Dr. Maria Alejandra Echavarría-Arcila

Books and Monographs

Las Flexibilidades del Acuerdo sobre los ADPIC para la Protección de las Indicaciones Geográficas - un Estudio sobre su Utilización en América Latina (Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Discussion Paper, No. 27), Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich 2025, 306 pp. (together with Roxana Carmen Blasetti, Carol O'Donnell). DOI

• La protección de las indicaciones geográficas en el ADPIC es una institución relativamente nueva a nivel multilateral y generó importantes adaptaciones legislativas para su implementación nacional, considerando que existe un estándar mínimo (artículo 22); derechos exclusivos de protección para determinados productos (artículo 23); y excepciones a dicha protección (artículo 24). Pero el propio Acuerdo contiene flexibilidades para adoptar el sistema de protección de acuerdo al nivel de desarrollo y al interés general de cada sociedad en particular.
  
  El presente estudio realiza un análisis comparado de las legislaciones de once países de América Latina y dos esquemas de integración (CAN) y (MERCOSUR). El objetivo es identificar si los mismos han hecho un uso efectivo de las flexibilidades disponibles en ADPIC al momento de la incorporación de los estándares de protección a las legislaciones regionales y nacionales respectivas.
  
  El análisis comparado muestra que se ha hecho uso efectivo de las flexibilidades, pero no de manera uniforme, existiendo notables diferencias entre ellos. La mayoría de los países ha extendido los derechos exclusivos de protección a las indicaciones geográficas en todos los productos, y la tendencia creciente es hacia estándares ADPIC plus, como resultado de la protección extraterritorial reconocida por los Tratados de Libre comercio (TLC).
• The protection of geographical indications established in the TRIPS Agreement is a relatively new institution at the multilateral level and has led to significant legislative adaptations for its national implementation, considering that there is a minimum standard (Article 22), exclusive rights protection for certain products (Article 23), and exceptions to such protection (Article 24). However, the Agreement contains flexibilities to adopt the protection system according to the level of development and the general interest of each particular society.
  
  This study conducts a comparative analysis of the legislation of Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) as well as the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). The objective is to determine whether they have effectively utilized the flexibilities available under TRIPS when incorporating protection standards into their respective regional and national legislation.
  
  The comparative analysis reveals that the countries and integration schemes studied have effectively utilized the flexibilities, although not uniformly, with notable differences among them. Many countries have extended exclusive rights protection to geographical indications in all products, and the growing trend is towards a TRIPS-plus standard, resulting from the extraterritorial protection recognized by Free Trade Agreements (FTA).

Plagio: ¿Qué es y cómo se regula penalmente? Análisis del plagio como infracción a los derechos de autor y como delito, 1. ed., Grupo Editorial Ibanez, Bogotá 2017, 144 pp.

Contributions to Collected Editions, Commentaries, Handbooks and Encyclopaedias

Exploring the Social Implications of Data Usage: A Review of the Data Trust Concept in Colombia – Current State and Discussions, in: 2024 IEEE Colombian Conference on Communications and Computing (COLCOM) 2024 (together with Jorge Mario Londoño Pelaez et al.). DOI

• This article analyzes the social and technological impact derived from the practices of commercial organizations that use population data to offer services. With the rise of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, these companies show a growing interest in exploiting personal and private data. It emphasizes how these practices make it possible to fine-tune the accuracy of artificial intelligence models and increase the effectiveness of advertising and offering personalized services based on the information collected. However, access to this type of information faces significant regulatory gaps, both in legal and technological aspects, which still need to be effectively resolved in our society. Preventing imbalances and adverse effects depends on the ethics and responsibility of the entities involved. We must initiate an inclusive debate on these critical issues for our society. In this context, the article explores the current state of data trust, its implications, relevant considerations, and possible regulatory approaches that should be implemented to ensure adequate social impact from using technology.
• Event: 2024 IEEE Colombian Conference on Communications and Computing (COLCOM), Barranquilla, Colombia, 2024-08-21

