Peru

The Pisco War in Peru

By Maria Sol Porro, Trademark Lawyer

A Chilean proposal has once again brought back the battle of Peru against Chile to recognize pisco as a national drink of one of these two countries. The aforementioned proposal came from the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker, who proposed in mid-February that both countries reach an agreement to complement each other in order to obtain that their corresponding liquor is recognized as ¨pisco¨ in each country.

Although the Chilean Minister of Agriculture said that during a recent visit to Lima he proposed to his Peruvian counterpart, Gustavo Mostajo, a formula to put an end to the dispute between both countries regarding the denomination of origin of the alcoholic beverage, by complementing and recognizing the ip right of both of them over the aforementioned denomination in the international markets, the Peruvian Minister of Culture, Rogers Valencia, said that it is not possible that within the Peruvian legislation “the Chilean liquor is considered pisco”, highlighting that the right of denomination of origin is related to a geographical space, to a specific process and that, in addition, pisco is made with a specific variety of “grape”.

In this sense, the pisco war not only …

Indecopi vs. Web “Piratas”

By Maria Sol Porro

The fight against piracy always meant an important effort for the governments, but in the last years, due to the accelerated evolution that the different technological means have experienced in a short period, the fight against piracy is not only physical and tangible but also digital, being often the digital piracy more powerful and damaging by having no defined limits.

For this reason, different governments began to take measures in line with this new type of online piracy. An example of the abovementioned measures are the new strategies for the fight against piracy taken in Peru (including digital anti-piracy) by the Indecopi – National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property – during the first quarter of the current year.

As Indecopi was able to determine, the sectors most affected by digital piracy within the Peruvian territory are those related to music and the retransmission of soccer programs. This is why the institution will begin to review a series of cases both by complaints by parties and by ex officio against certain pirate websites. In the case of music, Indecopi aimed to sites such as “Godaddy”, to which the Official Author …

Significant Fines for Infringement of the Data Protection Law

By Maria Sol Porro

The National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (ANPDP), which belongs to the Ministry of Justice, imposed fines for a total of $ USD 232,271.- to public and private institutions that violated the personal data protection law. According to the Peruvian law which governs this matter (Law No. 29733 of Protection of Personal Data of Peru), the processing of personal data requires, as a general rule, obtaining the free, prior, informed, express and unambiguous consent of its owner, except as provided in the law. Likewise, security measures must be implemented to protect the collected personal data, such as documenting security protocols for access and privilege management, as well as periodically reviewing the aforementioned privileges, among others.

Example of this new policy followed by the National Data Protection Authority was one of the last sanctions imposed on ¨Supermercados Peruanos S.A.¨, which had collected personal data without the authorization of its clients. Likewise, security measures were not implemented and the Authority was not notified of the transfer of data outside the Peruvian territory.

Also, during 2018, the ANPDP also prepared 105 final reports of instruction, made 283 visits to public and private institutions on personal data, and …

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 …

Can registration of a trademark be challenged?

By Maria Sol Porro

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 …

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 …

IP capacitation for micro- and small enterprises (MSEs)

By Natalia Julia Rodriguez

On November 15^th, 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 …