Archivo del Autor: Elena F Pérez Carrillo

Acerca de Elena F Pérez Carrillo

Doctora en Derecho. Profesora de Derecho Mercantil Universidad de León

Intellectual Property- Copyrighs & Neighbouring Rights

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The Term  “copyright”, as used internationally was used for the first time in Englland (Queen Ann Statute, 1709)  tan utilizado internacionalmente, proviene del derecho anglosajón. En concreto, el Estatuto de la Reina Ana (1709).

Derivados. Transparencia y acceso de las autoridades a los registros. Seguimiento

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Junto con la imposición de contar con contrapartidas,  controlar riesgos, operar en sistemas regulados e inscribirse en registros; el funcionamiento de unos mercados de derivados transparentes exige homogeneidad en los registros y acceso de las autoridades competentes a los datos en ellos inscritos. En estos meses se han identificado obstáculos en esa transparencia y aportado respuestas para superarlos

CastilloPonferrada

Restructuración y resolución de entidades de crédito. Valoración de Derivados

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La complejidad de la valoración de los pasivos por derivados en caso de inviabilidad de entidades de crédito da lugar a dificultades en los procesos de resolución, retrasos, litigios. Entre otros motivos porque debe permitir, antes de adoptarse la decisión de liquidación, calcular el importe al que podrían recapitalizarse en caso de que aconteciese tal liquidación. (o cual sería el valor destruido).

Si la Directiva 2014/59/UE encomienda a las autoridades de resolución  amortizar y convertir los pasivos de las entidades objeto de resolución, ha sido necesario contar con legislación delegada (más detallada) para abordar la valoración de derivados en esos procesos; y para matizar obligaciones de algunas de las entidades que intervienen en los procesos con derivados (compensación que es obligatorio realizar a través de entidades de contrapartida central («ECC») en el caso de los derivados extrabursátiles normalizados,  registros de operaciones con todos los derivados extrabursátiles,…)CasaBotinesFachadaLeón

De reciente publicación el Reglamento Delegado (UE) 2016/1401 de la Comisión, de 23 de mayo de 2016, por el que se completa la Directiva 2014/59/UE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, por la que se establece un marco para la reestructuración y la resolución de entidades de crédito y empresas de servicios de inversión, en lo que respecta a las normas técnicas de regulación relativas a los métodos y los principios de valoración de los pasivos surgidos de derivados.

Seguro de patentes para Pymes

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Se anunciaba hace poco el lanzamiento en España de un seguro de propiedad intelectual  (Pons Intellectual Property / Sanza y Poolsegur / Opus Underwiting). Los datos que tenemos apuntan a una cobertura bastante amplia que incluiría (parece) las acciones por violación e incluso indemnizaciones frente a reclamaciones de daños, con una cobertura geográfica global. Desde la expresión de bienvenida a la introducción de este seguro en España:

IMG_20150905_194855169

  • Un producto asegurador adaptado al mercado español -para potenciar la innovación en España-, venía siendo objeto de análisis  y diseño minuciosos para su efectividad en nuestro país. En 2013 tuvimos ocasión de presentar,  de la mano de la Fundación Mapfre, nuestro estudio Viabilidad del Seguro de Patente en España, redactado por los Doctores Elena Pérez Carrillo (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela- Universidad de León) y Frank Cuypers (PRS-Zurig) (aquí y aquí). Que fue seguido por alguna otra reflexión como esta, etc.
  • Desde hace ya años, los seguros de patentes son conocidos en jurisdicciones como EEUU, donde es habitual encontrar pólizas taylor  adecuadas para grandes corporaciones que cuentan con importantes carteras de patentes, licencias y otros derechos. En Europa, son también contratados en Alemania en un diseño algo distinto.
  • En España, investigadores de la talla de la profesora Doña Celia Sánchez-Ramos, científica y ganadora entre muchos otros del Gran Premio Internacional de Invenciones de Ginebra 2013 venían reclamando protección para los inventores -muchos de ellos vinculados al mundo académico y de la pequeña empresa- que se deciden no sólo a patentar, sino también a licenciar o en cualquier modo explotar sus invenciones.  Uno de los grandes problemas que se encuentran es su propia debilidad frente a la infracción de sus derechos. El coste de litigios es tan elevado que en la práctica se hallan indefensos, particularmente si el infractor es una gran corporación o incluso un patent troll.