Shared-Data Governance Frameworks, in: Nagib Callaos et al. (ed.), Proceedings of ICSIT 2024, International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics, Winter Garden, Florida 2024, 65 - 70 (together with Jorge Mario Londoño Peláez et al.). DOI

• Data has emerged as the cornerstone of the modern data-driven economy, facilitating the generation of new value, innovations, and societal benefits through the application of data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence methodologies. within private silos by major corporations, poses a significant barrier to broader data access and the realization of its inherent value. The concept of data markets has been proposed as a means to surmount this obstacle, enabling diverse stakeholders to share and access requisite data. Yet, data sharing introduces novel challenges, as conventional data governance frameworks have primarily addressed intra-organizational scenarios, underscoring the imperative for robust governance structures tailored to inter-organizational data sharing contexts.
  The governance of shared data presents formidable complexities, necessitating the collective commitment of multiple entities to ensure the appropriate collection, storage, processing, and disposal of data. Moreover, these responsibilities are contingent upon the nature of the data and the regulatory and ethical frameworks governing its utilization. In this paper, we explore these challenges, delineating the regulatory and ethical imperatives, with particular emphasis on the management of personal data. Subsequently, we propose a comprehensive governance framework for shared data aligned with widely endorsed principles.
• Event: 15th International Conference on Society and Information Technologies: ICSIT, Virtual Conference, 2024-05-26

La "justicia digital": del término común al concepto especializado, in: Diana María Ramírez Carvajal (ed.), Justicia digital: Un análisis internacional en época de crisis, 1. ed., Editorial Justicia y Proceso, Medellín 2020, 401 - 418.

Efectos de la globalización en el derecho de la propiedad intelectual: Análisis jurídico y económico del proceso global y abierto de creación, in: Jorge Luiz Fabra Zamora (ed.), Las transformaciones del derecho en la globalización, Editorial Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México 2020, 99 - 123.

• http://ru.juridicas.unam.mx:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/60112

Probar para infringir: La prueba de las infracciones a los derechos de autor, in: Luis F. Vivares Porras (ed.), Estudios de derecho probatorio, Editorial UPB, Medellín 2020.

Journal Articles

Data Trust for Personal Data: From Trusts to Collective Management Organisations, Data and Information Management 10.3 (2026), 11.05.2026 (together with Laura Orozco Salazar et al.). DOI

• The widespread use of data presents significant managerial challenges, particularly when this information is legally protected by privacy regulations. When managing a large amount of data with dispersed rightsholders, obtaining their legal consent incurs high transaction costs. Collective governance models like data trust offer a potential solution. However, traditional trust objects differ from personal data, as it involves personal rights that are essentially inalienable in general. Therefore, negotiating personal rights through an economic scheme involves complex incentives and cost-benefit trade-off problems, presenting economic inefficiencies. Trust and privacy regulations, while important, are limited frameworks in this context, but the copyright system can complement and reconcile the legal nature of the collectively managed rights over intangible assets. This cross-disciplinary research proposes migrating data trust agreements to data collective management entities, combining legal-dogmatic and economic approaches with systems thinking methodologies. This proposal offers an integrated and diverse perspective for ongoing academic discussions and for future legislation and public policies in the field, potentially leading to more efficient and sustainable data governance and information management.

De la creación del intelecto humano a la creación del intelecto a-humano: Derecho de autor e inteligencia artificial, Revista Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana 2026, forthcoming.

Intellectual Property for Commercial Ideas in Technology Markets: A System Dynamics Model, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity 9.2 (2023), 13.04.2023 (together with Julio C. Correa, Ana María Pérez-Gómez). DOI

• Traditional intellectual property principles hold that ideas themselves must not be appropriated. Nevertheless, within open and collaborative dynamics, ideas are traded in technology markets for a stand-alone value. Contract-based exchanges to appropriate these ownerless resources take place in the market for unprotected ideas. Due to their lack of legal protection, these transactions are non-optimal and lead to economic inefficiency. A system dynamics simulation model was developed to determine the factors and causal relations that contribute to this problem. Using the scenarios technique, the model was intervened with possible legal solutions from the intellectual property system. From the results, a sui generis legal right for commercial ideas is proposed to foster the open dynamic and optimize the legal and economic conditions of technology markets for these creative assets. This interdisciplinary scheme provides a framework for future intellectual property legislation and public policies, as for further academic discussions in the field.

