Litigating Patents in South America: The Search for Exclusivity *

Litigating Patents in South America: The Search for Exclusivity *

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Latin American countries have not always been seen as a first-line option when building a strategy to deploy global litigation campaigns to enforce patent rights, but that is changing.

For example, Colombia was the first country to issue a preliminary injunction amid the global controversy between Ericsson and Apple. Patent litigators in Columbia also say the presumption of validity is very strong in Colombia, and invalidity does not normally provide an effective defense within an infringement case.

In Brazil, the country has grown in importance for many patent owners. For example, because of the population size and sophistication, it is a very large smartphone market. Injunctions, which can be obtained in Brazil, can have a significant impact on defendants in this market due to high product margins and comparably high smartphone prices.

Meanwhile, in Peru and throughout much of South America, inventors have the option to obtain either an innovation patent or protection as a utility model. While utility model protection is only 10 years, these patents are examined only for novelty and can be particularly useful to prevent copycats and competitors from encroaching, and the damages and remedies available are the same as those available for an innovation patent.

Join this panel for a wide-ranging discussion on patent litigation in South America, and why clients should be considering patents in this region of growing importance.

Materials

From SEPs to Discovery, Colombia is Getting More Patent Friendly

Brazil Becoming a Relevant Forum for Telecom Patent Litigation

ICT Patent Adjudication in Brazil in the Last Decade (2013-2023)