VENEZUELA
VENEZUELA
ALTHOUGH SPECIFIC SITUATIONS CAN BE REGULATED IMPLICITLY BY THE LOCAL LAW, IT IS FIRMLY RECOMMENDED TO PROTECT THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS THROUGH A WELL DRAFTED CONTRACT.
Trade secrets protection
For many Internet companies around the world, the most valuable assets are their trade secrets.
Tere are Internet companies with undisclosed information that represents an important economic value to their business. Tis economic value derives from the fact that such secret information represents an advantage with respect to the competition, while companies must implement strict security measures to ensure its confidentiality. Terefore access to the company’s database, programming codes, and other secret information should be allowed only to specific employees in order to avoid any misappropriation.
Considering that the Venezuelan Industrial Property Law of 1955 does not include trade secrets protection, the necessity of draſting thoroughly and fully articulated legal contracts to maintain the secrecy of the company information has become extremely important.
Accordingly, the nature of Internet business demands specific contractual clauses under which to plan and execute business strategies in Venezuela and, although specific situations can be regulated implicitly by the local law, it is firmly recommended to protect the company’s business through a well draſted contract.
Recommendations
Among the most important recommendations for any entrepreneur trying to enter the Venezuelan Internet market are: • Legal counselling from the beginning;
118 World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2013
• Performing background checks on the company’s business partners and service providers;
• Local trademark registration of the company’s brand, as well as for those business partners and service providers, to ensure a ‘healthy’ branding strategy on the Internet;
• Well draſted and articulated legal contracts including clauses to establish favourable jurisdiction, as well as the protection of trade secrets;
• Monitoring and surveillance systems to prevent any IP infringement or any situation that may affect the functioning of their business; and
• Establishing a short-period contracts strategy considering the changing nature and fast-moving business environment of the Internet.
Joaquin Nunez is an attorney at Hoet Pelaez Castillo & Duque. He can be contacted at:
jnunez@hpcd.com
Joaquin Nunez joined Hoet, Pelaez, Castillo & Duque in December 2012. His practice expertise includes trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, advertisement agreements and general IP-related matters. Nunez has more than eight years’ experience in Venezuelan IP law and is a member of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property and the Caracas Bar Association.
www.worldipreview.com
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