Reconceptualización del inventor ante los sistemas de inteligencia artificial, Revista La Propiedad Inmaterial 35 (2023), 209 - 237. DOI

• Los avances en la tecnología de la inteligencia artificial han llevado a reconsiderar fundamentos esenciales del sistema de patentes. En particular, han confrontado los conceptos seminales de inventor, en la medida en que se cuestiona la posibilidad de que un sistema de inteligencia artificial pueda ser así categorizado. El propósito de este artículo es proponer un entendimiento sistémico e interdisciplinario de la actividad del intelecto artificial, con el fin de determinar si, con el desarrollo actual, se tienen nuevos inventores susceptibles de protección por la vía de la propiedad intelectual. Así, desde un paradigma positivista y utilizando técnicas cualitativas, esta investigación pretende contribuir, con un análisis jurídico, filosófico y técnico, a una de las discusiones más relevantes en la actualidad.
  
• Advances in artificial intelligence technology have led to a reconsideration on the patent system essential foundations. In particular, they have confronted the seminal concepts of inventor to the extent that the possibility of an artificial intelligence system could be so categorized is questioned. The purpose of this paper is to propose a systemic and interdisciplinary understanding of the artificial intellect activity in order to determine if, with the current development, there are new inventors susceptible to protection through intellectual property. Thus, from a positivist paradigm and using qualitative techniques for a legal, philosophical and technical analysis, this research aims to contribute to one of the most relevant and current discussions.

Un nuevo caso de limitación y excepción a los derechos de autor para el software académico, Revista La Propiedad Inmaterial 32 (2021), 5 - 35 (together with Marlon Vargas Patiño, Santiago Andrés Gómez Méndez). DOI

• En julio de 2018 el Congreso de la República de Colombia emitió la Ley 1915, que tuvo por principal objetivo implementar una “serie de compromisos de carácter comercial adquiridos en el marco de los acuerdos suscritos con los Estados Unidos de América y la Unión Europea”1. Llama la atención en la Ley la consagración, en el artículo 16 referido a limitaciones y excepciones, en el que se establece el uso y reproducción de obras, que por su redacción no se excedan las tipologías tradicionales del concepto mismo de “obra”, haciendo alusión únicamente a una libre reproducción por medios reprográficos de la obra y reproducción temporal en el entorno digital. Con base en lo anterior se ha buscado, a lo largo de este artículo, responder la siguiente pregunta: ¿En qué medida es extensible el régimen de limitaciones y excepciones con propósitos de enseñanza a los programas de computación en Colombia?Esta revisión se ha hecho a través de una metodología eminentemente cualita-tiva, documental, derivada del paradigma de investigación positivista.
• In July of 2018, the Congress of the Republic of Colombia sanctioned the 1915 Law which was mainly geared towards implementing a “series of commercial commitments acquired within the framework of the agreements signed with the United States of America and the European Union.” What calls the attention of this paper is that article 16 of the Law includes several limitations and exceptions that refer to the use and reproduction of works, without taking into account types of intellectual works that exceed the traditional typologies of the concept of “in-tellectual work.” Also, the cited article 16 refers solely to the possibility of freely reproducing the intellectual work through reprographic means and reproducing it in a digital environment. Based on the latter, this paper has made an effort to answer the following question: To what extent is it possible to apply the current regulation of limitations and exceptions with educational purposes to computa-tional programs in Colombia?This review of the topic has been done using an eminently documental qua-litative methodology, which derives from the positivism paradigm of research.

