/ En Latin Lawyer Rodrigo Velasco Alessandri explica cambios a la ley de Propiedad Intelectual.

Chile clamps down on copyright breaches and internet piracy

Lawyers in Chile are anticipating an upturn in work on copyright enforcement and disputes following the passing of the country’s new IP law.

The law, presented by President Sebastián Piñera on 23 April, will set more stringent penalties for copyright infringement, as well as making explicit exceptions to copyright laws in instances of parody, criticism, and fair use.

It also introduces the option of arbitration to settle disputes between users and rights collection agencies, as well as limiting the liability of internet service providers in a bid to bring Chilean law in line with the terms of the country’s free trade agreement with the US.

Rodrigo Velasco, a partner with Alessandri & Cía who was a part of the expert committee advising the ministry of culture in drawing up the law, says, ‘it will improve our ability to defend our clients’ rights in connection with online streaming piracy.’

Velasco expects the provisions that will have the greatest impact are those addressingISPs’ liability limitations as well as ‘notice and takedown’ procedures for internet infringements since the law chose a judicial procedure for takedown, rather than electronic notices like those commonly seen in US and European websites.

However, he adds, ‘There are still a lot of matters regarding the internet that haven’t been properly addressed or regulated in Chile, such as digital rights management systems, peer-to-peer networking, collection of rights, streaming, and copyright enforcement in the digital world in general.’

Allan Jarry, a partner with HarneckerCarey, the IP affiliate of Carey y Cía, says the copyright part of the law, ‘clearly specifies the infringements and establishes exceptions,’ while the internet rights law ‘clearly determines the scope of responsibility related to the published content.’

He also describes it as ‘a rapid and efficient mechanism to avoid contravention.’ Allowing for arbitration in IP disputes, he says, ‘gives all incentives to the parties so as to reach an agreement. When the parties do not reach an agreement, the arbitrator will select one of the offers made by each party, and no intermediate tariff can be set. ‘