Welcome to our blog for Intellectual Property Law and Practice in Latin America!
¡Bienvenidos a nuestro blog de Derecho y Práctica de la Propiedad Intelectual en Latinoamérica!
Bem-vindo ao nosso blog sobre Direito e Prática de Propriedade Intelectual na América Latina!

Thursday 28 February 2013

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Chile: INAPI abre Consulta Pública para Directrices de Patentes

El Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Industrial de Chile (INAPI) dio hoy inicio formal al proceso de Consulta Pública para sus Directrices de Examen de Patentes, documento que reúne, por primera vez, los criterios técnicos de INAPI en relación al procedimiento de análisis técnico, formal y procedimental para el registro de solicitudes de patentes.

La consulta pública busca recabar las sugerencias de los usuarios, agentes del sistema y de la comunidad en general, las que serán consideradas para mejorar y perfeccionar las Directrices.

El objetivo final, es generar un documento que reúna los criterios que INAPI ha venido utilizando y sirva de guía a los usuarios de patentes de invención, contribuyendo a elevar los estándares de calidad de los procedimientos y a brindar mayor seguridad jurídica a los solicitantes.

El Director Nacional de INAPI, Maximiliano Santa Cruz, extendió la invitación a la comunidad a enviar sus sugerencias, inquietudes y opiniones. "Queremos mejorar y enriquecer estas directrices, en el marco de un proceso abierto, transparente y de trabajo conjunto con los distintos actores del sistema", destacó.


Fuente: Marcela Díaz (Jefa de Comunicaciones Institucionales INAPI)
Read More

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Patricia Covarrubia

FTA Korea and Colombia: a success for DOs in coffee is expected

    No comments:
Last week, we finally witness the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and Colombia. Negotiations finished last year in June, and this month the Agreement was signed. It now goes for approval: in Colombia to the Congress and in Korea to the National Assembly.

According to the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), “the Asian market accounts for almost 60% of the world population and economies that have rapidly developed in recent decades”. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Díaz-Granados, said that the FTA will benefit all sectors. This is so, because the FTA includes trade in goods and services as well as investment and cooperation. It contains 22 chapters one of which is dedicated to Intellectual Property.

It is also good to note that Korea is a net exporter of capital (in 2012 goods bought represented USD $ 524,413,000) and a leader in technological innovation. Moreover, it is said that the Colombian mining and agriculture could have great opportunities in the Korean market. In the region, Chile (in 2004) and Peru (in 2011) do also have a FTA with Korea and the experience has been positive (e.g. Chile's agricultural sale to Korea has multiplied four times). Among the strong Korean industries are auto-mobiles  appliances, steel, some petrochemical products and textiles. Brands familiar to Colombians from the Korean market are Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo, LG Electronics, Posco, Poongsan, Golden-Oil and Skizen. For Colombia there are opportunities in pharmaceuticals, articles of iron or steel, artificial flowers, plastic in primary forms, cosmetics and toiletries. Coffee and coffee extracts are hoping to increase their market (in 2011 coffee alone represented USD $97 million in the Korean market and it is said that Korea plans to import about USD $ 1,000 million). In this line, it is established that all goods protected by SIC as a Denomination of Origin (DO) will be identified with this stamp and thus, protected under this Agreement e.g. ‘Cafe de Colombia’ and ‘Café de Nariño’.

The Minister asserts that consideration was given not only to entrepreneurs but also to workers and minorities including meetings with leaders of the labour unions and also with representatives of indigenous peoples. The latter being relevant due to the potential impact of mining that could have in their lands and also ensuring them the protection of theirs Dos such as ‘ Mochilas Wayuú’(backpacks), ‘Tejeduría Zenú’ (weaving), ‘Hamacas de San Jacinto’ (hammock), ‘Sombrero Aguadeño’ (hat), ‘Mopa Mopa Barniz-Pasto’ (polish of grass), among others. Regarding the cooperation it is said that the Korean government is creating mechanisms “to promote the transfer of know-how”.

Source SIC.
Q & A from the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism here.
Read More

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

IMPI y OMPI firman MoU relacionado con el Sistema de Madrid

Luego del ingreso de México al Sistema de Madrid, ha comenzado a  desarrollar acciones para su puesta en marcha, como la suscripción de un Memorándum de Entendimiento (MoU) entre el IMPI y la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI), por el cual se comprometen al envío de información entre ambas partes, por medios electrónicos.

