Peru Joins the Global Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program
By Marta García
On January 6, 2019, the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection of Peru (INDECOPI) joined the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) Pilot Program.
The aim of the PPH program is to expedite the processing of patent applications and to reduce overlapping examination work done by different patent offices. Under a PPH program, an applicant who has filed a first application with a first patent office and has received a positive opinion that the claims are allowable/patentable, may request fast-track examination of a corresponding application pending at a second office.
The GPPH pilot program allows patent applicants to request accelerated examination of a patent application at any of the participating offices if its claims have been found to be acceptable by any of the other participating offices. The system includes both national and PCT applications.
Currently the following patent offices participate in the GPPH pilot program: IP Australia (IP Australia), Austrian Patent Office (APO), Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), Estonian Patent Office (EPA), Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH), German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO), Icelandic Patent Office (IPO), Intellectual Property …
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Can registration of a trademark be challenged?
Last March the Constitutional Court of Peru, faced with a conflict related to the rejection of the registration of a trademark, established that the registration has no direct constitutional support based on the right to intellectual creation or the right to the protection of intellectual creation.
The above-mentioned dispute was originated because of the registration of the “G-Kristal” brand by import and export company, Goldsun before the Peruvian Trademark Office. Once the registration of the mark was accepted by the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), the company Backus and Johnston S.A. initiated a process of challenging the administrative resolution in an attempt to revoke the above mentioned registration based on its brand “Cristal.” In response to this request, the Supreme Court decided to revoke the registration by the INDECOPI, rejecting the registration of the “G-Kristal” mark, in finding that there are notable similarities between the “Cristal” and “G-Kristal” brands that might confuse the consumers.
Faced with this decision, Goldsun filed a constitutional judiciary protection order to reverse this decision. The First Constitutional body, in this case the Review Chamber, upheld the decision of the Supreme Court to …
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The Market of Generic Pharmaceuticals in Peru: Approval Process and Concept of Bioequivalence
By Moeller IP Advisors
In Peru, patent coverage for branded pharmaceuticals lasts for 20 years from the date of filing, in line with most jurisdictions. Once the 20-year term has expired, the same product can be marketed as generic. A generic drug must be equivalent to a branded drug in dosage form, safety, strength, quality, and intended use.
As the development costs are lower, generics are generally cheaper than branded pharmaceuticals, while they ensure the same therapeutic effect. The World Health Organization recommends the implementation of Generic Drug Policies and in the last years, many Latin American countries have taken steps to increase access to more affordable pharmaceuticals.
According to data from the consulting company Pharmexcil, in 2016 the market of generics accounted for about the 38% of the total pharma market in Peru, totalling $ 605 million.
Regulation of generics pharmaceuticals in Peru
According to the recommendations issued by the WHO, generics must ensure that they achieve the very same therapeutic effect as a branded pharmaceutical. They should, before entering the market, undergo a bioequivalence test. Pharmaceutical equivalence entails that both generic and branded drug should have the same amount of the same active substance, in the same …
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IP capacitation for micro- and small enterprises (MSEs)
On November 15th, 2016, with the aim of promoting the importance of Trademark protection and other distinctive signs among Peruvian micro entrepreneurs, the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi), in coordination with the Ministry of Production, made a presentation, under the slogan “Protect your brand, protect your investment: Indecopi advises you” to a total of 176 small enterprises (Mses).
The business focuses for the Mses were related to the areas of food and beverages, leather and footwear, wood, textiles and clothing, agro-industry, industrial products, Andean grains, handicrafts, metalworking and construction, among others.
This training took place within the framework of the “Program of Trade Shows and Business Rounds: MYPERU, articulating markets”, organized by the Market Articulation Department of the Ministry of Production.
The information provided included mainly the importance of the effective registration of trademarks for products and services, as well as legal aspects in order to be taken into account prior to the registration of the signs.
In this sense, the purpose of the capacitation was also informing the MSes about the services of assessment and assistance in order to identify correctly the products …
Read MoreOngoing protection of biocultural heritage
By Marta Garcia
The Peruvian Anti-Biopiracy Commission, chaired by the local PTO (INDECOPI) has recently identified a case of illegal access to Peruvian genetic resources involving a patent application filed before the Chinese PTO (SIPO) related to a method for grafting and propagating Plukenetia huayllabambana.
The Plukenetia huayllabambana is a plant endemic to the Peruvian province of Rodríguez de Mendoza, within the Amazonian Region.
The Anti-Biopiracy Commission tracks and identifies biopiracy cases, i.e. unauthorized and uncompensated access and use of biological resources or traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples by third parties, and opposes patent applications and/or challenges granted patents abroad involving biopiracy.
In the Plukenetia huayllabambana case, the Anti-Biopiracy Commission concluded that the patent application constituted a biopiracy case after verifying that the applicant did not have an access contract signed by the competent national authority. After sending a formal complaint to the patent owner, the commission is now preparing the necessary documents to initiate an opposition procedure.