 Los avances en el mundo asegurador son bienvenidos siempre, máxime si como en este caso se orientan a favorecer la asunción de riesgos de innovación en España, a potenciar el I+D+i  y a favorecer tal actividad en empresas de mediano y pequeño tamaño. También conviene que las coberturas se ajusten efectivamente al mercado al que se dirigen. Y, en este caso concreto sería deseable que las coberturas diseñadas resulten asequibles para innovadores e inventores de reducida capacidad económica -y gran capacidad innovadora- .

Life Time Contracts. Rethinking Contract Law. European Social Contracts Group

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La Universidad de Luxemburgo, junto con el European Social Contracts Group (EuSoCo) anunciaban hace poco la celebración de su nuevo seminario internacional en Luxemburgo el 30 septiembre 2016.

El seminario representa la puesta en marcha de una nueva fase de debate sobre contratos de duración vital, cuyos rasgos principales fueron analizado en la obra Life Time Contracts: Social Long-term Contracts in Labour, Tenancy and Consumer Credit Law (L. Nogler & U. Reifner (eds), Eleven International Publishing 2014.

Junto con la participación de los investigadores principales, la jornada incluirá paneles en los que los jóvenes investigadores participantes puedan exponer sus presentaciones y opiniones sobre  Life Time Contracts, en una clara apuesta hacia el futuro.. Los temas principales sobre los que se centrarán las ponencias incluyen

  1. Dimensión colectiva de los Contratos duraderos a lo largo de la vida (Life Time Contracts- LTC)
  2. LTC, contratos de trabajo y la economía digital
  3. LTC, contratos de alquiler y contratos de crédito al consumo

Mas y →

Lesson 4 (1)(2) (3). International Business Law. Intellectual Property. Patents, Trademarks. Notes for IBL

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Industrial and Intellectual Property. International Business Law. NfNJ Lesson 4 (1)

1. Industrial property rights

Industrial property includes patents, trademarks, industrial designs,  geographical indications; etc

1.1 Invention patents

  • Definition 
    • A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention (inventive activity), which is a product or a process that provides, a new product or procedure for doing something (novelty), and offers a new technical solution to a problem (industrial application). To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
    • Registering a patent gives the holder the exclusive rights over his or her invention for a limited period, 20 years. Other people cannot make, use, offer for sale, sell or import a product or a process based on the patented invention. The patent holder can give someone else temporary permission to use the invention through a patent license agreement or may sell the patent.  It is not possible to renew a patent after it expires.
  • Rights 
    • The patent owner/ right holder has the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially exploiting the patented invention. In other words, patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed, imported or sold by others without the patent owner’s consent
    • Patents are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region
    • The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application
  • Patents protect technical inventions: new products or procedures which involve an inventive step and have industrial application.
  • The maximun duration of the patent is 20 years

 

  • Scope of terrotorial protections
    • NATIONAL: If the inventor needs protection in only one European country,  he or she can register a patent at the national level.
    • EUROPEAN:
      • For a wider protection they can register a European patent with the European Patent Office (EPO). The European Patent  can protect the invention in up to 5 States, members of the «Munich Patent Agreement».
      • A European patent needs to be validated by the national patent office in each country where protection is required.
    • INTERNATIONAL (MEMBERS OF THE PARIS UNION:
      • Protection in various  States, through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or Treaty of Washington (PCT)
      • The PCT system of «multiple » national registrations was created by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (within the Paris Union, the International Patent Cooperation Union) . The PCT was signed in 1970.
      • The PCT provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in more that one country of the Paris Union («letter box» system)
      • The patent application filed under the PCT is called an «international application», or PCT application.
  • Priority, iIn accordance with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (art 4):
      • (1) Any person who has duly filed an application for a patent, or for the registration of a utility model, or of industrial design, or of a trademark, in one of the countries of the Union, or his successor in title, shall enjoy, for the purpose of filing in the other countries, a right of priority during the periods of 1 year for Patents and Utility Models; 6 months for designs and trademarks  (from the date of the filing)
  • More EU Patent Law
  • More International Patent Law

Garexo

1.2 Trademarks and distinctive signs

  • Definition
    • A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights
  • Rights
    • a trademark registration will confer an exclusive right to the use of the registered trademark. This implies that the trademark can be exclusively used by its owner, or licensed (temporarily)  to another party for use in return for payment
  • Registration
        • At the national/regional level, trademark protection can be obtained by filing an application for registration with the national/regional trademark office and paying the required fees.
    • International registration. At the international level (Trademark Law Treaty 1994) provides for International registration procedures. There are two options: either country by country applications or using the Madrid System., administered by WIPO (See Madrid «Monitor»  simplified registration system)
    • Trade Marks registration has a duration of 10 years, that can be renewed with no limit

 

See also, for further details and clarifications, entries about trademarks in Spain

(…)

Lesson 4 (2) Intellectual Property. IBL. Notes for non-jurists

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Lesson 4 (2) Intellectual Property.

