Management of intangible industrial property assets

INTRODUCTION

Industrial Property constitutes an area that, together with Copyright and Related Rights, is an integral part of a broader discipline that has been called Intellectual Property.

Industrial Property, Copyright and Related Rights have as a point of connection the protection they provide to intellectual property (understood as the immaterial object, not the corpus), product of the creativity of human ingenuity, and that both allow repression. of commercial acts not authorized by the owner and of those considered as unfair competition for going against honest uses in commerce.

However, Copyright is aimed at the protection, among others, of literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, dramatic-musical, pantomime, choreographic, architectural works, software, that is, those that are intended for the enrichment of the intellect. Meanwhile, Industrial Property protects those intangible assets, which translate into a material reality in industry and commerce, such as inventions, utility models, industrial models and drawings, trademarks and other distinctive signs such as commercial slogans., labels of establishments, geographical indications (including designations of origin and indications of provenance)

In both fields or spheres mentioned, exclusive rights are territorial and temporary. In this sense, Copyright and Related Rights recognize moral or personal rights (right to the name, respect and integrity of the work, disclosure, and withdrawal or repentance) and patrimonial or pecuniary rights (right of reproduction, communication public in non-material form, transformation and participation or droit de suite, which is nothing more than the right to obtain remuneration for allowing the use of his work). The economic property rights in Industrial Property are given by the nature and scope of the rights conferred, by virtue of which the owner can prevent others without their consent from producing, selling, importing or exporting the modality object of protection;for its part, moral rights are evident in the mention of the author's name in the case of inventions.

For the acquisition and enjoyment of such rights, various formalities are required (registration par excellence) in the case of Industrial Property, not so in Copyright and Related Rights, where the authors' right is recognized from the moment of creation of the work. However, we must point out that in common law countries registration is required for the protection of works by copyright, but this constitutes "an aftertaste" of the old institution of British privileges since most national laws and international conventions are reluctant to accept such a condition.

In the specific case of Industrial Property, it must be emphasized that it is not only to comply with the formalities required before the corresponding Office to make the registration effective, through which these exclusive rights are born, taking into account that our legal system is based on the Attributive system, but previously a set of well-structured and organized actions must be carried out before, during and after registration, that is, it is important to properly manage and manage knowledge, so that this is reverted to successful marketing strategies, which then involve making a profit for the company.

It is precisely towards the enunciation of these activities, in an illustrative, not exhaustive way, that this work is underway, for which we have based ourselves on the Guiding Guidelines contained in the National Industrial Property System, only that they will be expanded in their content and form. explicit, to achieve a better understanding of its importance in the process of managing and managing technological knowledge until its release as technological innovation.

CHAPTER I PREMISES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY.

In order to achieve effective protection of the intangibles of Industrial Property and, therefore, facilitate the obtaining of advantages during their transfer abroad, it should never be thought that registration, if applicable, before the Cuban Industrial Property Office (OCPI) is sufficient.), in the case of Cuba, or before the homologous Offices of foreign countries. Since the idea of ​​obtaining a product or procedure is conceived, it is necessary to carry out a set of actions that facilitate decision-making throughout the process, from research and development to its introduction on the market.

Keep in mind that throughout this process knowledge will be available in two fundamental forms: coded or tacit. Both become essential for the granting of Industrial Property licenses (patents, trademarks and know-how, among others) to companies from foreign countries.

An inadequate administration of this whole process, from the idea being conceived through its technical and image gestation, to its productive output, prevents having a sufficiently developed technology with the maximum guarantees regarding its technological competitiveness and its ability to avoid infringe third party rights.

This whole process will also lead to knowing its attributes to satisfy market demands with similar conditions to those that characterize the Cuban market in its different economic sectors.

With the aim of a better understanding of these behaviors to be carried out, the description of the process seen full time (see annex 2) was considered helpful: from its initial stage of R&D, where the research project was conceived, followed by activities of interface (motivated by the state of imperfection in which the new product is found), of production on an industrial scale until reaching a true technological innovation, where there is a whole line of reproduction of the new production and its commercialization is feasible in domestic and foreign trade.

