Kat friend Fredy Sánchez Merino has prepared his latest round-up of IP developments in Central and South America.

Argentina- In an official communique (here), the Argentinian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has announced the commencement of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program signed with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). This will accelerate the patent application procedure and reduce costs, hopefully impacting positively on the national economy of Argentina and its import-export dynamics. Since 2016, Argentina has already entered into PPH arrangements with Japan, United States, Denmark and all 13 members from PROSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.

Cuba- The Cuban fashion firm Clandestina has initiated a campaign in social media against Zara, alleging infringement of its IP rights in the phrase “actually, I’m in Havana”. For a long time, Clandestina has put he phrase on its t-shirt products, although the phrase was never registered as a trademark with the Cuban Office of Industrial Property (OCPI). The Spanish fashion giant has commercialized a t-shirt design with the phrase “Mentally, I’m in Havana” which, according to Clandestina’s owner Idania del Río, is confusingly similar to her slogan. When consulted as to the possibility of taking legal action, Del Río stated that she would leave such measures for the future.

Colombia- In a perhaps unexpected result from the Colombian Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) (here), Ivan Nivia has prevailed over the German cosmetics producer Beiersdorf AG for the registration of the trademark Nivia (which suggests his family name) in class 25. The German company, which owns the trademark Nivea also in class 25, filed an opposition based on a likelihood of confusion. However, SIC found the opposition groundless. The decision was appealed by Beiersdorf AG on September 17, 2019, here.

Colombia- Also from Colombia, SIC has granted a denomination of origin (DO) for the Providence Island Black Crab (here) in class 29. This is the first DO granted to the Colombian islands and it will benefit a total of 207 people who are members of the Providence Sweet Black Crab Association (ASOCRAB). This crab has a very distinctive flavor and texture and it can only be found within the tropical forests in the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina.

Photo from Clandestina.co