COLOMBIA
Within Competition and antitrust, tier 4
OlarteMoure’s practice receives praise for ‘providing holistic and applicable solutions in a changing regulatory environment’. Founding partner Juan Guillermo Moure heads the practice along with associate director of litigation Juan Felipe Acosta and competition co-ordinator Isabella Herrera. The IP-specialised boutique has been growing its competition practice, particularly on the litigation side by working on unfair competition cases involving large claims. The team is currently defending MVH Inversiones in a suit brought by a former supplier turned competitor, as well as advising the company on two counterclaims, on cancellation actions before the Trademark Office and on annulment actions of the supplier’s marks before the administrative courts. In terms of merger control, the team assisted Nutresa with various merger control procedures, culminating in that which saw the company’s sale to Comeca Group affiliate Prodenvases.
Within Intellectual property, OlarteMoure is a second tier firm,
Specialist boutique OlarteMoure is recognised as a leading name in the patent field across Latin America, particularly in the pharmaceuticals sector. The practice also handles trade mark, copyright, regulatory matters and litigation. The very highly regarded Carlos Olarte (‘one of the best patent attorneys in the region; proficient in IP matters and business oriented’) and Juan Guillermo Moure head the sizeable 35-strong team, many of whom have dual professional backgrounds (legal and scientific). Trade mark director Bibiana Agudelo is also noted. The practice is responsible for the maintenance of large patent portfolios across Latin America, including those of Novartis AG, Merck and Pfizer, among other major companies; by November 2018 the firm had filed over 360 regional cases and processed over 700 office actions. The firm continues to represent Industria de Alimentos Zenú (by instruction from Reed Smith LLP) in US litigation against LatinFood Corp, which registered and is selling products branded in the US with the clients’ well-known trade mark ZENÚ. Alexander Agudelo, Carlos Parra and María Clara Múnera were all promoted to partner in 2018. Other clients include AGP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, EAFIT, Productos Familia and Panacea-Velvack.