For the effectiveness of these stages, a series of actions to be carried out must be inserted and integrated, which in turn must be integrated in a coherent, harmonious and systemic way. These are:

1. Consultation of Industrial Property Information in general and patents in particular.

Proper monitoring of the conditions in which the technical level is found makes it possible to visualize technological alternatives, which may even consist of discarding the idea of ​​conducting research. It should be understood that if the solution that is intended to be obtained already exists in the market, it would be worth questioning whether resource costs are incurred to obtain it, and the possibility of acquiring it in the market through a transfer of technology from abroad should be considered.

However, we clarify that the research and development of a certain technology should not necessarily be interrupted because it is patented by third parties, since the research strategy could be changed and obtain a different technology from those that already exist.

The main documents to be consulted are: the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property, the patent descriptions (describes results of applied research), specialized technical magazines, as well as the laws and other specific legal regulations on the subject.

The Official Gazette issued by the OCPI contains formalized information (according to the rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization), within which the name of the applicant and the object of the application can be highlighted, in addition to who is effectively granted the sole right. It is done with the aim of giving publicity to the act of application and concession so that third parties can make their observations (if they lack rights) and their oppositions (if they have a fair title that proves their rights to show that they are being interfered with).

The study of the patent literature, known as the “search for the state of the art”, should be carried out in addition to the search in the technical literature, since they are excellent sources of information and are not excluded. The first is of forced consultation since for its reason of being it contains known solutions for similar problems.

The research must be carried out on the advances that are available and the technology that has been registered by others from the same sphere of the company that is investigating or developing a new technology, to know who are the leaders in the sector and considerably reduce the possibility to infringe third party rights, as well as to know the evolution over time of technological changes, their development trends and possible competitive opportunities.

It is essential to highlight that the consultation and investigation is carried out by qualified personnel specialized in patent documentation in order to achieve an effective and broad interpretation of the information, technical elements and data contained in the documents analyzed. The assistance or commission of this task is always recommended to the Cuban Industrial Property Office, through the representative that every entity must have before said institution.

With the objective of an internal analysis, the establishments may form their collections of patent documents, Official Gazettes and other publications related to their activity, or, at least, in which the main technological advances are discussed. The need for a larger or smaller collection will be given by the quantity and importance of the research or production activities that take place in the center and the possibility of accessing public collections. The use of the INTERNET is especially useful for companies that can access this service, since it would facilitate access to Industrial Property libraries or specialized centers such as the International Center for Documentation and Patents (INPADOC).

This step will allow knowing the state of the art before, during and once the applied research is completed, as well as during the preparation of production at the interface stage.

2. Assessment of the state of maturity or sufficiency of the research.

This analysis constitutes a guarantee for the researcher that their product or its procedure satisfies the requirements required for the solution of the problem posed with different analogous options that make it possible not to discover the know-how and that can be protected by any of the legal means established by Industrial Property (invention patents, utility models or industrial models or drawings).

The evaluation of the maturity of the investigation must be carried out with a view to determining also:

• If the solution offered is necessary or has competitive advantages over other existing ones, or else it can substitute another solution that already exists in the state of the art. If the research must be matured to allow increasing knowledge about its properties and qualities, so that it allows the public to offer a greater number of its properties and thus strengthen the patent by which it will be protected, thus incorporating greater value to the product. If it meets the requirements of novelty, industrial applicability and sufficient inventive level required by current national legislation, to be protected by invention patent, or through a utility model.If the result obtained so far is substantially different from those already existing in the state of the art or constitutes an improvement to those already existing. In the first case, it could be protected by means of an Invention Patent, and in the second, if feasible, by means of an Addition Invention Patent.

3. Legal protection in Cuba and / or abroad or its secrecy.

a) Protection in Cuba and / or abroad.

For the protection of the new patent obtaining, it is first necessary to have a clear understanding of what is an invention, a patent and what are the requirements that must be met to protect the new patent by this means.