 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 

 

(Compulsory readings. Supplement to classroom notes and course materials)

I Introduction

Intellectual Property is intangible property resulting from creations. Its owners and holders have specific rights, as established by the Law. Please note the differences:

  • (Propiedad Industrial) industrial property, ie: patents on inventions, designs and models, protected designations of origin;  new varieties of vegetal, etc
  • (Signs), trademarks, registered trademarks, service brands etc
  • (Propiedad intellectual) copyright and related rights, ie: music, literature, paintings, sculptures.
  • Commercial strategies and other immaterial property rights: trade secrets, know-how, confidentiality agreements, or rapid production.

Gijón, Asturias

Intellectual Property rights (IPRs) allow titleholders (inventors, creators, artists, or other rightsholders) – to decide how, when and where their creations are used and/or exploited. Such rights have a negative and a positive manifestation

IP protection varies from one IP right to another. In very general terms we say that:

  • patents allow the holder to stop third parties from making, using or selling the holder’s invention for a certain period (maximum of years (20)
  • trademarks  protect the  «hallmark» (signo distintivo) of protected product/service by preventing other business from the offering, etc  services/products under the same hallmark
  • copyright / neighbouring rights.
    • moral or paternity contents
    • economic content,
  • Other IP
    • Classroom notes
  • Please note: licence / cession

Long term contracts. ¿Hacia unos principios Unidroit de los contratos comerciales internacionales de duración?

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Los Principios (y Comentarios) Unidroit  sobre «Contratos Comerciales Internacionales»  cubren en sus orientaciones lo que podría considerarse como parte general del derecho de contratos. Sobre ese núcleode sus  Principles of International Commercial Contracts, con fuerte inspiración en la United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG),  Unidroit sigue trabajando también para identificar Principios comunes a otros contratos que no responden necesariamente al mismo esquema general. Concretamente continúan los trabajos relacionados con los contratos de duración, analizados actualmente por el Grupo de trabajo de Unidroit para la reforma de los principios Unidroit de Contratos mercantiles(comerciales) internacionales.  El Working Group on Long-Term Contracts, constituido para realizar propuestas de modificaciones a los Principios (versión 2010) y a sus comentarios, se reunió en enero de 2015 – con la participación como observadora de la española y catedrática de Derecho mercantil de la U. Carlos III, la Dra Pilar  Perales (CISG Advisory Council). ha abordado hasta ahora los siguientes aspectos de los «long term contracts»

  • Concepto de contratos (comerciales) de larga duración
  • Terminación por motivos de fuerza
  • Contratos con «términos abiertos»
  • Restitución post contractual de contratos concluidos por tiempo indefinido
  • Acuerdos para la negociación de buena fe
  • Contratos con «términos evolutivos»
  • Acontecimientos inesperados
  • Cooperación entre las partes
  • Obligaciones postcontractuales

Reproducimos algunas de las aportaciones efectuadas en los debates del Grupo de trabajo , a la espera de la próxima actualización de resultados.

  • Sobre la necesaria actualización de los Principios, más allá del modelo de venta (Preámbulo. Comentarios). «The Principles were originally conceived mainly for ordinary exchange contracts such as sales contracts to be performed at one time. In view of the increasing importance of more complex transactions – in particular long-term contracts – the Principles have subsequently been adapted to take into account also the characteristics and needs of these transactions for a definition of the notion of “long-term contract”
  • Sobre la noción de contratos de duración (Art 1.11, Comentarios), The Principles, …, refer to “long-term contracts” as distinguished from ordinary exchange contracts such as sales contracts to be performed at one time. Three elements typically distinguish long-term contracts from ordinary exchange contracts: duration of the contract, an ongoing relationship between the parties, and complexity of the transaction. For the purpose of the Principles, the essential element is the duration of the contract, while …Depending on the context, examples of long-term contracts may include contracts involving commercial agency, distributorship, out-sourcing, franchising, leases (e.g. equipment leases), framework agreements, investment or concession agreements, contracts for professional services, operation and maintenance agreements, supply agreements (e.g. raw materials), construction/civil works contracts, industrial cooperation, contractual joint-ventures, etc

Más:

International Business Law. Notes for non jurists. (4)

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Intellectual property rights (IPR) protect a firm’s intangible assets, allowing enterprises to profit from their creative and broadly innovative activities. Intangible assets account for more than half the value of companies and their importance is growing. In a world where EU companies compete more on innovation, creativity and quality than on price, intellectual property is a powerful tool for EU enterprises to become more competitive.