El Memorándum establece que el IMPI transmitirá a la OMPI, información referente a formularios oficiales y diversos documentos que deberá presentar de acuerdo a los procedimientos del Sistema de Madrid. 

En tanto el IMPI en conjunto con la OMPI, consultarán los registros internacionales mediante la base de datos electrónica que mantiene la Oficina Internacional en virtud del Reglamento Común del Arreglo de Madrid, lo que permitirá en todo momento analizar el estatus de dichos registros de manera sencilla y ágil. Ambas partes podrán utilizar el Protocolo de Transferencia de Archivos (FTP) de la red pública para la transmisión de documentos electrónicos, lo que ayudará a la agilización en cuánto a la búsqueda de archivos referentes a las solicitudes de marcas tanto en México como en las registradas por la OMPI.

El MoU entró en vigor el 18 de febrero de 2013 con vigencia indefinida y pudiendo ambas partes darlo por terminado mediante previa notificación, dirigida a la otra parte, con una antelación de 90 días a la fecha de término.

Fuente: IMPI
Read More
Patricia Covarrubia

IP is a common interest among BRIC countries

    No comments:
Last week the Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propiedade Industrial (INPI) received leaders from the Chinese patent office (SIPO) and thus, consolidating a partnership which "can trace an outline of common interests among the BRIC countries" [aren’t we suppose to call this bloc the BRICS- now that South Africa has joined?]. In the agenda was, among other matters, “the expansion of technological cooperation agreement between the countries and encourage new forms of decentralization and the use of intellectual property in states and municipalities.”

INPI informs that the partnership between INPI and SIPO was consolidated in 2012 and was focused primarily on the training of patent examiners (three examiners of INPI have been trained in Beijing, China). They are now looking to extend the practice to the academic field, and thus, there is interest in establishing an interaction between universities and master's and doctoral programs. According to INPI, the aim is to develop research projects and international publications on innovation in the area of aviation.

Also, Brazilians have an interest in strengthening ties with China Intellectual Property Training Center (CIPTC) as well as to initiate a “pilot project examining patent shared via e-PCT (i.e. online services)”. SIPO will also send to INPI a model based on a contract established between the Chinese Training Center and the John Marshall Law School, Chicago [uh? replicating the Chinese model, which is a copy of the American model?! Well I guess the Chinese adapted it to their needs, right? …I wonder: what does the John Marshall Institute have to say about this?].
Read More

Monday 25 February 2013

Patricia Covarrubia

Brazil: how to protect well-known marks

    No comments:
On February 19th the Brazilian Third Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has unanimously decided to deny the appeal sought by the company holding the trade mark ‘ABSOLUT’. The company was trying to guarantee the recognition of its ‘well known’ mark as so, through the courts.

The decision ratifies the principle followed by the Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propiedade Industrial (INPI) on this matter i.e. recognition as a ‘well known’ mark must be sought at the Office not the courts. Moreover, this practice can only be pursued in opposition proceeding against third party trade mark applications or as a defence in cases of cancellation (nullity) asked by other users.

This principle is established by Resolution 121/05 that regulates the procedures for the application of art 125 Law No. 9,279. Article 2 of Resolution 121/05 defines a ‘well known’ mark as the one that ‘enjoys an unchallenged authority, knowledge and prestige’ due to ‘its tradition and condition in the market’ as well as its ‘quality and reliability’. The name is ‘linked essentially to the good image of the products or services that applies, employing a strong magnetism’. The Resolution continues to establish that the special protection to ‘well known’ marks afforded by art. 125 Law 9,279 ought to be sough at INPI and only through an indirect action in administrative procedures e.g., as a matter of defence or opposition.

The decision contributes, according to INPI, to increase legal certainty of the INPI’s actions.

Source INPI.
Resolution 121/05 here (Portuguese).
Read More

Thursday 21 February 2013

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)

Colombia – Sello de Denominación de Origen Protegida


Hace unos días el Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo realizó el lanzamiento oficial del Sello de Denominación de Origen Protegida, un distintivo que garantiza la calidad y originalidad de los productos colombianos y que hace de cada uno de ellos “un producto único”.

Esta iniciativa está enfocada a facilitarle al consumidor la identificación de los productos colombianos que han sido protegidos como Denominación de Origen, diferenciar aquellos productos que tienen un valor agregado por su origen o por la protección que se le ha otorgado y ofrecer una garantía de calidad del producto al ratificar que viene de donde dice que venir y tiene las características que dice tener.

