INTA Submits Comments on Brazilian Regulatory Bills - International Trademark Association

Brazilian President Jair Bosonaro signed the instrument of Brazil’s adherence to the Madrid Protocol on June 25, 2019. It will enter into force on October 2, 2019, which is 90 days after the document’s July 2 registration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). See further coverage of this topic here.

Also in June, the National Institute of Industrial Property Brazil (INPI) issued four regulatory bills, designed to improve and adapt the procedures related to trademarks, and to implement the Madrid Protocol. INPI opened a period of public consultation regarding each bill and INTA submitted comments on each of them.

The submissions filed by INTA were led by Graciela Perez, Legislation and Regulation Committee Chair (Hausheer Belgrano & Fernandez, Argentina), Gustavo Fischer, Legislation and Regulation Latin America and the Caribbean Subcommittee Chair (Fischer Abogados, Uruguay), and Tatiana Carrillo, Trademark Office Practices Latin America and the Caribbean Subcommittee Chair (Lloreda Camacho & Co., Colombia). They were supported by INTA members Roberta Arantes (Daniel IP, Brazil) and Rafael Lacaz Amaral (Kazsnar Leonardos, Brazil), who provided not only technical support but only translated all submissions into Portuguese.

On May 14, INTA filed the first submission regarding the Bill covering multiclass trademark registrations. The second and third submissions were filed on May 21, and were related to trademark registrations in a co-ownership regime and divisional trademark registrations. Finally, the fourth submission was filed on May 28, and referred to application and reception of trademark international applications through the Madrid Protocol. INTA hopes that INPI will consider its comments and issue a regulation that permits the improvement of the current procedures.

INTA Participates in Intellectual Property Forum in Peru

José Luis Londoño, INTA Chief Representative Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean Office, participated in the IV Forum of Companies on Intellectual Property and Internationalization: The International System of Industrial Property on June 21. The event, hosted by the Peruvian National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), WIPO, and the Spanish Office of Trademarks and Patents, was held in Lima, Peru.

During the three-day event, several topics related to intellectual property (IP) were discussed. The first presentations related to general IP matters, such as how IP rights are registered and how important they are for companies. There were also presentations on international registration systems; trade agreements, including their benefits and importance; and strategic export plans.

Mr. Londoño’s presentation, “The Contribution of Brands in the Economy, The Impact of Illicit Trade, and Brands for New Generations,” highlighted the importance of IP for the economic growth of Latin America in the last 20 years, and the challenges that practitioners are experiencing. Among these challenges, he highlighted anticounterfeiting and brand restrictions, two topics that are very relevant to INTA, especially in the region, where INTA has been working together with its committees to raise awareness of these important issues.

Chile Welcomes New Head of IP Office

After several months of deliberation, Chilean president SebastiÁn Piñera, on June 5, designated Loreto Bresky as the new Director of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI). Prior to her arrival to INAPI, Ms. Bresky worked as an independent industrial property consultant. Between 2008 and 2018 she worked at Alessandri Abogados, where she became a partner. She previously served as Industrial Property Department Director at Albagli Zaliasnik, where she worked from 1998 to 2008.

Ms. Bresky took on the role on June 24, and met with all the employees from INAPI, to give an overview of her vision, including the continuity of strategic guidelines and the importance of the quality and efficiency of internal processes. INTA sent Ms. Bresky a congratulatory letter on her new role and offered the Association’s support to her leadership of INAPI.

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 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, 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.