The definitions of inventions have been multiple, for example, in the ESPASA Legal Dictionary it is considered as a “new solution to a technical problem apt to materialize in useful achievements in the industrial or commercial field”

Inventions, if they meet certain requirements, are protected by patents. What is missing is a patent. In this regard, the Encarta Encyclopedia 1999 considers as patent the "set of rights that the law grants to the inventor, understanding as such the author or creator of an object or product whose main characteristic is that of its novelty, in the sense of that it has not been known or practiced or tested in the State that issues the patent or abroad. A patent is also understood as the document itself where the State recognizes the recognition of such rights for its owner. ”

He goes on to state: "Invention patents recognize the exclusive right to manufacture, execute, produce, use or sell the object of the patent as an industrial and lucrative exploitation".

In other words, it grants a set of rights and accredits the satisfaction of the established legal requirements.

It should be noted that the patent is not always granted to the creator of the invention. In the case of labor inventions, the ownership over the new creation is granted to the employing entity, who grants financing so that multidisciplinary groups are dedicated to this activity, and not isolated persons as it was done before, since technological development practically does It is impossible for independent individuals to develop new patentable products on their own.

In Cuba, according to article 22 of Decree Law # 68, a patentable invention is considered to be the “technical solution to a problem in any branch of the economy, defense, science or technique that has novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. ”

The above definition expresses three universally accepted requirements that an invention must have to be protectable.

According to Decree Law # 68, an invention is considered to have novelty "if, before the priority date of the application, it has not been presented in Cuba and the essence of it has not been revealed orally or in writing in the Republic from Cuba or abroad, for an indeterminate circle of people, to the extent that its realization is possible. The invention is not considered revealed if, within the six months prior to the priority date, the applicant exhibits it at an official or officially recognized international exhibition ”(article 40).

Next, in its article 41 it is considered that "an invention has inventive step if its essential distinctive characteristics exceed the known technical solutions and if, furthermore, said invention is not clearly derived from the state of the art."

Finally, article 42 indicates that an invention can be applied industrially, "if it can be manufactured or used advantageously in the economy, production, science, culture, health, agriculture or the defense of the country".

Actually, for the protection of inventions through patents, it is not enough that it meets the aforementioned requirements. Other technical and legal considerations are required so that the application is not denied or delays in granting the patent are caused. National laws and the TRIPS Agreement establish the need for the description of the invention to be sufficient and clear so that people trained in the technique in question can carry out the invention, empowering Member States to require the Applicant who indicates the best way to carry out the invention, known to the inventor up to the moment of filing the application, in accordance with the philosophical theory that supports the granting of monopoly-type rights.

Another of the required requirements is the possibility that the invention is protectable according to the branch of the technique in question and to the internal legal order, since, even though the TRIPS Agreement itself establishes in article 27.1 that Patents may be obtained for all inventions. Later, sections 2 and 3 of the article itself list certain general and specific exclusions, respectively, to patentability (see Annex 3). Cuban legislation, when ruling on this, expressly includes which are objects of invention (article 37 of Decree Law 68) and which are not recognized as objects of invention (article 38 of Decree Law 68) (see annex 4), despite to have defined in a general way what a patentable invention consists of, as we have seen previously.

In summary, it can be said that to consider an invention patentable requires compliance with five requirements, namely:

• Novelty. Inventive activity. Industrial applicability. Sufficiency of description. Belonging to a branch of technique (in a broad sense) where patentability is allowed according to lege.

Completing whether a new product or procedure is considered an invention, and then, if it is patentable, is a complex task for which documentary research of the state of the art is required according to specialized knowledge, therefore the importance given to it to the study of specialized bibliography, mainly Patent Documentation, without which the patentability requirements of the new obtainment could not be determined.

In the event that it does not meet the requirements of an invention, the possibility of protecting it as a utility model could be seen, so it is convenient to express some considerations so that they are taken into account due to the similarity they present with inventions and the lack of protection they have in Cuba, which can cause the omission or unpredictability of registration in those countries where their protection is accepted and are going to be marketed.

