ECUADoR
ECUADoR
tHE JUDICIAL sYstEM Is sEVERELY CLoGGED WItH CAsEs, WHICH
MAKEs PRosECUtInG InfRInGERs A sLoW AnD DIffICULt PRoCEss
Th is decision opens the door to obtaining protection for international the country. About 94 percent of border measures taken by the customs
geographic indications in Ecuador. authorities were confi rmed by the IEPI.
Anti-counterfeiting and border measures
Unfortunately, the judicial system is severely clogged with cases, which
makes prosecuting infringers a slow and diffi cult process.
For the last few years, the IEPI has been working in conjunction with
customs and the port authorities to stop the import of counterfeits and other
However, despite the limitations of the system, border measures have
merchandise that infringe IP rights.
become a major form of preventing counterfeit products entering Ecuador
and have helped create a safer environment for legitimate IP owners.
Although border measures have been legal in Ecuador since 1998, their
application has been nearly non-existent for close to a decade.
One of the fi rst steps that customs took regarding border measures was
Sasha Mandakovic Falconi is a partner at Falconi Puig Abogados. He can be
to compile a database with information about all trademarks registered in
contacted at: smandakovic@falconipuig.com
Ecuador. It also trained its inspectors. Local law fi rms had a great deal to
Juan José Arias is an associate at Falconi Puig Abogados. He can be contacted
do with this, as they provided trademark registration information for the
at: jarias@falconipuig.com
construction of the database and helped provide training to customs offi cials
on how to identify counterfeits.
Th e current applicable procedure for border measures is:
Sasha Mandakovic Falconi is a partner in falconi Puig
• When customs, upon its usual verifi cation of merchandise, encounters
Abogados. He concentrates his practice on intellectual property
suspicious products, it issues a report to the IEPI along with a specimen
and corporate law, including litigation and arbitration. He regularly
of the suspected infringing products
counsels clients in the beverage, food, consumer products,
• Th e IEPI has fi ve days to confi rm or revoke the measures taken by customs.
retailing, apparel, software and pharmaceutical industries on
During this fi ve-day period, the local representative of the owner of the IP
transactional and contentious matters.
right is contacted and invited to participate in the proceedings
Juan José Arias is an associate in falconi Puig Abogados. He
• If the IEPI confi rms the measures, customs will not release the goods and
is a trademark and patent attorney, and his practice includes
details of the infringement will be sent to a public prosecutor for criminal
prosecution and litigation in these areas. He has assisted major
prosecution.
national and foreign corporations with trademark clearance,
Since 2007, there have been more than 400 cases of border measures being
prosecution, portfolio management, franchising and licensing
agreements.
taken in Ecuador, mainly against sporting goods, toys, footwear, clothing
and perfumes, which are the most common counterfeit products entering
68 World Intellectual Property Review Digest 2009 www.worldipreview.com
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