VENEZUELA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dana Bentata, Anette Beyer and Biddy Fraga Bentata, Bentata Abogados
4.4 Enforcement and Remedies For registered industrial designs or industrial models, infringement consists of the unauthorised exploita- tion or fraudulent copying of the protected design or model. The LPI’s civil and criminal penalty provisions applicable to trade mark and patent infringement also expressly cover the infringement of registered indus- trial design and industrial models. See 1.6 Patent Enforcement and Remedies . Likewise, where trade dress features are protected under industrial design or trade mark law, the rem- edies available to the rights-holder correspond to those applicable to the relevant category of intel- lectual property right. See 1.6 Patent Enforcement and Remedies and 2.6 Trade Mark Enforcement and Remedies . 4.5 Functionality and Technical Features The requirements of novelty, originality and ornamen- tal character collectively exclude purely functional fea- tures from protection. Article 24 of the LPI reinforces this boundary by limiting protection to the external appearance of the design, expressly excluding the product itself and its utilitarian function. Administrative practice has further confirmed this position by uniformly rejecting design applications where any functional feature is claimed. The IP Office has also clarified that branding and other commer- cial elements are considered functional in nature and therefore fall outside the scope of industrial design protection.
without consent in a manner contrary to honest com- mercial practices. To qualify, the information must satisfy three require- ments: • not be generally known or readily accessible; • have commercial value by virtue of its secrecy; and • be subject to reasonable measures to preserve its confidentiality. In the absence of a dedicated trade secrets statute, businesses should ensure that confidential informa- tion is disclosed only under express confidentiality obligations, with thorough documentation of disclo- sures and robust internal controls in place to sup- port any future claim in the event of misappropria- tion. Accordingly, parties should reinforce protection contractually, including through express confidential- ity undertakings and, where appropriate, arbitration clauses for the resolution of disputes. 5.2 Reasonable Measures and Confidentiality Owners may satisfy the “reasonable measures” requirement set out in Article 39 (2) of the TRIPS Agreement by implementing the following: • confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements; • confidentiality clauses in employment and contrac- tor arrangements; • access restrictions; • internal need-to-know protocols; • password controls; and • clear policies on handling confidential information. Disclosure to employees or third parties does not automatically destroy protection, provided that the disclosure is made on a confidential basis and remains limited to what is necessary. By contrast, if the infor- mation is shared without adequate confidentiality restrictions, or becomes generally known or readily accessible to persons in the relevant trade, it may no longer satisfy the secrecy requirement under Article 39 (2) of the TRIPS Agreement. 5.3 Misappropriation of Trade Secrets Pursuant to Article 39 (2) of the TRIPS Agreement, misappropriation of a trade secret consists of the dis-
5. Trade Secrets 5.1 Legal Framework and Protectable Information
As trade secrets are not specifically regulated under the LPI, the primary legal basis for trade secret pro- tection is Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement. Under the TRIPS framework, protection extends to undis- closed information such as formulas, processes, source code, manufacturing methods, technical data, customer or supplier information, and pricing or busi- ness strategies, against disclosure, acquisition or use
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