A New Market for Unprotected Ideas: Analyzing the Economic Efficiency of Trading Ownerless Ideas, IIC 51, 8 (2020), 906 - 939. DOI

• Certain ideas are not legally protected but are commercially exchanged. These ideas, as ownerless creations, can be freely used by anybody. Nevertheless, when the innovation and creation processes are developed collaboratively, the ideas are externalized and flow continuously, enabling their commercialization. Even if these ideas are not protected by the intellectual property system, they are, in fact, traded on a contract basis. In this context, the market for unprotected ideas emerges. Due to the lack of legal protection of these ideas, the disclosure needed for the exchange implies an appropriation risk and high transaction costs. These non-optimal conditions prevent commercial transactions and lead to an economic inefficiency in the market. This paper follows the methodology of economic analysis of law in order to describe and study the emerging market. Also, the effects of trading this type of legally unprotected assets are analyzed. A sui generis legal right for commercial ideas is then proposed as a possible solution to the legal and economic challenges within this specific marketplace. The interdisciplinary methodology used and the results presented can form the basis for further studies. They could also lay the groundwork for legislative initiatives and public policies in the intellectual property field.

Una visión alterna de la firma desde la organización, el aprendizaje y los paradigmas tecnológicos, Panorama Económico 26, 4 (2018), 481 - 496 (together with Juan Camilo Galvis-Ciro).

• Este documento presenta una reflexión acerca de los conceptos de empresa y tecnología. Para ello, se discuten otras visiones de la empresa que difieren con la visión neoclásica, las cuales consideran el esquema organizativo, los paradigmas tecnológicos y el aprendizaje organizacional. Es evidente que los conceptos neoclásicos de empresa y de tecnología son limitados y no permiten comprender la dinámica de las firmas en las economías de mercado. Cómo resultado se propone una concepción alternativa de la tecnología y de la empresa, así como una nueva esquematización de la firma.
• This document presents a reflection on the concepts of business and technology. For this, other visions of the company that differ with the neoclassical vision are discussed, which consider the organizational scheme, technological paradigms and organizational learning. It is evident that the neoclassical concepts of business and technology are limited and do not allow understanding the dynamics of firms in market economies. As a result, an alternative conception of technology and business is proposed, as well as a new outlining of the firm.
• Ce document présente une réflexion sur les concepts de commerce et de technologie. Pour cela, d’autres visions de l’entreprise qui diffèrent de la vision néoclassique sont abordées, qui prennent en compte le schéma d’organisation, les paradigmes technologiques et l’apprentissage organisationnel. Il est évident que les concepts néoclassiques de commerce et de technologie sont limités et ne permettent pas de comprendre la dynamique des entreprises dans les économies de marché. En conséquence, une autre conception de la technologie et des affaires est proposée, ainsi qu’une nouvelle présentation de la société.

El delito de plagio: una propuesta de regulación penal de la infracción al derecho de autor, Revista Cuadernos de Derecho Penal 15 (2016), 85 - 102.

• El plagio ha sido considerado como una de las infracciones más graves e intolerables a los derechos de autor, razón por la cual ha sido penalizado en diferentes ordenamientos jurídicos. No obstante, la falta de claridad sobre el concepto del plagio y su ilicitud ha generado incertidumbre e insegu-ridad jurídica en la creación y aplicación de la regulación penal de esta infracción a los derechos de autor. Como posible solución a esta proble-mática, en el presente escrito se propone un concepto técnico de plagio y una fórmula de tipo penal que lo describe y regula en su integridad, como infracción por antonomasia de las prerrogativas reconocidas al autor sobre su obra.
• Plagiarism has been long considered one of the most serious and intolerable copyright infringements, this explaines why it has been penalized under different legal systems. However, the lack of clarity of the concept itself as well as its wrongfulness has created legal uncertainty in its criminal regulation. Therefore, as a possible solution to this problem, this paper proposes a technical concept of plagiarism and a complete definition of the criminal offense.

¿Qué es el plagio? Propuesta conceptual del plagio punible, Revista Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas 44, 121 (2014), 699 - 720.

