/ Congress approves INAPI’s Short Law
April 22, 2021The initiative of the Chilean industrial property agency (INAPI), which seeks to reform the industrial property system in Chile with a focus on innovation, was sent by the House of Representatives for presidential approval and enactment.
Álvaro Ávila
Alessandri Associate
On April 20, 2021, after months of discussion and analysis, the bill known as the “Inapi Short Law” was approved by the House of Representatives in a single discussion. With 129 votes in favor, one against and one abstention, the amendments made by the Senate in the previous constitutional procedure were accepted.
The legislative reform amends Law No. 19,039, on Industrial Property, Law No. 20,254, which establishes the Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Industrial and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It establishes the implementation of measures to update the industrial property system in force in Chile, in addition to aligning the current regulations with international standards.
The initiative also aims to achieve a modernization of the processes, together with the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship through various provisions intended to directly benefit trademark and patent applicants and owners.
The simplification of the procedures for opposition and registration of patents and trademarks; incorporation of provisional patents; inclusion of non-traditional types of trademarks -which broadens the possibilities of registration by not contemplating the requirement of graphic representation-; criminalization of trademark counterfeiting; regulation of the effective use of registered trademarks; implementation of a simple system for the registration of industrial designs; updating of the legal concept of trade secret; improvement of the regulation applicable to geographical indications and appellations of origin; establishment of pre-established indemnities in case of trademark infringement; among others, are some of the highlights of the initiative.
The “Inapi Short Law” is currently in the hands of the Executive, waiting to be enacted and enter into force once it is published in the Official Gazette.