Utility models are recognized in the field of mechanics, requiring novelty for their protection, but generally the inventive level required is less than that of inventions.

There are few countries in the world that protect utility models (around 20). Some of them grant patents for their protection, while others do so through "small patents", or consider them "useful innovations", although always with the characteristics of granting a shorter period of protection and a lower outlay for the acquisition and maintenance. of the rights.

b) Keep the invention secret (know-how).

This stage of analysis is not directed at the situation characterized by the fact that an invention is kept secret without being used by its owner or being placed on the market, which may be motivated, among other reasons, because they may have to carry out important investments substituting unamortized capital goods, making another type of investment in very expensive infrastructures or tackling a production line that does not know what profits it can produce.

This activity has the purpose of determining whether, at this stage of the knowledge of the invention, due to its particular characteristics, it should be kept secret, motivated because the new obtaining is not protectable by Industrial Property for not meeting the requirements for it, or Being protectable, its owner has decided to keep them in the sphere of privacy, considering that it gives them greater competitive advantages. This means guarding knowledge, or what is the same, to the invention, by measures that prevent unauthorized access to third parties.

If it is protectable, and it is not registered, it involves a considerable risk for its owner, since a third party can take over the method of obtaining the product or the procedure and register it in his name. However, there are a number of different types of products for which it is difficult to establish their production method based on the analysis of the product, that is, to establish on the basis of their characteristics which of the various patent procedures used In these cases, the “burden of proof” (in litigation situations) for one of these holders is generally impracticable, therefore, patent protection does not provide any benefit and it is better to keep it secret.The same solution could be adopted when the publication of the patent to be applied for only contributes to providing information to competing firms.

In the event that the strategy of secrecy is chosen, all the information must be compartmentalized and kept under a strict confidentiality regime, in such a way as to assure the company that it is the sole holder of that information, remaining prone to Contract heading with those third parties interested in obtaining it. This is because the know-how does not have legal protection, but it does in fact guarantee that competitors cannot imitate what they do not know, hence the importance of their confidentiality.

4. Preparation of documents for protection applications.

The documents by which the records are formulated before the Office are conceived under a uniform structure and content, variable only depending on the protectable modality in question (it will not be the same form to fill out to protect an invention as that required to protect a brand, but each one within its modalities are the same) and comply, of course, with a series of technical and legal requirements established in the respective national and international legal systems.

This uniformity guarantees the examination and sufficiency of the disclosure and the work of both parties: to the Office at the time of analyzing a pile of documents in search of specific information; and the client offers a model where the necessary data is requested that must be expressed to obtain the analysis of their request, thus avoiding offering inappropriate information.

What is stated in the previous paragraph does not diminish the importance of the knowledge and skills that on each subject of Industrial Property, as well as of the International Agreements, especially those that allow more than one registration with a single application. Patents (PCT), the person who submits to the filling of the documents that contain the applications must possess, in order not to reveal beyond what is necessary (as is usually the case in some patents), and to keep secret the know-how that could be subject to subsequent negotiations, all this while still offering good technical-legal coverage.

5. Custody of undisclosed information.

Knowledge is considered one of the main assets of the company, therefore, an inappropriate use, beyond what should have been communicated, could cause serious damages, such as the loss of the requirement of novelty to patent a certain product.

These mechanisms should be implemented regardless of the strategy that the actor has followed regarding the patentability of obtaining or keeping it secret, although we always recommend that if the obtained invention is not protected by patent, the measures to ensure its use be increased. adequate information.

It is erroneous to think that when the inventions obtained are protected by patent, compliance with the provisions of this phase can be ignored because everything related to the way of obtaining the product or procedure in the patent has been expressed, which never happens.

Despite the fact that numerous laws establish that the content of a patent application is “described in the best way”, it is useless to describe each one of the parameters of the procedure, due to its possible dependence on environmental conditions such as temperature and water, as well as to certain specific sources of raw material suppliers, the use of a specific brand of production or processing machinery, just to mention a few.