• Puesto que la aprehensión de un fenómeno parte de su definición, la delimitación conceptual de la figura del plagio ha suscitado una inveterada discusión doctrinaria, jurisprudencial y legal sobre la fijación del ámbito conductual que comprende esta infracción a los derechos de autor. Aunque se ha aceptado –sin mayores reparos– que el plagio vulnera, de la manera más grave e intolerable, ciertas prerrogativas exclusivas que se le conceden al autor de una obra desde el momento mismo de su creación, la conceptualización de este fenómeno no ha sido precisa en las legislaciones nacionales e internacionales sobre la materia, lo cual, aunado a ciertos pronunciamientos jurisprudenciales y doctrinarios sobre el particular, ha tergiversado el significado y la naturaleza de este constructo. A partir de esta coyuntura, en el presente escrito se presenta una propuesta de conceptualización de la conducta constitutiva de plagio y de sus elementos compositivos, con el prisma de su consideración como infracción arquetípica a los derechos de autor y mediante una noción que contiene el fenómeno en su integridad y lo concreta de manera técnica y estricta, para efectos de su punición. Con este propósito, se exponen las principales definiciones doctrinarias y jurisprudenciales del plagio que se corresponden con los lineamientos del sistema de derecho de autor colombiano, para, luego, formular una definición de esta figura a la luz de los conceptos básicos de la disciplina jurídica de la propiedad intelectual.
• Since the apprehension of a phenomenon is based on its definition, the conceptual delimitation of the plagiarism figure has caused a doctrinaire, jurisprudential and legal inveterate discussion on the fixation of behavior ambience that includes this copyright violation. Although it has been accepted - without major reservations- that the plagiarism violates, in the most serious and intolerable manner, certain exclusive privileges granted to the author of a work from the very moment of its creation, the conceptualization of this phenomenon has not been accurate in national and international legislations on the subject, which, coupled with certain judicial and doctrinal rulings on the issue, has distorted the meaning and nature of this construct. From this juncture, the brief presents a proposal of the plagiarism constitutive behavior conceptualization and its compositional elements, with the prism of its consideration as an archetype infringement of the rights of author and through a notion that contains the phenomenon in its integrity and concretes it in a strict and technical way, for punishment purposes. For this purpose, the report describes the main doctrinal and jurisprudential definitions of plagiarism that correspond to Colombian copyright system guidelines, therefore, it formulates a definition of this figure from the basic concepts view of the legal intellectual property discipline.
• https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5002799

Collective Administration of Online Rights in Musical Works: Analyzing the Economic Efficiency of the Directive 2014/26/EU, International Journal of Intellectual Property Management 7, 3/4 (2014), 103 - 119 (together with Ana María Peréz Gómez). DOI

• Due to technological development, the distribution and exploitation of cultural content has transcended national borders and demands an administration of copyright and related rights on a multi-territorial basis. Considering their natural monopoly, the collective management organisations (hereafter 'CMOs') are an economically efficient option to grant cross-border and cross-repertory licenses for the online digital market, not only because of the diminution of the transaction costs, but also for the transfer of risk. Nevertheless, the information asymmetries between market actors implied by such administration lead to the need of granting transparency in their relationships, to prevent the problem of moral hazard. To that effect, the Directive 2014/26/EU establishes common standards of multi-territorial licenses and a model based on the competition between European CMOs, which are unlikely to be efficient. Therefore, the implementation of a European one-stop-shop would be an economically better solution to the digital administration of copyright and related rights.

Further Publications, Press Articles, Interviews

Nuevas ideas, nuevas protecciones la propiedad intelectual sobre ideas comerciales, Universitas Científica 22.2 (2020), 70 - 73.

• “¡Me robaron la idea!” Esta es una expresión común entre los emprendedores y pequeños empresarios, cuando divulgan una idea creativa y esta es “apropiada” por otra persona. Muchas de estas ideas no están protegidas por la propiedad intelectual, pero tienen valor comercial. ¿Cómo se podrían proteger estas creaciones para que otra persona no se “apropie” de ellas? Los nuevos mercados y dinámicas de innovación cuestionan los postulados clásicos del sistema de propiedad intelectual: se requieren nuevas formas de protección para las creaciones del ingenio. Los nuevos paradigmas de la tecnología y la innovación han cambiado la manera de crear y generan nuevos productos creativos con valor en el mercado. En este contexto, surgen, inclusive, nuevos mercados, como lo es el de las ideas
• https://revistas.upb.edu.co/index.php/universitas/article/view/647