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What are the main impacts of the future Law on Intellectual Property in Chile?

The bill which shall amend Law no. 19,039 on Intellectual Property in Chile is currently in its second constitutional proceeding in the Senate. The important regulatory change entailed by the approval of this Law will strengthen the IP system in the country and will increase the degree of protection of these rights, in addition to establishing more expedited procedures for this purpose.

We answer some of your questions about the main impacts of this new Law:

What are the main novelties incorporated in the so-called “short law” on intellectual property currently being processed in the Senate?

The aim of the short law amending Law 19,039 on intellectual property is to encourage innovation, promote competitiveness and development by means of new effective mechanisms of protection consistent with the international trends in the subject. The new law incorporates, on one hand, measures for promoting the protection of intangible assets and, on the other hand, new tools for protecting intellectual property rights. Furthermore, it establishes more efficient and expedited registration procedures, making the process easier for the users.

What does the promotion of the protection of intangible assets consist of?

The future law incorporates new protectable categories in trade and industry, such as provisional patents and three-dimensional and olfactory trademarks, it also establishes a new simplified mechanism for filing industrial drawings and designs, furthermore increasing its period of protection from 10 to 15 years. In addition, it reduces costs since it replaces commercial and industrial establishment trademarks with service trademarks.

Once a right has already been obtained, what are these new tools for protecting them in a better way?

This is a very important aspect considered by the new law. Without effective protection mechanisms, the rights end up being little or not at all effective. For example, with regard to trademarks, the bill sanctions the trademark falsification offence with a prison term of up to 3 years, it also establishes a compensation system which allows substituting the reparation by way of damages with a single compensation amount which is determined in relation to the severity of the offence in the case of infringement. Another important novelty with regard to trademarks is the revocation action of the trademarks, when they have not been used for more than five years, this aims to prevent the blocking of the protection system when the registrations have not been used in trade. All these actions will directly benefit the proprietors who feel their rights are affected.

Will these measures allow fulfilling the aims of the bill?

Both the pillars summarized above are harmonious, since together with the incorporation of new categories of rights, a greater competitiveness on the market is facilitated and more effective tools than the current ones are given to pursue the offenders who do not respect intellectual property rights. Therefore, we believe that the new law will generate specific benefits and new opportunities for protecting valuable intangible assets for innovators, in keeping with the international trends and the current traffic dynamism of businesses.

Danica Mardesic