Furthermore, no matter how much can be described in a patent, the abilities and skills that knowledge holders possess as part of their intellectual activity can never be reflected.

To keep all the knowledge that is novel and useful secret, it will be necessary to sign confidentiality contracts (non-disclosure) between the employer and the workers, or personnel in general, who in one way or another have access to the investigation, as well as between the entrepreneur and the parties to whom the product is transferred by license, in order to protect the information contained in said products and which has been disclosed to the acquiring party for its use.

It is necessary to emphasize that the information on obtaining a new product or the improvement of an existing one will be understood as secret once the entity has taken the necessary measures to maintain its confidentiality, therefore, even when it is considered in the establishment The investigation is highly secretive; if the corresponding actions are not carried out, the information will not be kept secret and therefore, criminal and / or civil liability cannot be demanded for its disclosure to third parties.

6. Infringement of third party rights.

As required by research (depending on existing technological advances, the frequency of mutations in the sector, the strength of the main competitors, novelty of the possible obtaining, among others) at each stage, an analysis must be carried out as a basis of patent documentation and other related documents to combine the new results that are obtained with those already existing in the state of the art. In this way, information will be obtained to determine which line to work, where to project, and, if the expected result is obtained first by another center, decision-making regarding possible improvements or future claims will be more feasible..

Some of the measures that entities must take into account in order not to infringe third party rights are the following:

• When planning to obtain a certain product or procedure, a study of the patent information should be made to determine the situation in which the possible result to be obtained is and whether it is already registered by another competitor. The consultation of this documentation must be carried out independently of the fact that the Official Gazette has been consulted, since in the latter the applications for protection are published at least eighteen months after the request has been made, leaving a margin of time between the request of the protection (moment from which the applicant is already granted rights) and its publication, in which there is a public ignorance about this situation. In case the object of the project that the entity intends to carry out is patented, it must be determined the validity or not of the patent.In case of invalidity, the company could manufacture and / or market the product or procedure in question.When it is evident that third party rights are infringed and it is not possible to obtain any claim, at the initial stage of product development (if possible must be done in the investigation stage), an agreement can be reached with the owner to grant a license to the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.the company could manufacture and / or market the product or procedure in question.When it is evident that third party rights are infringed and it is not possible to obtain any claim, at the initial stage of product development (if possible it should be done in the investigation stage), an agreement can be reached with the owner to grant a license to the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.the company could manufacture and / or market the product or procedure in question.When it is evident that third party rights are infringed and it is not possible to obtain any claim, at the initial stage of product development (if possible it should be done in the investigation stage), an agreement can be reached with the owner to grant a license to the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.When it is evident that third party rights are infringed and no claim can be obtained, in the initial stage of product development (if possible it should be done in the investigation stage), an agreement can be reached with the owner to grant a license to the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.When it is evident that third party rights are infringed and no claim can be obtained, in the initial stage of product development (if possible it should be done in the investigation stage), an agreement can be reached with the owner to grant a license to the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.At the initial stage of product development (should be done at the research stage if possible), an arrangement can be made with the owner to license the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.At the initial stage of product development (should be done at the research stage if possible), an arrangement can be made with the owner to license the entity. If an agreement is not reached, it would be best to abort the investigation or look for another form of protection of the product or procedure that is intended to be obtained. patents and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.When the company has determined that it does not infringe the rights of third parties, it can continue its investigation without regularly consulting patent descriptions and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.When the company has determined that it does not infringe the rights of third parties, it can continue its investigation without regularly consulting patent descriptions and other documents and bulletins on Industrial Property.

7. Protection of the exterior or ornamental appearance of the product.

Thus, in addition to patenting the product obtained, they may be registered as:

Industrial designs: Any volumetric or flat shape is considered as such if, having a special external appearance, it can be manufactured industrially or by hand, it differs from its similar ones by its shape and ornamentation, and this gives it novelty and progressiveness. We are referring to the packaging of the product.

Most of the laws require a world novelty, which can be deduced from the analysis of known or used models applying similar considerations to the one that governs the novelty of inventions examination.

