Newsletter - Latin America IP SME Helpdesk

European SMEs are too often fooled into believing that EU-based IPR registration on its own protects them worldwide, or they take for granted the fact that ownership is ensured. Moreover, they usually ignore the real costs involved in proper protection or how and where to register, among others. As a result, they either adopt poor IP strategies or they directly prefer not to adopt them at all. Check out our last video to know more about IP barriers when doing business in Latin America.

AHK Chile and the State of Bavaria Office for South America in collaboration with the Latin America IP SME Helpdesk will host a webinar for EU SMEs interested in doing business or entering R&DT collaborative relationships in Chile. The main issues concerning the protection of Intellectual Property to bear in mind when internationalising a business will be explained. Special attention will be then given to the idiosyncrasies of IP protection in Chile in comparison to those of Europe.

Join us in the webinar organised by Global Cosmetics Cluster-Europe and Latin America IP SME Helpdesk to learn about the peculiarities of Mexico in terms of Intellectual Property, and learn how to transform this into a lucrative business tool throughout the process (from creation to sale, through production and distribution). In addition, we will learn more about EU-funded initiatives supporting SMEs' internationalisation to Latin America and our expert in intellectual property will answer all your questions.

This factsheet focuses on a particular category of online platforms that are especially attractive to SMEs: collaborative economy platforms. In 2016, the European Commission defined these platforms in its “European agenda for the collaborative economy”, as open marketplaces for the temporary usage of goods or services often provided by individuals or professionals.

Mercadodepulgas is a successful Spanish start-up that runs an online platform where users can buy and sell second-hand products. Sofas, bikes, electronic devices and the like are exchanged in the platform. This IP case study highlights the lessons learned by this start-up when expanding their business to the Peruvian market.

The EU Commission has just published an update to its document: "The food and beverage market handbook, Mexico: A practical guide to the market in Mexico for European agri-food products and products with geographical indications". This Handbook is intended to act as a reference for those agri-food producers planning for, or in the process of, entering the Mexican market.

Both INPI Brazil and INPI France have signed 2 memoranda of understanding: 1 cooperation agreement in Industrial Property (including the exchange of information and good practices in the development of IP protection systems, stimulation of innovation, management, finance and quality), and a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot project between both INPIs (from May 1st, 2022). The PPH allow users to benefit from an effective reduction in patent pendency by shortening the examination process.

The Helpline service provides first-line assistance on Intellectual Property protection and IP rights enforcement in Latin America. All questions sent through this service will receive a tailor-made answer by our IP experts or it will be signposted to appropriate organisations within no more than 3 working days.