PERU: An Introduction to Intellectual Property

Peru continues to prove itself to the world as a country worth investing in, not only for being one of the fastest growing economies in the region for the last 30 years, but also because the foundations of the Peruvian economy are so strong that even after a global crisis, like the one generated by the COVID-19 pandemic which hit Peru in 2020, the Peruvian economy swiftly recovered, being the highest growing economy in the Andean region in the year 2021.

Despite inflation, international issues and political conflicts that arose in 2022, the Peruvian institutions and economic foundations once again proved themselves strong enough to withstand all crisis, and Peru is still expected to have a considerable economic growth within the region. Every new challenge continues to demonstrate that the Peruvian economy is reliable and predictable, which are indisputable key factors when one must decide in which country to invest next. We expect this trustworthy economic trend to continue in the coming years.

Of course, this positive economic trend requires an adequate legal framework to give investors the confidence that their investments in Peru will be protected, with a legal framework that consists not only in having stipulations that state that the investors’ property will be protected and guaranteed by the Peruvian government, but in also having the required procedures to make such protection real and effective.

In regard to the protection of the intellectual property in Peru, we are proud to confirm that not only does Peruvian legislation properly protect intellectual property in accordance with the international standards, but we also have enviable legal proceedings that make this stipulated protection a reality in the most efficient way.

A true protection of intellectual property rights requires adequate proceedings in two main aspects: (i) the obtention of the right itself (eg, registration of a trademark or a patent); and (ii) the protection of such a right against infringers. We will therefore make a brief analysis of the benefits of our legal proceedings in both aspects.

Regarding the Obtention of the Intellectual Property Rights

Peru is already recognised as one of the countries in which one can protect their intellectual property rights in the shortest amount of time. For example, regarding trade mark applications, even if the legal term the Trademark Office has to grant registration of a mark is of 180 days, it is possible to register a mark in as little as three or four months.

Renewals and the recordal of amendments can also be obtained rapidly. Our legislation has recently changed to reduce the legal term for such procedures from 180 business days to only 90 business days; however, in reality these procedures are much faster, since it is possible to obtain a renewal in only a few weeks and a recordal of amendment in less than two months.

Peruvian authorities are also in constant communication with the local Intellectual Property Association to receive feedback on how they could improve their procedures, since they recognise that, in order to create an environment in which new businesses can thrive, they must first ensure that the registration of intellectual property rights is done with the celerity that today's businesses require.

Regarding the Protection of the Intellectual Property Rights

There is a legal maxim that states that “Justice delayed is justice denied”, which means that, if a legal solution is not granted in a timely fashion, then that is the equivalent of not having a legal solution at all. We mention this legal maxim since we are proud to be able to state that our legal procedures, acting in accordance with said legal maxim, are very fast in offering a legal solution regarding the protection of intellectual property rights. Even though, when an infringement is committed, the whole legal procedure necessary to sanction said infringement could take around a year and a half, knowing that the most important aspect of the protection is to stop the infringement in a timely fashion, the Peruvian administrative authority may grant precautionary measures in as little as one or two days, in cases in which counterfeit products have been detected in customs, in order to cease said products before they enter the market. In other cases, in which the counterfeit products are already in the market, and one must not only obtain a precautionary measure to stop the infringement but also coordinate an inspection visit so that the authority may go to the infringer’s premises to seize the infringing goods, such diligence can be coordinated within two or three weeks. Therefore, due to the authority’s promptness, even though the whole infringement action procedure can take more than a year, we can stop the infringement with great speed, or even prevent such infringement from occurring, hence obtaining a real protection.

Another benefit within the procedure is that because of the pandemic the authority is accepting virtual diligences, which allows the trade mark owners to protect their intellectual property rights throughout the Peruvian territory at a lower cost, since their representatives don’t have to be physically present in the inspection diligence. This reduces the transportation costs, which were a very high barrier for intellectual property owners to protect their rights in distant cities, and also expedites the procedures, as the virtual diligences are easier to coordinate.

Finally, in recent years the national authorities have shown a growing interest in the ex officio protection of the intellectual property, so every year we are served with more ex officio actions, mainly filed by the district attorneys as a result of their own investigations, hence demonstrating that there is a real interest from our authorities to not only register intellectual property rights, but to really protect those rights.

We can therefore conclude that both the Peruvian economic conditions and the legal framework make our country a go-to place for foreign companies seeking to do business in emerging markets, where they can rest assured that their intellectual property rights will be effectively protected.