Prof. Dr. Roxana Carmen Blasetti

Books and Monographs

Utilizing TRIPS flexibilities for Public Health Protection through South-South Regional Framework, South Centre, Geneva 2004, XVI + 93 pp. (together with Sisule F. Musungu, Susan Villanueva).

Contributions to Collected Editions, Commentaries, Handbooks and Encyclopaedias

The Protection of Geographical Indications Through FTAs and the Collision with Prior User Rights, in: Kreation Innovation Märkte - Creation Innovation Markets - Festschrift Reto M. Hilty, Springer, Berlin; Heidelberg 2024, 971 - 980. DOI

• The EU’s extraterritoriality strategy of geographical indication (GI) protection through free trade agreements (FTAs) generates a conflict of rights between the cross-border protection of GIs and the prior user rights in the rest of the world. It constitutes a more specific attempt by the EU to obtain additional protection outside its territory for agricultural products. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for specific exceptions to GI exclusive rights. The exceptions enable the continuity of use of protected terms under certain conditions.
  
  Although the different forms of protection are welcome to distinguish and add value to products, extraterritorial protection through FTAs collides with pre-existing private rights modifying the principle of non-retroactivity of international treaties, affects competition and constitutes a market access restriction for local and imported products.
  
  The concerns relate to the request for exclusivity for common names that have become part of the public domain, trademarks obtained in good faith, and names of plant varieties and animal breeds. In short, the objection is to undermine the rights of producers outside European territory, granted under the TRIPS exceptions, affecting GATT/WTO principles and the balance of rights and obligations resulting from the Uruguay Round.

La Propiedad Intelectual en Latinoamérica y su Rol en el Desarrollo Económico y Social [Intellectual Property in Latin America and its Role in Economic and Social Development], in: Marcos Wachowicz, Karin Grau-Kuntz (eds.), Estudos de Propriedade Intelectual em Homenagem ao Prof. Dr. Denis Borges Barbosa [Studies on Intellectual Property in Honor of Prof. Dr. Denis Borges Barbosa], IODA - Instituto Observatório do Direito Autoral, Curitiba 2021, 25 - 64 (together with Reto M. Hilty et al.).

• O texto trata do estabelecimento e evolução dos direitos da propriedade in-telectual na América Latina. Perpassa os contextos nos quais esses direitos foram incorporados ao arcabouço legal doméstico. Ainda que as economias latino-americanas sejam mais ou menos frágeis do ponto de vista da pro-priedade intelectual, as conclusões apontam que há diversos desafios a se-rem enfrentados, mas que os países da região têm potencial para superá-los e avançar na proteção e na utilização dos seus ativos intelectuais.
• This article deals with the establishment and evolution of intellectual property rights in Latin America. It goes through the contexts in which these rights have been in-corporated into the domestic legal framework. Although Latin American economies are more or less fragile from the point of view of intellectual property, the conclusions indicate that there are several challenges to be faced, but that the countries of the region have the potential to overcome them and advance in the protection and use of their intellectual assets.
• https://codaip.gedai.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1_Estudos-de-Propriedade-Intelectual-em-homenagem-ao-Prof_Dr_Denis-Borges-Barbosa.pdf

Las indicaciones geográficas en el marco de los Tratados de Libre Comercio: la negociación UE-MERCOSUR, in: Salvador D. Bergel, Sandra C. Negro (eds.), Propiedad Intelectual, Presente y Futuro, B de F, Buenos Aires 2019, 49 - 72.

Más allá de los aranceles. La armonización sanitaria y fitosanitaria. Una herramienta clave, in: Sandra Negro (ed.), CEIDIE Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios de Derecho Industrial y Económico. A 25 años de su creación, La Ley, Buenos Aires 2015, 61 - 85.

Agricultura y Cambio Climático. Quien debe asumir los mayores costos?, in: Sandra Negro (ed.), Lecturas sobre Integración Regional y Comercio Internacional, La Ley, Buenos Aires 2012, 75 - 99.

Las Indicaciones Geográficas y otras cuestiones vinculadas a la negociación agrícola: el medio ambiente y la patentabilidad de la materia viva, in: Carlos María Correa (ed.), Comercio Internacional: del GATT a la OMC, EUDEBA, Buenos Aires 2010, 523 - 570.

Dos procesos de integración regional con miras a un Tratado de Libre Comercio: Materias en conflicto, in: Francisco Leita, Sandra C. Negro (eds.), La Unión Europea y el MERCOSUR: a 50 años de la firma de los Tratados de Roma, La Ley, Buenos Aires 2008.

Sanitary and Phitosanitary measures and other obstacles to trade, in: Alfredo Valladão, Sheila Page (eds.), Agriculture and Agribusiness in the EU - MERCOSUR Negotiations: Negotiating Issues II, Chaire Mercosur de Sciences Po, Paris 2003, 77 - 111 (together with Martín Piñeiro et al.).

El Acuerdo TRIPS, in: Gonzalo Estefanell, Gustavo Idígoras (eds.), Programa de Capacitación para Negociadores Agrícolas, IICA, Buenos Aires 2003, 47 - 55.

