours, although helicopter rides are also available. The best time of the year to visit is from June to December, when the rivers are navigable and the small wooden rafts crafted and steered by local indigenous people are the preferred mode of transportation. Salto Ángel took its name from Jimmie Angel, a U.S. aviator who crashed his monoplane against the peak as he attempted to land in September 1937, miraculously surviving along with the rest of this crew. www.marcasur.com
Southern Patagonian Ice Field Between the southwestern region of the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, and the Andes mountain range in Chile there are 49 large glaciers and 200 smaller ones stretching across 360 kilometers, making this the third largest ice field in the world, after Antarctica and Groenlandia. To see the glaciers in Argentina, visitors must travel from Buenos Aires to Río Gallegos or to El Calafate, to Los Glaciares National Park. There they will find the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is moving continuously, damming and rupturing large sections of ice. Among the area’s other attractions are Lakes Argentino and Viedma, whose waters flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The Chilean glaciers, in Torres del Paine National Park, are massive giants shaped by the force of the glacial ice. To reach them from Santiago de Chile, visitors must travel to Punta Arenas and from there to Puerto Natales, a city located 154 kilometers from the park’s entrance.
The Galápagos Islands Hiking, sailing, surfing, snorkeling, diving, and enjoying some of the best beaches in the world are some of the attractions of the Galápagos Islands, an archipelago made up of thirteen large volcanic islands, six minor islands, and 42 small islands, situated off the Ecuadorian coasts of the Pacific Ocean. The Santa Fe island, at the center of the archipelago, recently received 207 specimens of the Galápago giant tortoise, a species that almost went into extinction over 150 years ago through the actions of pirates and whalers. Also characteristic of the area are the Galápagos penguin, the lava heron, and the blue-footed booby, as well as fur seals, land and marine iguanas, and sea lions. A bit of trivia? It was in this paradise, known also as Columbus’ archipelago, where British naturalist Charles Darwin made many of the observations that would form the basis of his book, On the Origin of Species. Visitors can reach the Galápagos by air on flights that leave daily from Quito and Guayaquil. The best time to travel to the islands is from December through May, when temperatures average 30°C, although divers and animal watchers prefer the months of June through November, when it is not as hot and whale sharks can be observed up close.
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VENEZUELA
URUGUAY
PERU
PARAGUAY
PANAMA
NICARAGUA
MEXICO
HONDURAS
GUATEMALA
EL SALVADOR
ECUADOR
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
CUBA
COSTA RICA
COLOMBIA
CHILE
BRAZIL
BOLIVIA
ARGENTINA
COUNTRY
Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
International Classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification)
International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
Patent Cooperation Trademark Law Treaty (PCT) Treaty (TLT)
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS IN USE IN LATIN AMERICA Budapest Vienna Treaty Classification
The International Trademark System (Madrid System)