INTA Leads Delegation to Bogota, Colombia, and Santiago, Chile

INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo and INTA Chief Representative Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean José Luis Londoño led an official delegation to Colombia and Chile from December 9-13, 2019.

In Bogota, Colombia, Mr. Sanz de Acedo and Mr. Londoño held talks with high-level government officials, including the High Commissioner for Private and Public Sector Competitiveness Clara Parra; Brigadier General Juan Buitrago; the Head of the Customs Police; Customs Office’s Commissioner for the Intersectoral IP Commission Julian Velez; Deputy Superintendent for Industrial Property IvÁn Pinzón; Deputy Superintendent for Judicial Affairs Carolina Estrella; Head of Trademarks Division Juan Manuel Serrano; Head of Patents and Designs Division María Lamus; National Advisor for the Creation of the National IP Strategy Luis Angel Madrid; and members of the Board of Directors of relevant intellectual property (IP)-related associations based in Bogota, Colombia.

INTA and the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI) on December 9, presented INTA’s recently released “Trademarks in Latin America: Economic Impact in 10 Latin America and Caribbean Countries” study, which includes Colombia in its analysis. Mr. Sanz de Acedo and ASIPI former President Fernando Triana Soto highlighted the study, which assesses the economic contribution of trademark-intensive industries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. Event attendees included INTA and ASIPI members, government officials from the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia, and members of the media. The event was hosted by INTA corporate member Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia. Study results were also shared with Commissioner Parra, who committed to involve INTA as a key participant in the construction of Colombia’s new competitiveness and IP policy in 2020.

In Santiago, Chile, the INTA delegation held meetings with the Ministry of Health’s Sub-secretary of Health. They discussed the country’s implementation of brand and advertisement restrictive policies in the goals of reducing smoking and sugar-based products consumption. The INTA delegation also met with the new Director of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) Loreto Bresky, and thanked the Office for its work providing continuous service given the country’s recent social crisis. Director Bresky shared INAPI’s 2020 IP objectives, which include:

promoting the use of its IP system by small and medium-sized enterprises;
passing and implementing a new IP Law; and
issues relating to Madrid Protocol Accession.

The Delegation also met with Chile’s IP Tribunal, presided over by Marco Arellano and accompanied by judges Carmen Iglesias, Andrés Álvarez, Pamela Fitch, Jorge Rojas, and Janett Fuentealba. The court is working on conducting workshops with various industries in order for them to gain more in-depth knowledge of state-of-the-art, market, and consumer trends in order to better analyze current and emerging cases.

Finally, INTA met with the Board of the Chilean IP Association, resulting in a productive agenda on common goals to be set and delivered by both associations. Vice President of the Illicit Trade Observatory Verónica Pérez and National Chamber of Commerce Secretary Daniel Montalva welcomed the INTA delegation and celebrated the success of INTA’s Unreal Campaign in 2019, with continued plans for 2020, in addition to more joint advocacy actions in Chile.

Mr. Sanz de Acedo and Mr. Londoño on December 11, took the opportunity to conduct a roundtable at INTA’s office in Santiago, with Chilean enforcement authorities, including customs representatives, prosecutors, police authorities, and INAPI representatives.

Mr. Sanz de Acedo also spoke at an International Industrial Property Seminar hosted by the Universidad de los Andes, INTA, and INAPI on December 12. He presented a geopolitical perspective of IP in the global market, its challenges in the region, and the positive contribution of trademarks to the economy. INTA Non-Traditional Marks Committee member Paz Marambio (CMS Carey & Allende, Chile) presented the new nontraditional marks incorporated in the “Short IP Law” draft that is aiming to amend the Chilean Trademark Law.

Finally, on December 13, INTA member Compañía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. hosted a breakfast at its headquarters in Santiago. Mr. Bresky presented INAPI’s new strategy to promote the use of Chile’s IP system and innovation in the country. Participants included representatives of local law firms and corporations in the region. Various attendees raised emerging issues such as brand valuation and commercialization. Mr. Sanz de Acedo discussed INTA’s work regarding brand restrictions in the region. He also took the opportunity to present the results of INTA’s “Trademarks in Latin America: Economic Impact in 10 Latin America and Caribbean Countries,” which includes Chile as one of the studied countries. According to the report, trademark-intensive industries in Chile account for 28 percent of the workforce, and contribute 22 percent to the GDP, 12 percent and 17 percent to exports and imports respectively. Importantly, trademark-intensive industries account for 19 percent of wage premiums. An infographic illustrating results of the study is available here.

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.