VENEZUELA | Intellectual Property | TGIF! Fridays declared non-business days by President Nicolas Maduro
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On 6 April 2016, Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, sanctioned Decree No. 12, by means of which Fridays were declared as non-business days for workers of the Public sector in Venezuela, starting on 8 April 2016 until further notice. This Decree covers all public workers, except those who work in institutions which activities cannot be suspended according to Article 185 of the Labor Organic Law, and those who work in agricultural-related institutions, among others. This measure was taken amid the critical electric power crisis the country is currently facing.
The “Servicio Autónomo de Propiedad Intelectual-SAPI” (Venezuelan Patent and Trademark Office) is a public organism linked to the Ministry for Industry and Trade and, as such, is covered by Decree No. 12. Therefore, Fridays will not be considered as a business day in Venezuela for the VPTO until otherwise ordered by the Government.
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COLOMBIA AND COSTA RICA | Geographical Indications | Colombian Constitutional Court approved Law 1763/2015, by means of which the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and Costa Rica was ratified
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After almost three years from the adoption of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Costa Rica, the Colombian Constitutional Court approved Law 1763/2015 (Ruling C-157/2016) by means of which the FTA was ratified. This treaty contains several Intellectual Property obligations, in particular related to reciprocal recognition of protected geographical indications of each country, once they fulfill the internal requirements and procedure established by the each State.
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COLOMBIA | Intellectual Property | Colombia celebrates the Intellectual Property month in April
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The WIPO celebrates Intellectual Property Day next 26 April 2016, which commemorates the entry into force of the WIPO Convention in 1970. To join the celebration, the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (Colombian Patent and Trademark Office) scheduled various events throughout April for the Intellectual Property month.
Among others, the following events were held: (i) The 2016 Colombian inventor national competition; (ii) FESACOL conference on counterfeit and Industrial Property compliance (Bogotá); (iii) Course on exploitation of the IP system in the design industry (Bogotá); (iv) First lecture on Intellectual Property (Bogotá); (v) IP Mobile Neiva; (vi) Basic course on Intellectual Property (Neiva); (vii) Course on patent information search (Neiva); (viii) Course: Welcome to the World of Industrial Property (Manizales). For further information please refer to the official website.
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COLOMBIA | Trademarks | The Colombian Trademark Office declares the notoriety of the trademark “LA ESPECIAL”
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The Colombian Trademark office (SIC) issued Resolution No. 15493/2016 confirming Resolution No. 84029 /2015 that declared the notoriety of the trademark “LA ESPECIAL” for products classified under class 30 of the Nice classification, and rejected the trademark LA ESPECIAL G.S. requested by Rosa Stella Salamanca Salamanca in the same class. This trademark is one of Compañía Nacional de Chocolates’ most distinctive trademarks.
