INTA Delegation Meets with Authorities in Costa Rica and Ecuador

INTA is collaborating with the National Trade Foundation for Education (COMEDUC), based in Santiago, Chile, to bring the Association’s Unreal Campaign to 3,000+ students at 19 high schools in six cities across the country-ChillÁn, Curicó, Rancagua, San Fernando, Santiago, and Viña del Mar. The program kicked off on April 22 and was officially introduced with two presentations in Santiago by Andrea Lobos and Rodrigo Sammut, both of Andes IP, Chile.

This alliance furthers INTA’s ongoing efforts through its Unreal Campaign to educate teens about the importance of trademarks, intellectual property (IP), and the dangers of counterfeit products. This marks the campaign’s first nationwide launch.

“We are very happy that the partnership has prospered,” said Tatiana Arce, COMEDUC’s Educational Subdirector. “Implementing the Unreal Campaign means that we can add elements to the integral formation of our students; we will be delivering a training that is not only technical but also civic, and above all, human.”

The collaboration began in 2018, when INTA contacted COMEDUC through the Chilean National Chamber of Commerce and Tourism to gauge the organization’s interest in participating. As administrator to 19 schools across the country, COMEDUC presents an ideal channel for the campaign’s broad implementation.

“We greatly appreciate that COMEDUC recognizes the value in educating the younger generation about the rising threat of counterfeiting worldwide. Informing students about the dangers of purchasing fake goods and about the value of trademarks can help contribute to their own development as informed consumers as well as to the economic growth of Chile in the long run,” said José Luis Londoño, INTA’s Chief Representative Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean.

INTA Hosts Seminar in Paraguay on the Role of International Patent Offices in IP Enforcement

Representatives from eight International Patent Offices (IPOs) gathered April 8‒9 in Asuncion, Paraguay, to continue an idea exchange on enforcement policies and anticounterfeiting efforts in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. INTA co-hosted this event with the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI) to facilitate collaboration among IPOs, customs officials, law enforcement, and judiciary authorities in order to produce more effective results against illicit trade.

Judges, criminal prosecutors, and members of the private sector joined the discussion on the latest developments-including the progress each country had made since the last such seminar held in April 2018 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The IPO representatives stressed that education on a variety of levels is vital to create a culture of IP rights protection.

Although some of the represented IPOs do not carry out enforcement activities, all of them are actively involved in their countries’ national organizations against illicit trade or counterfeits. While some of these national bodies are solely public-based, others allow members of the private sector to participate.

Much has been accomplished during the four meetings held since 2016. However, participants agreed that there is more to be done to continue to foster open communication-and that continued meetings with all regional enforcement-related authorities is of paramount importance.

INTA’s Latin America and the Caribbean Representative Office, based in Santiago, Chile, represents the Association’s 716 members across the region. Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the Latin America and the Caribbean Representative Office leads the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives throughout this region. To learn more about INTA’s activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, please contact INTA Chief Representative Officer of the Latin America and the Caribbean Office José Luis Londoño at [email protected].

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.