Protection of industrial designs through the Hague System.

The Hague Agreement entered into force on August 1, 2023, in Brazil. The Agreement aims to reduce costs and formalities inherent in the process of obtaining and maintaining the international registration of industrial designs.

 

It’s important to highlight that industrial designs are a form of intellectual property (IP) that protects a commercial product’s ornamental features, such as its shape, color and patterns. By registering a product’s industrial design with a national or regional IP office, the design’s owner has the right to prevent others from making, selling or importing products with copycat designs.

 

Industrial designs are granted in each country as well as patents and trademarks. For companies expanding their international operations, like Daio Paper, this raises the costly and time-consuming prospect of having to register their designs in every country they want to conduct business in.

 

 

The “Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs” offers an alternative and centralized route for the registration and protection of industrial designs between the signatory countries, by enabling the registration of designs in multiple countries through a single application.

 

For example, Daio Paper Corporation, a Japanese company that manufactures a broad range of paper products, took advantage of the system. 

 

To create and maintain a distinct corporate identity and brand, Daio Paper created unique industrial designs for its sanitary products, aiming to stand out from the crowd and earn recognition and loyalty from customers. 

 

Daio Paper, following Japan’s inclusion in the Hague System in 2015, was quick to recognize the benefits of using the system. Not only would it reduce costs and simplify procedures for the company, it would also enable them to prevent counterfeit products from being produced and sold in countries where Daio Paper was expanding into.

 

In this way, The Hague System constitutes an important instrument for the strengthening of the national industry, for the consolidation of the international commercial relations of the country and for the advance of the integration of the nation in the international system of Intellectual Property.

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Author: Nathália Regina Alves Dourado e Cesar Peduti, Peduti Advogados.

Source: IP Advantage

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

Flona Tefé Collective Mark is Launched

On March 31, 2023, the newly created collective mark for the Flona Tefé was officially launched in Manaus, Amazon region, Brazil. The event celebrated the registration of the collective mark of the association APAFE (Associação dos Produtores Agroextrativistas da Floresta Nacional de Tefé e Entorno) with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).  

 

Members of the association, who mainly produce cassava flour and derived products, honey, and oils in the Amazon region, will be able to use the collective mark to better position their products in the market. 

 

 

The participants of the event had the opportunity to discuss, on the occasion, about the development and registration of the collective mark, the importance of the collective mark for product commercialization and market access ant it’s potential benefits, as well as the future of the collective mark Flona Tefé.

 

It’s important to highlight that the collective mark has been developed as part of a Development Agenda Project that WIPO is implementing in Brazil, in collaboration with the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE), the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other local partners.  

 

The project aims at facilitating the use of this IP tool by local communities.

 

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Author: Nathália Regina Alves Dourado and Cesar Peduti, Peduti Advogados 

Source: https://www.wipo.int/collective-marks/en/news/2023/news_0001.html 

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

 

Developing and protecting your online brand: tips for the new entrepreneur

Trademark protection is critical in establishing long-term protectable rights in every brand. This way, first of all, there are some important tips to observe regarding the naming and branding part of any new venture in Brazil. 

To start, it’s crucial to not rely exclusively on descriptive phrases. Generic terms, which describe the class of goods or services, are never protectable. And laudatory terms aren’t usually protectable either.

Also, it is important to make it clear who the legal owner of the brand should be, if a third party helped develop the brand. 

Then, there are important steps in developing legally protectable rights in the new identity to avoid ending up in legal challenges by inadvertently copying another party’s brand.

 

 

The first step is to conduct trademark clearance searches to identify competing uses, which could present a challenge to the use of the trademark. 

Besides, while most trademark offices allow owners to file directly online, including in Brazil, a good trademark professional can order a clearance search, review it with knowledge of trademark law and then provide guidance.

Most people think that the only requirement to be considered when filing a trademark is third party rights, however the Brazilian law has other twenty-two prohibitions. 

It is important to highlight that while there is no need to wait further to put the brand into use, you should immediately file trademark applications to register the trademarks.

Finally, it is highly recommended to protect your brand by filing to register it as a domain name and secure your brand across social media platforms. In this sense, you should also monitor your brand online to ensure it isn’t being misappropriated or misused.

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Author: Nathália Regina Alves Dourado and Cesar Peduti Filho, Peduti Advogados.

Source: Developing and protecting your online brand: tips for the new entrepreneur 

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

Video games, the metaverse and diversity

Intellectual Property, video games, metaverse, diversity, Tencent, Peduti

Recentley Jia Wang, a veteran leader in data science and engineering within the interactive entertainment industry, shared her views with WIPO Magazine on the future of the video games industry and the role that intellectual property (IP) plays in it.

 

Tencent is a global technology firm that operates the world’s leading video game development, publishing and operations platform, and Jia Wang is the Deputy Director of the Technology Service Center for the North Americas Team.

 

Jia Wang clarifies that Tencent is strongly committed to IP and recognizes its enabling role in generating a more vibrant, creative, and innovative ecosystem for games and other areas of their business. A game is both a creative and a technical product and IP protects both aspects. There’s a lot of IP involved in the games that Tencent develops, from the technical mechanisms that enable and enrich the user’s experience to the storyline and the heroes they create.

 

Video games, the metaverse and diversity

 

Regarding to the mertaverse, Jia Wang explains that it’s not yet clear what it is or how it will evolve, although there’s a huge buzz around it. Tencent sees the metaverse as part of “hyper-digital reality”, a concept that integrates the digital world with reality to create a blended experience, which will allow people to connect more deeply with the virtual world. It will simply spark people’s imagination and push the boundaries of possibility.

 

Finally, talking about diversity, Jia Wang highlights that women in all sectors face many challenges, and that in the games industry they are definitely in the minority, but that’s changing. At Tencent America, for example, there is commitment to diversity and inclusion, many women are in leadership positions and there’s a strong sense that women can be successful there. The games industry requires many different skill sets, and that creates a lot of opportunity for everyone.

 

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Author: Nathália Regina Alves Dourado, Bachelor of Laws, at Peduti Advogados.

Source: Tencent, video games, the metaverse and diversity: an insider’s view 

 

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”