IP: at the rhythm of bossa

Kat friend Fredy Sánchez Merino provides below his most recent summary of IP developments in Latin America.

Brazil-- Well-known marks are famous (pun intended) for counting on extra legal protection. Which is why the 6th Civil Chamber of the Justice Court in Rio Grande do Sul has ruled in favor of the Brazilian insurance company, GBOEX and ordered (here) the owner (also being a partner in the company) of a blog site to remove the trademark “GBOEX” from the blog, as well as to refrain from further use. The blog in question (here) was devoted to exposing uncomfortable information about the company, which in turn, sued on the basis of confusion and surprisingly, dilution. Despite the defendant's allegations that the mark was not being used for commercial purposes, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

Chile-- The Chilean National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has released an official communication (here) regarding its performance as an ISA/IPEA for the PCT system. Designations for international searches increased 45% (380 designations) as compared to 2017. Currently, the INAPI offers its services as an ISA/IPEA for 12 countries, namely Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Panamá, Perú, República Dominicana and Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Henry Crew, head of the INAPI PCT Department, has stated that all processes have been certified under the ISO 9001:2015 standards.

Ecuador-- Ecuadorian authorities have signed an inter-ministerial agreement for the promotion and protection of denominations of origin. For this purpose, a working group has been established to identify appropriate producers and to advise them on obtaining a DO registration and how to benefit from it.

Argentina-- INPI and DKPTO (Denmark) have agreed (here) on a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. The program, which began on March 19th 2019, will be tested for a three- year period. Based on the memorandum of understanding, the program is still thin on legal details. However, it already will enable Argentinean inventors to facilitate their international applications, at least in Denmark, since Argentina is not a member of the PCT.

Brazil-- The 9th Civil Chamber of the Justice Court of Rio de Janeiro has ruled unanimously in favor of João Gilberto ("father" of the bossa nova) in his legal battle against Universal Music. The decision (here) granted to Gilberto approximately 40 million euros for unpaid royalties back to 1964 as well as for moral damages. This case dates back to almost two decades and is related to the copyright in “Chega de saudade” (1959), “O amor, o sorriso e a flor” (1960), and “João Gilberto” (1961), the three first albums that EMI published for Gilberto. In a tangled acquisition of EMI by Universal Music, Gilberto’s rights somehow got lost in transition, leading to legal action. If upheld upon the filing of any appeal, Gilberto will only receive part of the entire compensation awarded, because Bank Opportunity is entitled to one-half of the total sum as per an agreement with the musician (here) to assist him with the litigation costs.

Picture by Tuca Vieira and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 Generic license.