International Business Law (International Trade Degree-ULE). Lesson 3 (2) . Notes IBL

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Lesson 3 (2).  Unfair competition

Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Directives 84/450/EEC, 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive), defines the commercial practices which are prohibited in the European Union (EU). It thus protects the economic interests of consumers, competitors and markets before, during and after a commercial transaction has taken place.

      • The Directive has been amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of 27 November 2019 on better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, part of the ‘New Deal for Consumers”
  1. The framework for Unfair Competition in the EU, sets out a GENERAL CLAUSE in accordance to which Unfair Commercial Practices are those which:
                    • do not comply with the requirements of professional diligence, and
                    • are likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer.

2. It also grants SPECIAL PROTECTION TO SOME POPULATION GROUPS which are especially vulnerable  (because of their age -children, elderly-, credulity,  mental or physical illness, etc.)

3. The Directives also  DEFINE TWO SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES: misleading practices (by action or omission) and aggressive practices.

I- MISLEADING PRACTICES

          1. By action. A practice is misleading if it contains false or untrue information or is likely to deceive the average consumer, even though the information given may be correct, and is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise. Examples of such actions include false or deceiving information on:
                • the existence or nature of the product;
                • the main characteristics of the product (its availability, benefits, risks, composition, geographical origin, results to be expected from its use, etc.);
                • the extent of the trader’s commitments;
                • the price or the existence of a specific price advantage;
                • the need for a service, or repair.

B.  By omission. Such occur when material information that the average consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision is omitted or provided in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner and thereby causes (or might cause) that consumer to take a purchase decision that he or she would not have otherwise taken.To evaluate such «omissions»  the context is taken into account,

II.- AGGRESSIVE COMMERCIAL PRACTICES

On the one hand, and in accordance with this legal EU framework, several elements must be taken into consideration in order to determine whether an aggressive commercial practice occurs:

        • the nature, location and duration of the aggressive practice;
        • the use of threatening or abusive language or behaviour;
        • the exploitation by the trader of any specific circumstance affecting the consumer in order to influence his/her decision;
        • any disproportionate non-contractual conditions imposed on the consumer who wishes to exercise his/her contractual rights (such as to terminate or switch a contract).

On the other hand, a number of practices are directly classified as aggressive because they are included in a «blacklist” within the Directive. Annexe I to the Directive contains a list of 31 commercial practices which should be considered unfair in all circumstances.

  • In Spain, the Directive was transposed by Law 3/91, which has been modified. Please find here the consolidated version on the Spanish Law

Blockchain. Desarrollos. Crecimiento

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Blockchain,  un gran libro de anotaciones contables en el que se apuntan las transacciones que se llevan a cabo con Bitcoin, está en constante crecimiento.IMG_20150927_135349247

Las anotaciones se hacen en » bloques » que se yustaponen linealmente y de forma cronológica a medida que se suceden las transacciones en cualquier lugar del mundo. Es de acceso libre y permite el control por parte de los usuarios de Bitcoin, ya que este acceso es libre. Permitiría por tanto observar el valor de las transacciones y evitar los desvios de valor. Las principales plataformas de intercambios sobre estas tecnologías son BlockCypher de California, Conysens de Nueva York, y Bitstamp (sobre esta última anunciábamos que acaba de recibir una licencia en Luxemburgo y por tanto en la UE)

Sobre el protocolo Bitcoin, la base de datos blockchain la comparten todos los nodos que participan en un sistema. La copia completa del blockchain tiene registros de todas las transacciones Bitcoin ejecutados hasta la fecha (cada cinco minutos se estima que se crea un nuevo bloque y la velocidad es crecieciente). Puede dar una idea acerca del valor que tenía cada particular en un momento determinado, no obstante, al estar en constante crecimiento plantea o se prevé que plantee problemas de almacenamiento

Llamamos la atención sobre la reciente noticia de que varias consultoras internacionales como Deloitte o  PWH se han asociado con start ups tecnológicas para desarrollar aplicaciones basadas en blockchain. Ello contribuirá al crecimiento, mayor uso y operaciones, por tanto, más bloques añadidos que contribuyen a la necesidad de sistemas de registro y big data mining

International Business Law (International Trade Degree-ULE). Lesson 3 (1-4) . Notes IBL

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Lesson 3 (1-4). State Aid

State aid is an advantage in any form whatsoever conferred on a selective basis to undertakings/business by national public authorities. Thus, this excludes subsidies granted to individuals or general measures open to all enterprises (for example, taxation measures or employment legislation applicable to all business).

