B&R Latina

A common issue when providing legal representation and advice to start-ups and entrepreneurs is to find trademarks that were not created taking into account the legal side of the trademark’s wording and design.

Yet another promising international cooperation project has started, this time between the Swiss government -specifically, the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property- and several IP-related Colombian institutions.

We have previously stated that Intellectual Property is an increasingly serious matter for Latin American nations as they become ever more competitive and integrated with the global economy. With the implementation of IP-specific courts in several countries, Latin America is going even beyond world standards on IP-specialization.

The Madrid Protocol enters into force in Colombia. The domestic PTO and IP law firms get ready for the new procedures. Both foreign and domestic applicants will be greatly benefited by the protocol. Finally, after much anticipation from the national and international IP community, the Madrid Protocol is in force in Colombia. The first South American country to enter the Madrid System and the second in Latin America after Cuba.

One of the hottest topics in IP nowadays is the potential trademark infringement when trademarks are used as keywords in search engines. The issue arises when search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo! offer the possibility of ‘buying’ trademarks as keywords for showing sponsored results next to their search results.

On Friday 22nd of June 2012 we received Mr. Mark Davis, president and CEO of the Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors – PIIPA -, at B&R Latin America’s headquarters in Bogotá. Mr. Davis is visiting Colombia to launch PIIPA’s latest project: “Enhancing Opportunities in the Canadian Market for Innovative High-Value Colombian Agricultural Products”

Colombia is the first Latin American emerging country to ratify the Protocol on the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks of 1989. The Constitutional Court of Colombia has recently declared the conformity of the law No. 1455 of 2011 with the Constitution. Such law ratified the Protocol and provided a new procedure for trademark owners to protect their trademarks in Colombia’s emerging market.

Since 2008 the intellectual property market has witnessed an impressive surge in the green patents sector, which has been largely influenced by concerns about climate change, the energy crisis, the increasing pollution of the air and seas, and the failure of the Copenhagen summit on climate change of 2009. Latin America is just catching up with this global trend, providing a unique opportunity for investors looking for both profit and meaningful investments for solving current global issues.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Venezuela Trademark and Patent SAPI , after in obout one month, the Trademark and Patent Office will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Intellectual Property Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Peruvian Trademark and Patent Office: national institute for the defense of competition an protection of intellectual property:INDECOPI, after in obout one month, the Trademark and Patent Office will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Intellectual Property Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Panamanian Trademark and Patent Office: he General Directorate of Registration of Industrial Property (DIGERPI) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, after in about one month; the Panamanian PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Official Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Mexican Trademark and Patent Office: the Mexican Trademark and Patent Office: Mexican Institute of industrial property IMPI (www.impi.gob.mx) after in about one month; the Mexican PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Official Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Bolivian Trademark and Patent Office: SENAPI, after in about one month; the Bolivian PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Official Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Chilean Trademark and Patent Office, after in about one month; the Chilean PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Chilean Official Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Argentinean Trademark and Patent Office, after in about one month; the Argentinean PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Argentinean Intellectual Property Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.

The registration process begins with the filing of an application before the Ecuadorian Trademark and Patent Office. After approximately one month, the Ecuadorian PTO will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Industry and Trade Superintendence, Distinctive Signs Division, after in obout one month, the Colombian Trademark and Patent Office will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Colombian Intellectual Property Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.