El sello no otorga una protección más allá de la que hoy en día se le da a los productos con denominación de origen pero sí permite tener una distinción adicional para identificarlos.

Otro objetivo de la iniciativa es diferenciar los productos falsos de los originales y prevenir la compra de imitaciones, y de generar fidelidad entre los compradores que preferirán adquirir productos que lleven este sello.

Actualmente Colombia ostenta 18 Denominaciones de Origen, entre los cuales encontramos tejidos, artesanías, sombreros, cerámicas, cestería, flores, alimentos, bebidas de frutas, entre otros.

Más información: Unipymes SIC
Read More

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Brasil y Perú disputan dominio <.amazon> a ® Amazon


Los gobiernos del Perú y Brasil se encuentran trabados en un litigio contra Amazon, para impedir que la empresa de comercio electrónico registre a su favor el dominio <.amazon>. Ambos países -que conjunto  abarcan el 73% del territorio de la Amazonía (o Amazonia)- basan su oposición en que el nombre debe conservarse para fines de interés público.

Por su parte, ICANN a través de su vocero Andrew Robertson anticipó que ambos Estados podrían ganar el litigio.

La oposición peruana y brasileña pugna para que se reserve esa denominación para la protección, promoción y alerta sobre materias relacionadas con la biomasa de la Amazonía.

El diario GlobalPost informó que Amazon ya desembolsó más de 150 mil dólares para intentar registrar el nombre, importe que sería devuelto en caso de rechazo de la solicitud.

ICANN indicó que enviará a Amazon.com una alerta temprana solicitando las razones por las cuales buscan registrar el nombre y analizará los argumentos de las partes para tomar una decisión final.

La preocupación ante la posibilidad del uso comercial de este dominio también puede inducir a confusión por su similitud con el nombre en ingles del "Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica" (Amazon Cooperation Treaty) firmado en 1978 entre Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam y Venezuela.

Perú y Brasil se encuentran entre los 40 miembros del Comité Consultor de ICANN.


Fuente:http://www.connuestroperu.com/ via @lucentinus
Read More
Patricia Covarrubia

Brazil: no patent extension for medicines

    2 comments:
The Fourth Chamber of the STJ unanimously upheld the appeal brought by the Brazilian Insituto Nacional da Propiedade Industrial (INPI) regarding the dismissal to extend three pharmaceutical patents.

While this decision appears to have taken place back in December, it has recently been published by the Brazilian Superior Court (STJ). The decision goes in line with previous ones and confirms the understanding of the pipeline system used by the patent system in Brazil i.e. term of the patent is to be count from the first application abroad even in circumstances in which such application was abandoned or extended in another country. We may recall that Brazil did not grant patent protection to pharmaceutical and agricultural products BUT because of its commitments as part of the TRIPS agreement, there was the need to accommodate the national system.

The drugs:
1. - drug used for cardiovascular disorders; active ingredient sildenafil citrate. Patent to expire on 09/07/2011, extension sought until 02/07/2012.
2. - drug used as a veterinary anti-parasitic; active ingredient selamectin. Patent to expire on 18/01/2013; extension sought until 12/01/2014.
3.-drug for migraine; active ingredient bromide eletriptan. Patent to expire on 15/10/2010; extension sought until 13/08/2013.

Source INPI.
Read More

Monday 18 February 2013

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)

México – Entrada en vigor del Sistema de Madrid

 
Mañana 19 de febrero de 2013 es el día señalado para que entre en vigor el Protocolo concerniente al Arreglo de Madrid en México.
 
Como os informamos hace algunos meses, México se adhirió al Protocolo de Madrid, convirtiéndose de ésta forma en el tercer país de Latinoamérica que se adhiere al Sistema de Madrid para el Registro Internacional de Marcas.
 
Esperamos que la puesta en marcha sea sin problemas y que las empresas puedan beneficiarse de las ventajas que concede el Sistema de Madrid.
Read More
Patricia Covarrubia

Colombia: round up cases in the world of trade marks

    No comments:
The Colombian newspaper ‘La Republica’ is full of goodies lately! Over the weekend I read three trade marks applications that were denied. The cases all were decided in first instance by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC).

Cheese Company

SIC has denied registration to the ‘Cheesecake Factory’, an American multinational company, due to having phonetic similarity with the national firm ‘Cheesecake Company’, a micro company in Antioquia.

