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At-a-glance: Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (INDECOPI) Calle de la Prosa 104, San Borja, Peru Tel: +511 224 7800, Fax: +511 224 0348-49 Email: postmaster@indecopi.gob.pe Website: www.indecopi.gob.pe While... [more]

While there may be some impact on Peru's IP market from several free-trade agreements the country signed in 2011, it will be minimal. Overall, the IP environment remains stable without any significant developments in sight.

The EU-Peru trade agreement that comes into force on March 1 2013 is expected to have a limited effect, given that Peru already has special preferential tariff rights for almost all of its exports to the European Union.

"Of course these temporary rights now become definitive and that helps investments," notes one attorney. "Considering that beginning March 1 European goods and services will have preferential rights to enter Peru, European exports will probably grow and that could mean more European trade marks and patents being registered in Peru."

In 2011, Peru signed free trade agreements with Japan, Mexico, Panama and South Korea.

Peru's robust economy continues to attract foreign investor interest. The country's economic growth still outpaces the global average, as well as the rate of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.

Canada has also expressed interest in strengthening ties with Peru, as a visit of Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to the nation's capital in February indicates.

"Peru is Canada's second-largest trading partner in South and Central America and the third-largest destination for Canadian direct investment in the region," Baird said in a statement. The two countries have had an FTA in place since May 2008.

In addition to a healthy economy and a wealth of natural resources, the country also has a respectable IP system. "Peru has quick and reasonable examiners and it's very clear what's patentable and what isn't," remarks one Argentine lawyer.

Its IP system may be further strengthened with the adoption of the Madrid Protocol, which one partner believes will be enforced in 2014 or 2015. "I don't think it will happen this year because the PTO [INDECOPI] are not ready," the same person notes.

"The trade mark office is in the process of digitising the certificates of registration and it is foreseen that by mid-year it will be possible to review them online for free," explains another partner.

Another initiative in which the country is participating is Prosur (Proyecto Sur). The project's objective is to create a common platform for novelty searches and patentability examinations. Other participating countries are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Suriname and Uruguay.