Intellectual property and e-commerce

摘要

Chile's intellectual-property-rights (IPR) regime is gradually becoming more stringent. There has been progress in both the quality of local IPR laws and their enforcement in recent years, though this has lagged at times. Law 17,336/2013 (regulated by Supreme Decree 277/2013) standardises and improves the process for securing patents and trademarks. Earlier laws have strengthened IPR protections by increasing penalties for infringement and streamlining existing legislation to clarify procedures and establish clear lines of management and administration of the IPR regime.Chile has one of Latin America's most liberal policies on licensing. The government authorises all types of licensing arrangements, including those between foreign subsidiaries and their parent companies. Most companies in the car-parts, chemicals, electronics and metal-processing industries manufacture in part under foreign licences. The use of franchises has grown rapidly in Chile in recent years, particularly in the fast-food and retail chain businesses.