Region: Latin America & Caribbean

The Colombian Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice which clarifies exactly when industrial property rights are granted. Such rights, which include trademark rights, are granted when the PTO issues a resolution permitting registration, not when the certificate of registration is granted many months later.

13 March 2003

In a case concerning the registration of a trademark by Fiat Auto SpA, the appellate body of the Colombian Trademark Office has held that the marks JTS and CTS, both used in relation to automobiles, are not confusingly similar.

03 March 2003

The Colombian Trademark Office has reversed its earlier decision not to allow the registration of 'cool water' as a trademark with respect to perfume, cologne and aftershave because of the words' descriptive nature. Upon reconsideration, it concluded that consumers would not associate the mark with the products' characteristics.

24 February 2003

The Trademark Office has ruled that Peruvian company Inteligencia Financiera SAC may register the service mark INTELFIN, even though Intel Corporation's trademark INTEL is well known and is therefore entitled to protection as a matter of law.

20 February 2003

By the second quarter of 2003, the Mexican Supreme Court is expected to settle an important split among the federal circuit courts regarding trademark non-use. The Supreme Court will decide whether the statutory three-year period of non-use needed to cancel a mark begins when the trademark owner stops using the mark or when the Institute of Industrial Property issues a resolution for non-use.

18 February 2003

Following the implementation in Colombia of Andean Community Decision 486 on a Common Intellectual Property Regime, the Trademark Office has specified the criteria needed to assess the fame of a trademark for national enforcement purposes.

13 February 2003

The Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that an agreementbetween Natura Lta and L'Acqua di Fiori to settle their trademark dispute wasnot valid because Natura's registration was, in fact, null and void.

06 February 2003

Chile and the United States have signed an agreement that will enhance the enforcement of trademark rights. Among other things, the governments will implement measures to reduce piracy and counterfeiting, and become actively involved in resolving cybersquatting disputes.

04 February 2003

In <i>Microsules y Bernabo SA v Syncro Argentina SAQUIF</i>, the Federal Court of Appeal in Buenos Aires has held that two confusingly similar trademarks for the same class of goods may coexist if the products are not sold in the same places.

03 February 2003

The Central Preventive Commission has outlined new stricter criteria to delineate unfair competition claims from trademark infringement claims, thereby limiting antitrust authorities' jurisdiction in cases involving trademark infringement.

31 January 2003