The Andean Community of Nations is working together towards better Country Brands

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

On December 7 2018, the customs union Andean Community of Nations (CAN) organized a seminar called "Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property in the Andean Community”. Held in Lima, Peru, the seminar discussed the protection of three-dimensional marks, geographical indications, copyrights, well-known marks and Country Brands, among other topics.

Regarding this last point, the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) of Peru informed that the four members of the Andean Community are working together towards the incorporation of a new legal instrument that allows an effective, simple, economic and international protection of the Country Brand for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, therefore reducing the high economic costs that currently represent for each nation the protection of their Country Brands.

The President of Indecopi, Ivo Gagliufi, also highlighted the fact that Peru is designing a national policy for intellectual property “which will be of great benefit for the development of the country”. Gagliufi also noted the hard effort and successful results obtained by Indecopi in its fight against biopiracy, which looks to safeguard Peru’s natural and cultural heritage.