extranjera directa Importance of Intellectual Property for Direct Foreign Investment in Guatemala

Importance of Intellectual Property for Direct Foreign Investment in Guatemala

Alejandro Del Valle

Asociado

In order to be able to understand the importance of Intellectual Property in general, it is important to point out that many studies have been done on the relationship between the protection of intellectual property and the economic development of countries. It has been possible to conclude without a doubt, that those countries with the highest development indicators protect intellectual property through sound and well-structured policies and that there is even a direct relationship between development and wealth and the protection of these rights.

This is very important for Guatemala because for several years we have been losing ground and "points" in studies and reports that evaluate the hits and misses of each country for the protection of intellectual property, such studies being very important for foreign investors who are deciding in which countries to invest in various ways. In this sense, Costa Rica has been an example for progress on these issues in the region since it has been the most consistent country in better coordinating local IP institutions for the correct application of the rules. These institutions in Guatemala are: 1) Judicial Body (2) Ministry of the Interior 3) Customs Authorities (4) Public Ministry 5) Registry of Intellectual Property 6) Related Ministries such as Ministry of Health or Agriculture. The above-mentioned authorities are responsible, each within their powers and objectives, for providing legal certainty and protection to the various types of intellectual property, such as trademarks, patents, copyrights or business or trade secrets.

The above is worth mentioning since at AMCHAM´s Intellectual Property Committee, of which I have been part of for more than 10 years, we have constantly worked on making the above mentioned authorities generate joint work protocols through which a culture of protection for intellectual property can be generated in an orderly and coordinated way so that it can be effective and in case of an infringement, the authorities can be rapidly coordinated to protect these rights. The latter is very important since, as the saying goes, “Time is Money.” Time is extremely valuable in the protection of intellectual property

and the delay in these actions can bring irreparable damage either by ruining the reputation of a trademark from a counterfeit product or directly damaging the consumer when buying a “non-original” product that may be hazardous to their health, as well as many other examples that may cause grave economic and health implications.

In times when employment generation and sustainable development become increasingly complex, countries that are unable to protect intellectual property and therefore promote the development of formal businesses that comply with local regulations and rely heavily on their intellectual property, will continue to lag behind development rates and rankings as the best countries to invest in, which is why, if it was once important, it is now urgent to be able to generate clear protection policies that go beyond advertising or information campaigns and even reach convictions against offenders. At AMCHAM, we will continue to work to promote spaces that allow generating policies of compliance with applicable commercial regulations as well as generate more and better rules where necessary, so that traders can be certain that their intellectual property rights will be respected which results in more and better foreign investment entering the country.

Source:

V.i Works a) Protection of Intellectual Property as “The Property Right” in Guatemalan legislation. María Liz Molina Barrios. b) Property, Rights and Economy : A Conceptual Approach. Juan Pablo Gramajo Castro. c) The Property Right in the Salvadoran Legal System. V.ii. Cyberbibliography a) Lecture “The Evolution of Property Rights.” Enrique Ghersi. b) Alchian, Armen A. “Property Rights.” c) Wikipedia.

V.iii. Legislation a) Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala. b) Author Rights and Related Rights Law. c) Industrial Property Law. d) Civil Code.