Marco regulatorio y organismos internacionales, in: Gonzalo Estefanell, Gustavo Idígoras (eds.), Programa de Capacitación para Negociadores Agrícolas, IICA, Buenos Aires 2003, 1 - 7.

El Impacto de la equivalencia de los Sistemas de Control de Alimentos para los Países en Desarrollo (Impact of equivalence of Food Control Systems on Developing Countries), in: Symposium on Judgement of Equivalence, IICA Publication, Washington D.C. 2000.

Journal Articles

Strengthening the EU System of Geographical Indications: Impact on Farmers and Food Producers around the World, GRUR Int 72, 2 (2023), 107 - 108. DOI

Nation Branding in the Andean Community: Decision 876 of 23 April 2021 for a Common Nation Brand Regime, GRUR Int 71, 3 (2022), 230 - 233. DOI

• On 23 April 2021, the Andean Community, comprised of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, adopted and published Decision 876 regulating the common nation brand regime for its territory. As a result, this integrated bloc of Latin American countries became a pioneer in this area. Decision 876 establishes a common regime for protecting country brands against any possible unauthorized registrations or the use of identical or similar signs in the Community’s Members Countries. It is interesting to note that, unlike other integration blocs in Latin America, the Andean Community has made notable progress in harmonizing regional regulations on intellectual property. In this sense, Decision 876 adds to its extensive legal corpus on the topic, with no similar rule existing in the other integration processes in the region. The Decision sets out the basic criteria related to Member Countries’ and third countries’ nation brands, the procedure for their protection and enforcement, and infringements.

Intellectual Property in the EU-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges for Family Farming, Blog: Fundación Foro del Sur 2020.

• http://www.forosur.com.ar/en/blog/

Geographical Indications: A Major Challenge for MERCOSUR, GRUR Int 69, 11 (2020), 1113 - 1122. DOI

• This article focuses on the intellectual property chapter of the EU-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of all the intellectual property rights involved but to go deeply into a specific matter, geographical indications, which is undoubtedly a controversial concession in the chapter.
  The entire free trade agreement negotiations took more than 20 years and ended in June 2019 with an ‘Agreement in principle’. From the very beginning it involved a red line for the MERCOSUR countries, namely the intellectual property chapter.
  This article will show the complexity of including the private rights of prior users (generic names, plant varieties and trademarks) as a trade-off for agricultural market access in negotiations mainly focused on tariff reduction and trade rules.
  In addition, the imbalance between the parties was deepened by the lack of regionally harmonized intellectual property standards within MERCOSUR.
  In this regard, the main objective of this article is to identify the legal challenges derived from the overlap of national, regional and bi-regional rules that the Mercosur countries will face when implementing the geographical indication commitments, given the bloc’s legal and institutional structure. Unlike tariff reduction, the commitments derived from the negotiation of private rights are a crucial issue. Against this background, some proposals are outlined to address how to determine a medium- and long-term strategy based on the needs of local producers to add value to their productions.

La equivalencia de las Medidas Sanitarias. Un reclamo de los Países en Desarrollo, Temas de derecho industrial y de la competencia 6 (2004), 13 - 52.

El MERCOSUR Agropecuario a principios de 1996, Revista de Derecho Privado y Comunitario 11, Mayo (1996) (together with Carlos Basco).

Research Papers

Distinctive Signs for Collective Use in Latin America: Development Promotion by Valuing Origin and Quality (Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, 22-15), 2022, 131 pp. (together with Suelen Carls, Pedro Henrique D. Batista). DOI

• Origin-based production, including manufacturing, handicraft, and especially food production in Latin American countries, is essential to their economies. Quality differentiation systems such as geographical indications, designations of origin, collective and certification marks, and quality labels, among others, can play a dual role in the economic and social development of the region and in adding value to their products with the consequent impact on trade. However, those systems are quite particular to each country due to multiple realities. Therefore, it is challenging to promote integration, harmonisation, and /or cooperation within the region. Therefore, this paper aims to offer a comprehensive legal comparative understanding of how those systems work in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay to back up further research, law, and policy-making on this field. The outcome indicates potential ways forward, targeting especially (a) the potential of a regional system of mutual recognition of the protection granted at the national level and (b) the improvement of the system at the domestic level, according to each country's reality and producer's needs.
• Spanish version published as Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Discussion Paper No. 21

Signos Distintivos Colectivos en Latinoamérica: Fomento del Desarrollo Valorando Origen y Calidad (Distinctive Signs for Collective Use in Latin America: Development Promotion by Valuing Origin and Quality) (Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Discussion Paper, No. 21), 2022, 144 pp. (together with Suelen Carls, Pedro Henrique D. Batista). DOI