Progressivity implies that it does not express a banal idea, and that it is differentiated by the shape, configuration or ornamentation of its similar ones.

Trademarks: Any name cannot be considered a brand. According to article 2, subparagraph a) of Decree-Law 203 of December 24, 1999 "On Trademarks and other Distinctive Signs", a trademark can only constitute "any sign or combination of signs, which serves to distinguish products or services from their similar ones in the market". Later, in article 3 it establishes what are the signs that may constitute trademarks and in articles 16 and 17 the absolute and relative prohibitions, respectively, to grant the registration of trademarks.

In order to register a trademark, you do not need to identify advanced technology, so it can be simple products or services.

The use of the brand can generate prestige for the company, in addition to a certain value that it holds as an intangible asset, as well as offering consumers a guarantee of the prestige and quality of the property to which they adhere.

In order for the selected brand to be registered and marketed in Cuba and abroad, there are general requirements that must be met by all the signs that are intended to be considered as brands, which are recognized through international conventions, in addition to the fact that each national legislation it is tempered to the requirements of said agreements, but also, according to the internal conditions of each country. These requirements would be:

- The sign must have distinctive character: It cannot consist of figures or elements in its natural form, that is, it cannot be found in nature in this way (Ex: a grape plant cannot be registered as a trademark for a came from that fruit.)

- It cannot denote only quantity, quality or the type of product or service provided.

- It cannot be a generic: It is closely linked to the distinctive character that we saw earlier. It must be taken into account when you are going to request the registration of the trademark and when it has already been granted. In both cases, the explanation contained in the preceding paragraph is valid: when it is intended to register a sign as a trademark, it cannot distinguish or name all of its kind.

- It cannot cause confusion in the public: be understood in terms of its nature, geographical origin, characteristics and suitability of the product or service. It cannot resemble existing brands of other similar products in such a way as to mislead the public.

- They cannot be used as trademarks, unless expressly authorized by the competent authority of each country, the flags and shields, the national symbols of the states, punches or official control and guarantee signs. To use the name of a recognized national and / or international personality, your consent is required.

- That is subject to protection in accordance with current legislation on the matter. Achieving its protection considerably reduces the risks of causing violations of the rights of third parties.

There are other elements, of a commercial nature, that must be appreciated in the selection of the brand, such as:

• The characteristics of the market and potential customers. Remember that there are expressions that are very normal in a territory, but in others they are deplorable phrases. Phonetics, the combination of its elements, in order to attract the largest number of customers. Possibilities of registering the brand together with a designation of origin, which would provide a value per se to the product, given the characteristics of the place where it is obtained and which makes it unique in the market, thus promoting a greater distinction between its peers.

Protection by Copyright: Allows the protection of databases, software, as well as those industrial models or drawings that become works of art. In the latter case, they will be protected as applied works of art and not as industrial models or drawings, as this is a matter of Industrial Property.

It also makes it possible to protect manuals or other documents in which the entity offers information on how to operate a certain product or apply a procedure, etc.

8. Expense planning.

This aspect constitutes an obligation for all companies, fundamentally for those that are in perfecting, if we consider that the General Bases for Business Improvement, annexed to Decree Law 187 of August 18, 1998, requires, as one of the elements to be fulfilled by the entities that aspire to this superior form of organization, the planning of expenses for the legal protection and maintenance of Industrial Property Rights, including also for the payment of fees for the services that are required.

