1-TRADEMARKS

A considerable amount of our work is focused towards resolving cases in which trademarks are involved. This may mean prosecution of trademarks or defending the trademarks of our clients.

We recognize the great value of a trademark, a symbol that represents the effort, work, quality and dedication behind the products and services of our clients. We strive every day to provide the greatest protection available for the brand assets of those whom we represent.

We know that the first thing to be decided when starting a business is the trademark by which it should be identified. Since this is by no means a secondary problem, we offer fast search reports in order to facilitate our clients' choice of a trademark and we inform them of the respective risk levels associates with registering it.

Our lawyers have specialized in trademark infringement, annulment proceedings, opposition procedures and other forms of litigation in which the interests of our client's intellectual and industrial property may be involved. Finally, we have the necessary technological and human resources to offer our clients a trademark surveillance service, for the full duration of the registration.

2- PATENTS, UTILITY MODELS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

We are aware that the effort in terms of time, dedication and resources, which is invested in scientific research should be rewarded by the protection of patents, utility models and industrial designs. Our firm has a specialized team of professionals whom ensure that obtaining patents is an efficient process from the point of view of both time and costs.

Our assistance is not only limited to processing and obtaining patents, utility models, industrial designs and industrial drawings. We also have highly qualified professional and technical staff that will provide an integral consultancy service, including not only legal matters, but also the scientific and technical aspects with regards to the protection of chemical, physical, electronic and mechanical inventions. Beuchat, Barros & Pfenniger is at the forefront of advisory services concerning the protection of new inventions.

3- ANTI-COUNTERFEITING ACTIONS

Our firms is pioneer in the creation of a highly specialized section of professionals, expert in the prosecution and litigation of legal actions destined to stop violations of our clients' intellectual property rights.

These actions permit the immediate end of counterfeiting operations by obtaining the seizure of falsified goods. Litigation will obtain sentencing for those responsible, as well as just compensation to repair the damages caused to the owners of the infringed rights.

These actions look to civil and/or criminal objectives, depending on the evaluation and circumstances in which the infringement has taken place.

Our team of professionals is capable of prosecuting these actions in any region of the country, be it personally or by means of our group of associates.

4-COPYRIGHT

Our firm has the experience and knowledge to ensure the best protection of our client's copyrights, both for artistic and literary works and for software.

We represent artists and creative individuals as well as producers and large companies. The creativity of our clients has forced us to also innovate in proposing the most effective means to protect their rights.

We have a wide experience in copyright licensing contracts, including new forms developed for software. Our attorneys have also specialized in bringing successful criminal actions for copyright violation in cases where these rights have been infringed.

5-REGISTRATION OF PLANT VARIETIES

At Beuchat, Barros & Pfenniger we have specialized in obtaining registrations of plant varieties. These registrations require a special procedure, carried out at the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In a country where agro industrial activity is one of the most important sources of productivity, obtaining these registrations is highly significant, ensuring effective protection of this type of innovation.

6- INTERNET

Due to our desire to maintain ourselves at the forefront of new social and economic changes, Beuchat, Barros & Pfenniger has specialized in the aspects of Internet related to intellectual property.

We have pioneered the development of surveillance systems for the domain names that are applied for daily using the .cl cctld, which we compare with our clients' trademarks and domain names.

We offer domain name registration services and also defense of the rights of our clients. Chile in particular has developed an Arbitration and Mediation procedure for domain name conflicts, which has enabled us to resolve these conflicts rapidly.

We co-ordinate the registry of domain names at a regional and international level thanks to our ample network of highly-trained colleagues and correspondents who assist us in this effort.

We are also prepared to defend our clients in the face of acts that constitute violations of their intellectual property rights, including practices such as cyber squatting, hyper linking, confidentiality problems and the inclusion of meta tags.

7- PROTECTION AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION

Unfair competition cases are becoming more complex every day and the introduction of an Unfair Competition law has made this one of the fastest growing areas of our practice. We see the need to offer our clients faster solutions than simply waiting for the results of obtaining registrations before the National Industrial Property Institute, when the real owner and creator of the rights involved needs to urgently market his products. We have also been able to solve matters that go beyond registered rights but are considered by the Unfair Competition law.

Our professionals have been at the forefront of the study of cases that involves practices contrary to the rules of fair competition and how they can be solved in a fast and efficient manner. We are proud of the successes achieved in these cases and consider our firm to be at the pole position in relation to advising and litigation in cases related to Unfair Competition.

8-LICENSING / DISTRIBUTION CONTRACTS

Our practice counts with specialized professionals in the writing and preparation of all types of contracts regarding the disposition, constitution or recognition of intellectual property rights.

We have ample experience in licensing, franchising, know how, distribution and other intellectual property contracts.

We also offer counseling regarding industrial secrets, assuring businesses the needed protection to safeguard the technology they develop. We give specialized assistance regarding labor contracts, specifically in writing and negotiating the contracts that imply an inventive activity.

9- HEALTH PRODUCTS REGISTRATION

In order to market pharmaceutical and cosmetics products in Chile, it is necessary to obtain the corresponding health registration from the Chilean Public Health Institute (Institute de Salud Pública de Chile).

Beuchat, Barros & Pfenniger handles the procedures involved in obtaining health products registrations. In the case of foreign clients, who cannot obtain the registrations for themselves and are obliged to entrust them to their local distributors, we offer additional advice when drawing up the contracts and commercial agreements so that their rights are adequately protected.

10-ECONOMIC VALUE OF INNOVATIONS AND COMPLIANCE OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PATENTABILITY

As part of our constant search to upgrade the services we offer our clients, Beuchat, Barros & Pfenniger offers appraisal services of intangibles in patents.

The purpose of this appraisal is to permit the evaluation, in the most objective manner possible, of the convenience of presenting a patent application in different markets, both national and international. In this way, what we seek is to find the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats of an innovation.

This evaluation supposes the execution of studies in order to find the commercial benefits of an invention, considering the market requirements, and to determine the real possibilities of patenting based on an analysis of the prior art.

11- LAYOUT – DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Layout-Designs registrations are another field of protection for circuits with an electronic functionality and its elements and connections are part of a material surface.

We have a qualified professional and technical staff to assist you to prepare the documents requested to explain how the circuit works in order to obtain the best protection possible.