For those fans of ‘Big Bang Theory’, the Warner Bros TV comedy program, must surely be familiar with the café where penny works i.e. the Cheesecake factory. SIC established that the word sign ‘Cheesecake Factory’ "partially reproduced the spelling and grammatical structure of the Colombian business, which would prevent the distinction of the mark". Also, it added that the mark would cause confusion among consumers.

The Cheesecake Company is a small company of 5 employees that appears to be a success in its small town, selling desserts, pies, cakes and ice cream. Cheesecake Factory offers the same variety of desserts, plus salt food and bar service; it has 36 offices in the United States and has expanded to Mexico, Dubai and UAE.

A good decision? There is clearly a similar mark for a similar product BUT, should have the mark Cheesecake Company been allowed registration in the first place? It is describing the goods that it represents and although the words are in English for a Spanish speaker nations, I do believe that the word ‘cheesecake’ has become part of the common vocabulary in many café bars. Yet, Cheesecake Factory said that they are looking to negotiate with Cheesecake Company.

Nat Geo

International Excess society SAS applied to register the word mark 'Nat Geo' for footwear (sought application in Class 25 Nice Clarification). The company is based in Chile where it has been trading for more than 22 years. It has also business in Peru, Ecuador and Argentina. While this application did not receive opposition, SIC denied the registration due to be confusingly similar to 'National Geographic’ that is registered for the same goods among others.

National Geographic is also known by its abbreviation 'Nat Geo'. I believe that this word mark is well known at least in my household!! Specially the TV Channel that is dedicated to the ecosystem, science, human body, animal life, history, travel, and so on and so forth.

As said opposition was not received but SIC explained that it has the authority and obligation to consider whether the mark applied for did clash with a previous one and was likely to cause confusion as in this case. While the application for the word mark received was for ‘Nat Geo’ and the one in existence in the register is National Geographic, SIC extended to say that ‘Nat Geo' is an abbreviation of the registered trade mark.

A good decision?
 Let’s be clear in something, is ‘Nat Geo’ registered as a trade mark? I do not quite follow SIC in this occasion. Does it mean that if I registered my name i.e. Patricia, nobody else can’t register Pat? This is an absurd outcome. While I do recognize that the term Nat Geo may have become well known, that is totally different from the grounds of not registering because of a previous trade mark i.e. National Geographic. The reason perhaps could be that there exist an early right i.e. an unregistered trade mark that has acquired sufficient reputation through use in that particular country.

Another issue that comes into my attention is more to do with trade and business. I do presume that the word sign has been registered in Chile where it has been trading for more than 20 years; also that they have been trading in Ecuador and Peru and these two countries are part of the Andean Community of Nation (CAN) as well as Colombia. I wonder what the status of this mark in these countries is and whether the trade in this bloc will be affected. Can anyone from these countries enlighten us in this matter?

KENZO

The word sign KENZO was looking to be registered by the French firm and perfumery (registration was sought in Class 25 Nice classification) . It did find opposition from 'Kenzo Jeans', an active textile company which trades on that name and which does have registered such word name as a company in the SIC. Kenzo Jeans argued that the word mark requested is ‘identical’ to its trade name that the company has been using for 23 years, inducing consumers to confusion. To validate this action, Kenzo Jeans submitted as evidence the following: certificates of deposit of its commercial name, invoices issued by suppliers on behalf of Kenzo Jeans, photographs of commercial establishments and a certified copy of the resolution by which was awarded a civil order of merit in grade Golden Cross. KENZO in response to this action affirmed that KENZO is a reputable mark in the field of perfumery; it has a high level of recognition, quality, consistent and widespread use in the domestic and international markets and therefore, SIC ought to give acceptance to the application for registration. SIC proceeded with the examination of registrability and thus, considering all the arguments and evidence submitted by the parties ratified the protection on the market of Kenzo Jeans and added that the sign KENZO could NOT be registrable.

A good  decision?
This is a sensible decision, because while KENZO can claim that they are now a well-known mark, this was not the case 23 years ago when Kenzo Jeans started to trade and did legally register its trade name.

