The increase in globalization over the past few years has heightened the importance of intellectual property laws throughout the Central American and Caribbean region, leading to the modernization of the legal framework and providing greater protection to IP rights.
With the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States, Nicaragua needed to reform its IP laws. These laws were amended to fulfill the Treaty's requirements set forth in Chapter 15, which deals with IP.
The following laws were affected by these changes: the Copyright and Related Rights Law; the Law for the Protection of Trade Marks and other Distinctive Signs; the Law for the Protection of Satellite Signals; and the Patents Law. The latter was modified only a few months ago, in October 2007.
The amendment to this law was aimed at fulfilling the commitment on the states to grant an additional protection period to patent holders in the event of unjustified delays incurred by the public administration during the patent application procedure.
On the other hand, the amendments of the Copyright Law were aimed at fighting piracy and related crimes more effectively.
The amendment to the trade mark law is a response to the necessity to modernize, guarantee and enhance the legal protection that is given to already registered trade marks as well as to those to be registered in the future. In this sense, the trade mark law, as amended, gives the judicial branch more authority to seize and destroy counterfeit goods.
With these reforms, Nicaragua ensures better protection to trade mark, copyright and patent owners thus guaranteeing the protection of their rights in Nicaragua. All these reforms introduced important changes to better protect the rights of legitimate owners and make Nicaragua a more attractive country for investors.
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| Marianela Gutiérrez |
aclBrands
Regional Coordinator Office
7a Avenida 5-10, Zona 4, Centro Financiero, Torre II, Nivel 11,
Oficina No 1, Guatemala City
Guatemala
Tel: +502 2331 2219
Fax: +502 2331 2239
aclbrands@aguilarcastillolove.com
www.aclbrands.com
