Judicial Administration Structure for IP Disputes: Peru
Information provided by:
National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection of Peru
| Supreme Court of Justice, Permanent Constitutional Bench and Third Transitional Constitutional Bench | Supreme Court of Justice, Criminal Benches | Constitutional Tribunal | ||||||||||||||
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| Lima Superior Court of Justice, Contentious-Administrative Bench subspecialized in commercial matters | Superior Courts of Justice, Superior Criminal Benches | Superior Court of Justice, Bench of Constitutional and Corporate Law | ||||||||||||||
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| Lima Superior Court of Justice, Contentious-Administrative Courts subspecialized in commercial matters | Criminal Courts | Constitutional Courts | ||||||||||||||
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| Intellectual Property Bench of the INDECOPI Court of Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection/Commissions* (administrative instance) |
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| Administrative jurisdiction INDECOPI decisions * The decisions of the INDECOPI Distinctive Signs Commission and the Inventions and New Technologies Commission issued at second administrative instance. |
Criminal jurisdiction Criminal IP offences |
Constitutional jurisdiction Damages to a constitutional right |
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The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection of Peru (INDECOPI) is the administrative authority competent to grant intellectual property rights (IPRs) and to administer the corresponding registries. It is also competent to decide intellectual property (IP) disputes and IPR infringements that might be committed.
Industrial property
Contentious matters [1] are decided at first instance by the Distinctive Signs Commission and the Inventions and New Technologies Commission, and appeals are heard at second and last administrative instance by the Intellectual Property Bench (SPI) of the INDECOPI Tribunal for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection.
Non contentious matters [2] are settled at first administrative instance by the Department of Distinctive Signs and the Department of Inventions and New Technologies, and appeals are heard by the Distinctive Signs Commission and the Inventions and New Technologies Commission, which decide the matter at last administrative instance.
Copyright
In copyright matters, the Department of Copyright decides on non contentious proceedings, and the Copyright Commission decides on contentious proceedings. In both cases, the appeals are heard by the SPI of the INDECOPI Tribunal of Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property Protection.
Administrative remedies
Appeal: The time limit for filing an appeal is fifteen (15) days.
Reconsideration: Likewise, with the exception of cases processed in the areas of infringements by the respective competent bodies, a reconsideration against a decision issued by the competent body may be filed within fifteen (15) working days following notification of the decision and must be accompanied by new evidence.
[1] Objections to registration applications; registration invalidations and cancellations; and infringement proceedings for the IPRs for which the respective Commissions are competent.
[2] The granting, recognition, declaration and registration of IPRs.
In Peru, concerned parties who consider the decision or administrative act issued by an entity of the Public Administration (in this case INDECOPI) to be contrary to their rights or interests may file a contentious administrative claim with the jurisdictional body within three months of being notified of the decision exhausting the administrative route.
The contentious administrative courts of first instance subspecialized in commercial matters (Courts 23, 24, 26) of the Lima Superior Court of Justice have jurisdiction at the national level to hear cases for proceedings concerning, inter alia, industrial property, copyright and related rights, competition law and consumer protection.
At second and last ordinary judicial instance, Contentious-Administrative Bench 5 subspecialized in commercial matters, of the Lima Superior Court of Justice, decides. The Permanent Constitutional Bench and Third Transitional Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Justice decide cassation appeals filed against the rulings or other decisions issued by Contentious-Administrative Bench 5 of the Lima Superior Court of Justice, which terminate the instance proceedings.
Where a case is brought for damage to a constitutional right, the constitutional courts are competent, and their rulings or other decisions terminating the instance proceedings may be appealed before the competent Superior Bench. The definitive rulings and decisions of the competent Superior Bench may be challenged through a constitutional grievance appeal, which must be decided by the Constitutional Tribunal.
In criminal matters, IPR offences are heard in the Criminal Courts 1 and 2 of the Lima Superior Court of Justice, which are subspecialized in IP offences. An administrative decision issued by the Executive Council of the Judiciary (government body) provides for two single person criminal courts and two Superior Criminal Benches subspecialized in IP offences to be established in the judicial district of Lima. The Superior Courts of Justice of Tacna (south coast), Madre de Dios (Selva Central region), Piura (north coast), Ucayali and Loreto (both northeastern Amazon region), Huanuco (Selva Central region) and Arequipa (southern mountain region) have criminal courts of preparatory investigation subspecialized in IP offences. Their rulings and decisions may be appealed before the Superior Criminal Bench of the corresponding judicial district. Two Criminal Benches of the Supreme Court of Justice decide cassation appeals against the second instance rulings issued by all the Superior Courts of Justice in Peru.
| YEAR |
DECISIONS ISSUED BY THE INDECOPI SPI |
JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS INITIATED IN DECISION ISSUE YEAR | % DECISIONS CHALLENGED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,547 | 293 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 2,418 | 254 | 10.5 |
| 2012 | 2,385 | 243 | 10.19 |
| 2013 | 3,728 | 313 | 8.4 |
| 2014 | 3,784 | 304 | 8.03 |
| 2015 | 3,781 | 343 | 9.07 |
| 2016 | 4,195 | 301 | 7.18 |
| 2017 | 2,836 | 357 | 12.59 |
| 2018 | 2,141 | 333 | 15.55 |
| 2019 | 1,890 | 142 | 7.51 |
Decisions issued by the INDECOPI SPI challenged in the judiciary:
