INTA Sends Delegation to Brazil and Participates in Intellectual Property Events in Mexico

Delegation Visit to Brazil

From August 19 to 22, INTA Chief Executive Officer Etienne Sanz de Acedo and Chief Representative Officer, Latin America, José Luis Londoño, traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, to attend the 38th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI).

For the second time, INTA was invited to be part of the opening ceremony and was seated at the main table. Mr. Sanz de Acedo participated on a panel titled “The Value of IP in the Relationship of Accelerators, Incubators and Start-Ups / Block Chain.”

The delegation also took the opportunity to meet with different regional intellectual property (IP) offices and associations, such as the IP offices of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Spain; the Interamerican Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI); ABPI; and the São Paulo IP Agents Association.

Finally, the delegation had a meeting with the Brazilian National Industry Confederation (CNI), an association formed by more than 700,000 companies from 27 Brazilian states that periodically produces studies and papers about various economic issues, including IP.

INTA Participates in 100th Anniversary of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico

On September 5, Mr. Londoño, together with INTA members David Bernstein (Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, USA) and Patrick Kole (Idaho Potato Commission, USA), participated in a seminar to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONACIM), titled “The Relevance of Distinctive Signs at the National and International Levels.” It was hosted by CONACIM and the Mexican Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AMPPI).

Experts discussed the challenges of implementing the amendments to Mexico’s trademark legislation, which came into force on August 10, 2018. Participants addressed issues related to nontraditional marks, which were not considered by the prior legislation and therefore require implementation rules to be effective. Other relevant topics of discussion included secondary meaning and bad faith. Another central discussion was about the convergence between certification marks and geographical indications.

IP Seminar in Puebla, Mexico

On September 11 and 12, Anticounterfeiting Committee member Carlos DÁvila Peniche (Specific IP, Mexico) joined on behalf of INTA in the “Expo Ingenio Seminar 2018: IP in Movement” in Puebla, Mexico. The event grouped panels that link the most relevant actors in the IP system, nationally and internationally, from both the public and private sectors, to promote their joint work that generates best practices and practical information on the protection and commercialization of IP. The event aimed to contribute to the transfer and usage of knowledge, linking higher education institutions and research centers with the public, social, and private sectors.

Mr. DÁvila participated on a panel titled “Adding Efforts in Favor of Intellectual Property.” He explained INTA’s mission and emphasized the importance of brands for organizations and consumers, including how they impact countries’ economies with respect to national gross domestic product (GDP), employment, imports, and exports.
Mr. DÁvila also discussed the effects of counterfeiting and piracy on national economies and pointed to INTA’s Unreal Campaign as one effort to educate young people about the consequences and risks of counterfeiting.

INTA’s Latin America & the Caribbean Representative Office, based in Santiago, Chile, represents the Association’s 821 members across the region. Working in collaboration with staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City, the Latin America & 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 & 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. Law & Practice updates are published without comment from INTA except where it has taken an official position.