The Peruvian Anti-Biopiracy Commission recently reported the favorable resolution of 15 biopiracy cases related patent requests abroad that involved genetic resources from Peru.
As an example, six patents in Japan, Korea and Europe involving maca root (a plant native to the Peruvian …
Read MoreMeeting to tackle illegal commercialization of pharmaceutical products
Counterfeiting and illegal commercialization of pharmaceutical products are problems growing worldwide in terms of both quantity and quality, which means their harmful effects are expanding to affect not only brand owners but also patients, health authorities, enforcement officials and multiple other private and public actors.Finding and implementing broad effective measures to tackle the problem from a multidisciplinary standpoint is urgent for all the stakeholders involved.
Dealing with these problems in Latin America historically presented particular challenges but local authorities have been enacting regulations and taking measures to fight against the problem. Ongoing dialogue to exchange experiences and build capabilities is resulting in better outcomes. For example, one fruitful meeting was held in Lima, Peru in May, which was attended by representatives from the private sector as well as authorizes from the judiciary, sanitary and enforcement agencies from Colombia, France and Spain.
Ruben Espinoza, general director of the Peruvian sanitary agency (abbreviated as DIGEMID) said that fighting against counterfeits and illegal commercialization of pharmaceutical products in a coordinated and all-encompassing manner to protect consumers was the main goal of all the authorities attending the event.
In addition, that the current Peruvian Criminal Code contains imprisonment sanctions for these …
Read MoreCooperation agreement to improve patent examination
The Peruvian PTO (National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property – INDECOPI) recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese PTO (State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China – SIPO) that will allow Peruvian patent examiners to access the “Cloud Patent Examination System” (CPES) launched by SIPO on May 22, 2015.
The goal of the CPES is to improve the quality and efficiency of the patent examination procedure by sharing resources between patent offices. Currently, the system provides access to resources of 16 patent offices, including SIPO, the European (EPO), Japanese (JPO), Korean (KIPO), United States (USPTO) and German (DPMA) Patent Offices.
Via CPES, patent examiners can share patent examination information, such as patent documents, published literature and bibliographic data of patent offices of various jurisdictions, using cloud computing technology. The system also enables group discussions, instant communication and other forms of interactive exchange. CPES supports interfaces in nine languages including Chinese, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
The Peru-China agreement is part of the planned activities for the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between INDECOPI and SIPO.
Source: https://www.indecopi.gob.pe…
Read MoreNew edition of ”Quick Patent Program“ launched
The new edition of the ‘Quick Patent’ (‘Patente Rápida’) program, aimed at Peruvian patent applicants, was recently launched by the local PTO.
This program encourages the proper use of the local patent system and minimizes the number of pending files with observations on admissibility, form and substance. According to this new edition, inventors and entrepreneurs can choose where they will get trained and receive technical assistance.
Quick Patent increases the chances of obtaining a patent in shorter terms than the regular procedure, 50 months on average to 18 months in the case of a patent, and 26 months to 12 months for the case of utility model.
Through the decentralized counseling, inventors that were selected to be trained can choose from the cities of Lima, Trujillo and Arequipa to attend support workshops and learn how to prepare the technical documentation related to the patent application.
In 2015, this program received 166 applications from independent inventors, academic and research centers as well as local companies (24% more than in 2014). Of these 166 applications, 68 were able to finish the different stages of counseling and filing the respective patent with the Indecopi (23% more than in 2014). Since the beginning of …
Read MorePeru is leader against biopiracy
A study carried out by the Peruvian Anti-Biopiracy Commission and recently submitted to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries, claims that Peru is the world leader in the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples, thanks to its advanced legislation and the legal innovation regarding this matter.
Biopiracy is known as the unauthorized and uncompensated access and use of biological resources or traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples by third parties.
The Anti-Biopiracy Commission, which tracks and identifies biopiracy cases, has developed a system for the prevention and protection of Peruvian biological resources and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples by opposing patent applications and/or challenging granted patents abroad. The goal of this work is not preventing the use of these resources, but making sure that they are used legally and with a fair contribution for the benefit of the sustainable development of the country and especially of the native communities.
The report shows that the Peruvian Anti-Biopiracy Commission has resolved favourably 15 biopiracy cases related to native plants. As an example, the Commission has managed to invalidate six patents involving maca root (plant native to the Peruvian Andean provinces of Junín and Cerro de Pasco) for …
Read MorePTO promotes patents in academia
The National Institute for the Defence of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) has launched the program “Patenta Universidad” (Patent University), aimed at Peruvian universities, high education and research centers that develop research and innovation projects, but have not accessed the patent system in the last five years.
The aim of the program is to encourage the intellectual property culture in the academic sector and promote the patenting of products and processes derived from research and innovation projects carried out in these centers.
Universities and research centers participating in “Patenta Universidad” will implement a complete work methodology in four months. This will include conferences on general information about patents, patentable subject matter or prior art analysis. Additionally, staff from the Inventions and New Technologies Directorate of INDECOPI (DIN) will assess participants on patent drafting and application.
Source: https://www.indecopi.gob.pe…
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