Another curiosity is the fact that SIC said it is an identical mark. I believe that the marks are not identical but similar after applying a global appreciation test. For example KENZO is a single term while Kenzo Jeans is a combination of words…yes KENZO is a word that stands up but it does not mean that the whole sign is identical.
Read More

Thursday 14 February 2013

Patricia Covarrubia

Paraguay: a week of 'modification' for soybeans

    No comments:
Last Monday, 11th February, the Paraguayan’s Agriculture Ministry informed that authorization has been given to Monsanto's Intacta RR2 Pro genetically modified (GM) soybeans. The product is the second generation of its previous product Roundup Ready soybeans (i.e. RR). The GM soybeans apart from being resistant to glyphosate-based herbicides, it also protects against caterpillars.

The news comes after last week events where a group of Paraguayan farmers introduced an injunctive relief to stop Monsanto from charging royalties for use of its RR soybeans. The argument is based on the fact that the patent of this product expired back in 2010 [we may recall a similar case regarding the expiration date; back in 2011 a Brazilian Specialized Federal Regional Court upheld the action for rescission brought by INPI to overturn the extension of two patents owned by Monsanto, posted here].
Reuters reports that the Paraguayan farmers were encouraged by “a similar case in neighboring Brazil where a state court ordered Monsanto to stop charging for use of the seed technology.” In the same line the Paraguayan Soy Producers' Association proposed to cease payment but “without any prejudice to other negotiations on different strains" i.e. RR2 While Monsanto spokesman in Paraguay declined to comment on the farmers' legal action, the company defended an agreement that was signed with farming associations in 2004 and due to expire in 2014. The contract establishes “payments for the use of its seed technology” and it is argued “that its royalty rights remain in place for as long as there are valid patents on the technology anywhere in the world.”

In Brazil the deal finished by Monsanto releasing the farmers from any payment (this and next season) of  royalties regarding the first generation RR soybeans in exchange for the farmers to wave "all potential legal claims for payments previously made for this first-generation technology". Also Monsanto said that "the farmers will secure licenses to purchase new soybean technology" i.e. Intacta RR2 Pro.
Read More

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Rodrigo Ramirez Herrera @ramahr

Nueva Indicación Geográfica de producto marino chileno

El pasado 30 de enero se hizo entrega en Chile de la resolución que concede la Indicación Geográfica (I.G.) al Cangrejo Dorado de Juan Fernández. 

Esta Indicación Geográfica corresponde a la tercera concedida para un producto marítimo en Chile, tras la langosta de Juan Fernández y el atún de Isla de Pascua. Se espera que la medida se traduzca en un beneficio directo, social y económico para los habitantes del Archipiélago, quienes podrán administrar en forma exclusiva este signo distintivo, al posicionar el Cangrejo Dorado como un producto de características especiales, creando una ventaja comparativa para su comercialización.

El ministro de Economía, Fomento y Turismo, Pablo Longueira destacó que "estas certificaciones son una gran herramienta para los productores de nuestro país, porque le agregan valor al producto y permite desarrollar una mayor competitividad en importantes sectores de nuestra economía como alimentos, artesanía y manufactura, tanto en Chile como en el extranjero".

Por su parte, el Director Nacional del INAPI, Maximiliano Santa Cruz, celebró la medida, destacando que "es un tremendo beneficio porque además de potenciar la asociatividad en las comunidades territoriales de origen, se crea una ventaja comparativa para la comercialización, lo que favorece el desarrollo económico de los pequeños productores del país".
La solicitud de registro como Indicación Geográfica para el Cangrejo Dorado de Juan Fernández fue presentada el 8 de junio de 2012 en las oficinas de INAPI por el alcalde de esa localidad, Leopoldo González, acompañado por el senador Francisco Chahuán, la emprendedora social Jeannette von Wolfersdorff, el profesor de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso a cargo del estudio científico, Patricio Arana, y el presidente de la Corporación Hacer Chile, Gonzalo Sánchez.

El cangrejo dorado (chaceon chilensis), es un crustáceo de color café y gran tamaño corporal que se encuentra en torno a las islas del Archipiélago de Juan Fernández, así como alrededor de las islas San Félix y San Ambrosio.

En torno a las islas Robinson Crusoe y Santa Clara el cangrejo dorado se localiza entre 200 y 1.000 m., aunque con mayor abundancia entre 400 y 600 m. de profundidad, siendo uno de los crustáceos explotados a mayor profundidad en el país.

En la actualidad, el cangrejo dorado constituye el segundo recurso en importancia económica explotado en estas islas, representando una fuente adicional de ingreso para los pescadores que lo extraen.