Features of State Aid:

  • intervention by the State or through State resources which can take a variety of forms (e.g. grants, interest and tax reliefs, guarantees, government holdings of all or part of a company, or providing goods and services on preferential terms, etc.);
  • it  gives the recipient an advantage on a selective basis, for example to specific companies or industry sectors, or to companies located in specific regions
  • competition has been or may be distorted;
  • the intervention is likely to affect trade between the Member States.

Despite the prohibition, some State Aid is compatible or maybe admissible in accordance with the Treaties (TFUE) and in accordance with secondary legislation (in particular Regulations,Decisions).

A) TREATIES (Treaty on the Functioning of the EU)

  • Automatic compatibility: 107, paragraph 2 allows for compatibility with the internal market (as it has been repeatedly declared by the case-law of the TJUE) of:
    • State Aid of a social nature granted to individual consumers provided that it is granted without discrimination as to the origin of the products;
    • State Aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences;
    • State Aid to promote the economic development of areas where the standard of living is abnormally low or where there is serious unemployment;
  • Compatible if declared by the EU Commission. Article 107, paragraph 3 adds that some other types of State Aid may be considered compatible with the internal market (following a procedure of application to the Commission as explained hereinafter). :
    • State Aid to implement an important project of common European interest,
    • State Aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions and competition in the Community to an extent contrary to the common interest
    • State Aid to promote culture and heritage conservation where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions and competition in the Community to an extent contrary to the common interest

B) SECONDARY LEGISLATION.

B.1 Under various EU exiting Regulations, State Aid  «EXCEPTIONS BY CATEGORIES» has been allowed in areas such as

  • Aid for training
  • De minimis aid
  • Aid for small and medium-sized enterprises

The procedure for exemptions by categories include Council Regulations that declare some categories exempted; and Commission Regulations developing the categories of State aid that the Council has already determined may be exempted

B.2 Under Commission Regulation 800/2008 a wide number of categories of aid were declared compatible. It consolidated previous Regulations and added categories of permitted State aid which, being included in it, are not subject to the obligation of prior notification to the Commission. 

This Regulation exempts aids (in the simplified procedure that it introduced) are related to:

  • Investment and employment aid for SMEs
  • Aid for business start-ups by women entrepreneurs
  • Environmental aid
  • Aid in favour of consultancy for SMEs and their participation in trade fairs
  • Aid in the form of risk capital
  • Aid for research, development and innovation
  • Aid for training
  • Aid for disadvantaged or disabled workers

In order to be exempted from the notification requirement, the State resolutions granting aid must always refer to R 800/2008, comply with the maximum aid intensities laid down in that Regulation for each category, and subsidise only the «eligible» costs in the Regulation. In addition, such aid must have an «incentive» effect, i.e. serve as an incentive to develop certain activities or projects.

The 2013 revision of the State aid Procedural Regulation introduced the possibility of conducting State aid sector inquiries by the EU Commission, (before it was only possible as part of Antitrust and Merger control). State aid sector inquiries can be launched when State aid measures may distort competition in more than one  Member States, or where existing aid measures are no longer compatible with the regulatory framework.

(C) INDIVIDUAL EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL PROHIBITION OF STATE AID. States wishing to grant State aid which is not among those declared compatible by the Treaties or by Regulation can issue an application to the EU Commission. On application by a Member State, the Council may act unanimously, decide that aid which that State is granting or intends to grant shall be considered to be compatible with the internal market

SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF STATE AIDS. 

  • Articles 108 and 109 establish that the Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States, keep under constant review all systems of aid existing in those States, and the Commission shall propose to the MS appropriate measures.
  • The EU Commission has strong investigative and decision-making powers. Central to it is the notification procedure which MS have to follow:
    • The Commission shall be informed, in sufficient time to enable it to submit its comments, of any plans to grant or alter aid.
    • The Member State concerned shall not put its proposed measures into effect until this procedure has resulted in a final decision. However, if State Aid is granted and the Commission finds that aid already granted by a State or through State resources is not compatible with the internal market or that such aid is being misused, it shall decide that the State concerned shall abolish or alter such aid within a period of time to be determined by the Commission.
    • If the State concerned does not comply in time, the Commission or any other interested State may refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union direct. (CJEU)/TJUE.