How do I protect my trade mark? What are the steps to register a patent? Can I extend the protection of my EU trade mark, Industrial design or patent to Chile? How is the best way to combine patent and trade secrets protection? Who is the authority in charge of the register patents, trademarks and designs in Chile? Do I need to register my copyright to obtain protection in Chile? These are some of the most recurrent questions we receive in our Helpline service. But if you do not know where to start, this post is for you.
To begin with, we encourage to take a look to our video:
When it comes to internationalise your business, for sure you need to take care of the protection of your intangible assets. These assets are usually protected by intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents, trade marks, copyright, industrial design, or trade secrets, among others. IP rights are territorial in nature, and hence they will not be covered by your registrations in other countries.
While it might seem difficult and burdensome at first sight, it is easier if you know what to do and how to do it. The Latin America IP SME Helpdesk offers here an overview on how to protect your IP in the Chilean country.
Some basics:
If you are a European Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), an inventor, a creator or a researcher you can gain useful tips on how to protect your Intellectual Property in the Chile IP Country Factsheet.
Shall you have already registered some patents, trade marks or designs in Europe, you can find the most important differences between Chile and Europe when it comes to IP in our comparative factsheet Chile vs Europe, and adapt your strategy accordingly.
If you are not sure about which sectors are more important in Chile, we have summarized this for you in our infographic: Innovation & quality protection in the Chilean wine sector.
For inventors and researchers – patents and technology transfer:
Developing, testing and marketing a technological improvement – including pharmaceutical compounds, machinery or software – it’s a long way. If your company is thinking in doing assignment of IPRs, licensing, and/or register a technology transfer agreement in Chile, please check our factsheet “R&D and Technology Transfer in Chile”, or our case study on “Technology Transfer in Chile and Colombia”.
Many EU SMEs like yours make use of the PCT international system to register their patents outside the EU. If this is your case, and you are designating Chile as one of the countries, don’t forget to do so within 12 months from the filing date of your national application, to not miss the priority right deadline in Chile.
Confidentiality and secrecy – trade secrets:
In any case, take into account that any disclosure of your invention, prior to apply for a patent may render your patent application non-novel. In addition, you might also want to keep confidential part of the information you plan to share with your Chilean business partners. Hence it is paramount to properly protect confidential information by means of trade secrets.
For brand lovers – trade marks:
Building and maintaining a reputation is essential for succeeding in any market, and trademark protection is the right tool to legally protect it. To prevent others from free-riding on your marketing efforts, we encourage you to make a previous search of previous brands registered in Chile to not get your application rejected on the grounds of risk of confusion with an earlier mark. This way you may also detect possible bad faith registrations before it is too late.
Had you already considered registering your trademarks in Chile, please have a look to our guide on TM registration in Chile.
If you need further guidance…
If before, during or after reading our guides you happen to need further clarifications with regards the protection of your intellectual property in Chile, please contact our Helpline. All SMEs, inventors and entrepreneurs from the European Union and COSME countries are eligible for free and confidential guidance from our IP experts – in just three working days.
Details
- Publication date
- 31 August 2022