La solicitud para el reconocimiento de la Indicación Geográfica del Cangrejo Dorado de Juan Fernández descansa en la demostración de que existe un vínculo entre ese origen geográfico y el producto, haciéndolo único en su especie.

Fuente: Inapi.cl
Read More
Patricia Covarrubia

Argentina: online movies...file sharing?

    No comments:
We read on an Argentinian newspaper that a Federal Court in Buenos Aires has ruled that Cuevana, an online movies platform, had been under judicial investigation after it received several claims for trade marks and copyright infringement. The action, leading to criminal actions as well, was brought by HBO. However, the appeal court upheld the decision of the trial judge, refusing to grant a temporal injunction to block the site.

The judges believed that the claimant has not established if Cuevana is a site indexing links or contents OR if it is an entity/person that has certain control over the site. In other words, by not explaining clearly to the court the function of this site, i.e. file sharing tech, the court did not have any other choice but to dismiss the action.

Indeed, we are aware of cases in which infringement relating to reproduction of copyright is not present i.e. the site is not reproducing the work as such (see for example the trial case of Pirate Bay in Sweden). If Cuevana operates like ‘BitTorrent’ not files are saved in the central server and it will only function as a library catalogue, thus no reproduction right infringed. The matter will be against the file sharers (surely millions of people). The big question here would be: is Cuevana providing an opportunity to users to infringe copyright? Moreover, what is the role of Internet Service Providers(ISP)?

This blog has previously reported on Cuevana in Argentina and also in Chile. Back in December 2011 we saw a District Court issuing an interim injunction ordering the Secretary of Communications and the National Communications Commission to block "access by any Internet user to the resources of the website known as Cuevana". In Chile, the following year ie 2012 we heard of the imprisonment of one of Cuevana’s administrator (investigation initiated by HBO for infringement of intellectual property right). Mr Alvarez (the defendant) was obligated to destroy audiovisual material, was banned access to the website either as a user or administrator AND it was ordered to make two talks regarding intellectual property rights..

Cuevana apears to have a life on its own...living its own soap opera!


Source La Nacion, Argentina.
Read More

Monday 11 February 2013

Patricia Covarrubia

Brazil: A blue cheese joins the carnival

    No comments:
The Brazilian Journal of Industrial Property issued by the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) has published, on February the 5th, the acceptance as a Geographical Indication (GI) in the form of Denomination of Origin (DO) of Roquefort.

The cheese Roquefort is one of the most world renowned (French) blue cheeses which originates in the region of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in southern France, matured in underground cellars where the exposure of the fungus Penicillium appears giving the product its uniqueness taste.

Roquefort is protected in the EU [Official Journal L148 21.06.1996; latest Official Journal L257 25.09.2008] and is listed on the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia, Peru and the EU.

Source INPI.
Read More

Friday 8 February 2013

Gilberto Macias (@gmaciasb)

La marca “iPhone” y sus problemas en Latinoamérica

Aunado al caso que ya perdió en México hace unos meses, Apple se encuentra con otro problema para usar su marca “iPhone”, ahora en Brasil.

El problema radica en que una empresa brasileña, Gradiente Electrónica, es propietaria de la marca “iphone” desde el año 2000, es decir, siete años antes de que Apple lanzara su famoso teléfono al mercado. Gradiente comercializa desde hace algunos años un smartphone con la marca “iphone”, el cual, para más inri, funciona con sistema operativo “android”.

Si bien hay que esperar a que el Instituto Brasileño de Propiedad Intelectual (INPI) emita su veredicto la próxima semana (13 de febrero), la verdad es que la cosa no pinta nada bien para Apple.

Todo parece que las opciones de Apple se reducirán a cambiar el nombre en Brasil, opción que veo poco probable, o a desembolsar una importante suma para hacerse con la marca. Opción a la que ya tuvo que recurrir Apple en China para usar su marca "iPad".

Respecto al conflicto existente en México, os informamos que de momento el Juzgado Sexto de Distrito en Materia Administrativa en el Distrito Federal ha negado la suspensión definitiva solicitada por Apple.

Al negarse la suspensión solicitada por Apple, el IMPI no tendría obstáculo alguno para ordenar la imposición y aplicación de medidas cautelares, ya sean provisionales o definitivas, en contra de la compañía estadounidense.

El asunto pinta igual de mal para Apple en México y en Brasil.

Mas información: Cnnexpansion, El Informador, Cnet, Businesstoday
Read More