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Empowering Latin America IP Landscape: LATIPAT Latest Initiatives Unveiled
By Guy José Bendaña-Guerrero & Asociados
During the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies in July 2023, a meeting was organized to disccuss the current situation of the LATIPAT project, which promotes the exchange of patent information in the framework amongst IPOs of Latin American countries.
The primary focus was assessing the needs of participating offices, and proposing upcoming activities to further collective goals. Such activities include:
-Virtual meeting: To facilitate effective communication among project members, a virtual meeting was proposed where all offices can establish direct contacts with technical teams. This will allow the IP Offices to establish direct contacts for future collaborations and understand what the next steps are.
-Building a Library of Similar Patents: this library would contain full-text of documents that are similar and published in different LATIPAT countries. Such a library will play a vital role in facilitating patent search, publication of an increased number of documents and contributing to machine learning.
-In-presence Training: Knowledge sharing lies at the core of LATIPAT's mission. In that spirit, a training program will be held in one of the participating countries. This training will provide an opportunity to learn about the WIPO OCR tool.
-Webinar on WIPO Application Body converter: presentation of this WIPO tool that converts a document containing an international application body in Word format into XML. The usage of this tool, already used by e-PCT and the national IP Office of France (INPI), produces high-quality full-text and does not require proofreading.
Since the launching of LATIPAT, IP Offices in Latin America have been working together to maintain and update a regional database containing the information of patent applications published and patents granted in Latin American countries.
This database is providing access to the regions patent technology information in digital form and is serving as a common reference platform for the publication of patent information in Latin America. Under this project, 19 Latin American IP Offices have been actively participating in it and sending regularly their inform.
Guy José Bendaña-Guerrero & Asociados
GUY JOSE BENDAÑA GUERRERO & ASOCIADOS has a long and prosperous tradition in the field of intellectual property (IP) in Nicaragua, with roots that go back to more than 100 years, resulting on long-term relationships with renowned clients and attorneys worldwide.
The firm has its origins in the law firm Henry Caldera & Henry Caldera-Pallais, founded in 1907 by Mr. Henry Caldera. That same year of 1907, through the efforts of Mr. Caldera, Nicaragua had its first Trademark Law. In the late 1930’s, Mr. Caldera’s oldest son, Dr. Henry Caldera-Pallais, after studying law in Nicaragua, attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated as a Registered U.S. Patent Attorney. Dr. Caldera-Pallais in 1964 was a founding member of the Interamerican Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI), the first regional intellectual property organization in the Americas. The firm continued to grow during the administration of Dr. Franklin Caldera, son of Dr. Caldera-Pallais, who obtained his doctoral degree in law from the Universidad Centroamericana in 1973.
Since 1985 the current partners, Dr. Guy José Bendaña Guerrero and Mrs. Blanca Aragón de Bendaña, took over the management of the firm. Dr. Bendaña Guerrero, Director of the firm, has distinguished himself as one of the most respected authorities in Central America in the field of intellectual property and law in general, being the author of several books such as “Course of Industrial Property Law”, “Study of the new Laws of Industrial Property” and “New Study of Contracts “, among others. Mrs. Aragón de Bendaña has served as the firm’s general manager and, thanks to her excellent management, the firm has been in constant growth, with a highly qualified staff committed to excellence. Since 1996, partner Julián José Bendaña Aragón joined the firm, and has been standing out as one of the most recognized attorneys in the field of intellectual property.
We have adapted to the constant change of the business world, supporting our clients in finding the most appropriate legal solutions for each moment. The firm distinguishes itself by understanding the needs of its clients, offering personalized service and adding value to its activities.
Nowadays we continue to be the leading firm in Nicaragua in the area of intellectual property, and at the same time, we have been consolidating other areas of service within the civil, commercial and labor fields, as well as litigation and consulting in general. The firm is well positioned to guarantee a pragmatic service that meets the requirements of the most demanding clients.