The liquid amount to be planned as an expense will depend, among other elements, on:

• The characteristics of the company: if it is characterized by a strong research development that allows it to obtain new inventions, radical or incremental, in a more or less stable way, the amount available must be greater, to protect both inventions and brands by which will be marketed. Registration and market projections: both are closely related, since it would not be ideal to register a product or procedure, as well as its brands, with the costs involved, in regions where they are not going to be marketed. If only the national registration is sought, logically the required amount will be less than if its protection is projected in other countries, in addition to the fact that in the latter case the facilities provided by some International Conventions can be used, by allowing, with an international application,before a patent or trademark office, depending on the case (or Industrial Property as in the case of Cuba), drawn up in one language, to display its effects to each of the selected member states, promoting the payment of a fee only and less than if carried out independently in each country The frequency with which the OCPI attends to request the services provided there, of which some are free but others require the payment of official fees.promoting the payment of a single fee and less than if it is carried out independently in each country The frequency with which it attends the OCPI to request the services provided there, of which some are free but others require the payment of fees officers.promoting the payment of a single fee and less than if it is carried out independently in each country The frequency with which it attends the OCPI to request the services provided there, of which some are free but others require the payment of fees officers.

9. Unfair competition.

Proper monitoring of the analyzed parameters will reduce the risks of the company incurring in practices of this type, especially if you go to the Office to carry out the corresponding procedures.

Except as broad as the Unfair Competition Acts can be, since they include, according to article 10 bis of the Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property, any “act of competition contrary to honest uses in industrial matters or commercial ”, we consider that it is possible to foresee and prevent the entity from incurring in acts of this type, such as, among others:

• Use of signs capable of creating confusion or misleading consumers. Comparative advertising. It occurs when comparing one product with another, either to exalt the qualities of the one to be marketed or to denigrate the competitor. To assert false qualities to the product. To erroneously indicate the origin (geographic or business) of the product.

10. Preparation of officials.

Officials who possess a basic level of knowledge on Industrial Property are required for the correct implementation and structuring of the Internal Industrial Property Systems, to guide the company in its actions before the Office and its advice regarding possible litigation in this area.

This requires constant improvement of the designated staff, either self-taught, through events, conferences, workshops or courses.

11. Valuation of intangible Industrial Property.

Due to the importance of this phase, which will be described in synthesis below, more space will be devoted to it in the next chapter, so only a few elements will be enunciated to continue with a logical order of operations.

The valuation of intangibles as assets of the entity is currently an opportunity to assess companies more objectively in terms of their capacities and strengths to face the hypercompetitive environment. These may consist of “knowledge, techniques, technologies, brands, patents, licenses, client exchanges and relationship capacity with them, non-competition agreements, secrets, franchises, information bases, prestige - image - reputation, workforce in the site, among others ”. In general, they include those “uncommon and non-physical assets that a company owns”

In principle, they are valued taking into account the expenses that have been incurred to obtain, develop and publicize them (training and / or training of personnel, research and development, material resources acquired, legal protection, pre and post defense of rights, promotion, advertising, among others) and the amount that the company intends to obtain in the coming years for additional benefits.

These items to be considered as assets and not as expenses must, presumably, be capable of generating benefits to the company in sufficient quantity that allow them to be absorbed through their amortization. Therefore, those items that are only capable of reducing losses or generating benefits less than their own cost do not constitute assets.

The valuation of these assets, if it is taken into account that it offers a financial report from the entity, is of vital significance for the mergers and acquisitions made by the company, purchase-sale contracts (assignment), granting of licenses, Mercantile Company (mixed companies), technology transfer, international economic association agreements and others for which it is required to give a certain value to the intangibles that are transferred or acquired, in order to avoid the loss of capital.

12. Transfer of the results obtained.

Yes, once the invention and other varieties or productions have been identified, protected (as the case may be) and capitalized, the company wishes to commercialize its knowledge in this regard as assignor or licensor, it must foresee that in contracts whose object is Industrial Property Rights or undisclosed information (know-how) legitimate rights are guaranteed to the parties towards correct information provided by the entity and by a rational and appropriate use by the acquirer, as well as the obligation of the parties to communicate the improvements obtained over the product or procedure object of the agreement.

If an agreement for technical scientific and economic collaboration is agreed that includes aspects of Industrial Property, a correct protection will be guaranteed to the interests of the parties and the rights that correspond to each one of the results (safe or possible) that they intend to obtain. and those that have already been contributed individually.

In the next chapter, the legal forms of transferring Industrial Property intangibles and the main clauses that such agreements must contain will be discussed more fully.