• La producción desarrollada localmente, incluyendo la manufactura, la artesanía y especialmente la producción de alimentos en los países latinoamericanos, es esencial para sus economías. Los sistemas de diferenciación de la calidad, como las indicaciones geográficas, las denominaciones de origen, las marcas colectivas y de certificación, y los sellos de calidad, entre otros, pueden desempeñar un doble papel, tanto para el desarrollo económico y social de la región como para añadir valor a sus productos con el consiguiente impacto en el comercio. Sin embargo, estos sistemas tienen particularidades en cada país debido a las múltiples realidades existentes. Es por ello que constituye un desafío promover a integración, la armonización y/o la cooperación al interior de la región. Es en este sentido que el presente documento ofrece un estudio comparado de las reglas jurídicas vigentes y de cómo funcionan estos sistemas en Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, México, Paraguay, Perú y Uruguay para respaldar la investigación y la elaboración de leyes y políticas públicas en la materia. El resultado indica las posibles vías de avance, centrándose especialmente (a) en el potencial de un sistema regional de reconocimiento mutuo de la protección dada a nivel nacional (b) en la mejora del sistema a nivel nacional, según la realidad de cada país y las necesidades de los productores.
• Origin-based production, including manufacturing, handicraft, and especially food production in Latin American countries, is essential to their economies. Quality differentiation systems such as geographical indications, designations of origin, collective and certification marks, and quality labels, among others, can play a dual role in the economic and social development of the region and in adding value to their products with the consequent impact on trade. However, those systems are quite particular to each country due to multiple realities. Therefore, it is challenging to promote integration, harmonisation, and /or cooperation within the region. Therefore, this paper aims to offer a comprehensive legal comparative understanding of how those systems work in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay to back up further research, law, and policy-making on this field. The outcome indicates potential ways forward, targeting especially (a) the potential of a regional system of mutual recognition of the protection granted at the national level and (b) the improvement of the system at the domestic level, according to each country's reality and producer's needs.
• Also published in: Smart IP Initiative
• English version published as: Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper 22-15

Intellectual Property in the EU–MERCOSUR FTA: A Brief Review of the Negotiating Outcomes of a Long-Awaited Agreement (Research Paper / South Centre, 128), South Centre, Geneva 2021, 44 pp. (together with Juan I. Correa).

• This paper provides a first glance at the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the European Union (EU). It is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of the commitments involved but rather to briefly review the scope of intellectual property in the bi-regional negotiations, which took more than 20 years and ended in June 2019 with an “agreement in principle.” It also aims to put the Chapter into context with the whole commitments covered by the FTA and, finally, to highlight its most relevant aspects.
• Este documento ofrece un primer vistazo al capítulo sobre propiedad intelectual del Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) entre el Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) y la Unión Europea (UE). No se pretende hacer un análisis exhaustivo de los compromisos implicados, sino más bienrevisar brevemente el alcance de la propiedad intelectual en las negociaciones birregionales, que duraron más de 20 años y terminaron en junio de 2019 con un "acuerdo de principio". También tiene por objeto situar el capítulo en el contexto de todos los compromisos cubiertos por el TLC y, por último, poner de relieve sus aspectos más relevantes.
• Ce document donne un premier aperçu du chapitre sur la propriété intellectuelle de l'accord de libre-échange (ALE) entre le Marché commun du Sud (MERCOSUR) et l'Union européenne (UE). Il n'a pas pour but de fournir une analyse exhaustive des engagements impliqués, mais plutôt de revoir brièvement la portée de la propriété intellectuelle dans les négociations bi-régionales, qui ont duré plus de 20 ans et qui se sont terminées en juin 2019 par un "accord de principe". Il vise également à mettre ce chapitre en contexte avec l'ensemble des engagements couverts par l'ALE et, enfin, à mettre en évidence ses aspects les plus pertinents.
• https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RP-128.pdf

Estudio Preliminar del Capítulo Sobre Propiedad Intelectual del Acuerdo MERCOSUR – UE (Documento de Investigación, No. 110), South Centre, Geneva 2020, 55 pp. (together with Alejandra Aoun et al.).

• El presente documento realiza un estudio preliminar del capítulo XX relativo a propiedad intelectual del Acuerdo MERCOSUR–UE de libre comercio, MERCOSUR logró en este capítulo que la UE hiciera tabla rasa respecto de los anteriores acuerdos de libre comercio. Se arribó a un resultado equilibrado, que refleja las concesiones de ambas partes.
• This document presents a preliminary study of chapter XX on intellectual property of the free trade MERCOSUR-EU agreement. In this chapter, MERCOSUR succeeded in getting the EU to abandon provisions included in previous free trade agreements. A balanced result was reached, which reflects the concessions made by both parties.
• Ce document présente une étude préliminaire du chapitre XX sur la propriété intellectuelle de l'accord accord de libre-échange MERCOSUR-UE. Dans ce chapitre, le MERCOSUR a réussi à amener l'UE à faire table rase des précédents accords de libre-échange. Un résultat équilibré a été obtenu, reflétant les concessions faites par les deux parties.

Evaluación de los Subgrupos de Trabajo del MERCOSUR" within the framework of the re-launching of MERCOSUR, FLASCO, Curridabat, San José 2000.