Intellectual property rights : a report on legislation, administration, and enforcement in Central America

This report assesses efforts to ensure intellectual property rights in Central America. After an introductory review of titles of protection (patents, trademarks, trade names, geographical indications, industrial designs, trade secrets, and copyright), Section 2 briefly describes international agreements to which one or more Central American countries is signatory, noting whether U.S. policy advises that countries become members. Section 3 describes pertinent U.S. agreements: the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Intellectual Property. Section 4 discusses the Patent Cooperation Treaty to facilitate the procedural aspects of filing patent applications; there are no Central American members, although the U.S. advises membership. The results of missions to review the status of intellectual property laws and their enforcement in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama are documented in Section 5. Section 6 recommends that USAID support in-country and regional training and TA programs to improve the protection of intellectual property in Central America. The program could include expansion of the Central American Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property and development of a regional trademark and patent office; USAID should at least encourage registries to become self-sufficient by retaining fees collected for trademark and patent registration. Finally, Section 7 discusses follow-up activities, including training and the drafting of patent, trademark, and copyright laws, including laws to protect plant varieties and computer chip topographies.