13. Implement an Internal Industrial Property System.

This activity guarantees the correct execution of the aforementioned guidelines and those that will be mentioned in the course of this work, in order to avoid making mistakes and ensure greater inventive productivity and adequate protection.

Each Internal System will correspond to the activity carried out by the company and will be based on the Methodological Guidelines for the design of Internal Industrial Property Systems, proposed by the OCPI.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Argentina. Ministry of Economy. Everything there is to know about patents, trademarks and technology transfer / Ministry of Economy. - http: // www.nepi.adv.br/doctrina/todo%20lo%20que%20hay.htm, 2000Bittan Obadía, David. Parallel imports: a trademark or commercial problem? / David Bittan Obadía. - sl, 2000.Cáceres Barraza, César Augusto. Legal aspects of the technology license / César Augusto Cáceres Barraza, - http: // www.camaralima.org.pe/revista/propiedad2266.html / Peru, saCuba, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. System of Science and Technological Innovation: basic documents / CITMA.-Havana City.: CITMA, 1995. - p. 7-21 Cuba. Laws. Decrees. etc. Decree-Law 68: On inventions, scientific discoveries, industrial models, brands and designations of origin, of May 14, 1983. - III ed.- Havana: ONIITEM, 1987. - 44 p. --– Decree-Law 203: On trademarks and other distinctive signs, of Dec. 24. 1999 (GO Ext. # 3 May 2, 2001). - 20 p.– --– Regulation of Decree-Law 203: On trademarks and other distinctive signs, of Dec. 24. 1999, (GO Ord. # 48 of May 24, 2000).– p 1011-1019 Hernández Vigaud, Rolando M. Patent protection / Rolando M. Hernández Vigaud. - WIPO Academy on Industrial Property. / Havana, April 17 to 21, 2000. WIPO / ACAD / HAV / 00/2 (ii). - 4 P. Lara Díaz, Emilia. Marketing and valuation of intangible assets of Industrial Property / Emilia Lara Díaz. - WIPO Academy on Industrial Property. / Havana, April 17 to 21, 2000. WIPO / ACAD / HAV / 00/10 (ii). - 12 p. Cuban Office of Industrial Property.Guide on Industrial Property matters activities that support the internal systems of organisms and entities / OCPI.- - Havana: OCPI, 19996. - - 19 p.Rapa Alvarez, Vicente. The contract / Vicente Rapa Álvarez. In his: Obligations and Contracts Manual. - Havana: University of Havana, 1991. First part. - p. 154-168. Technology transfer. - http: // www.artrade.com/esp/info/TECNLIC.HTM / Spain,: sa /

Notes

1. Quoted by Hernández Vigaud, Rolando M. In: The protection of patents. - WIPO Academy on Industrial Property. / Havana, April 17 to 21, 2000. WIPO / ACAD / HAV / 00/2 (ii). - p 2.

2. "Patent", Microsoft® Encarta® 99 Encyclopedia. © 1993 - 1998 Microsoft Corporation.

3. Ibidem.

4. Decree Law # 68 of May 14, 1983 On Inventions, Scientific Discoveries, Industrial Models, Trademarks and Denominations of Origin / ONIITEM Editions. / Third edition. 1987. - p. 8 (appears in GO Ext. # 10 of May 4, 1983, p 81-86).

5. Ob. Cit. p. eleven.

6. Ibidem.

7. Ibidem.

8. Of course, this legislation has not been adapted to the normative framework of the Agreement. Keep in mind that DL 68 is from 1983, while the TRIPS Agreement is from 1994.

9. Vid Supra. Consubstantial Activity 3 ^rd.

10. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. (March 20, 1883) / WIPO. - Geneva: OPMI, 1997. - p. 19.

11. Lara Díaz, Emilia. "Marketing and valuation of Intellectual Property Assets". WIPO Academy on Intellectual Property. Havana, April 17 to 21, 2000. WIPO / ACAD / HAV / 00/10 (ii). - p. 9.

12. Lara Díaz, Emilia. Work Cited p. 9.