The President of Ecuador issued Decree Nr. 356 in April 3, 2018, creating the NATIONAL SERVICE OF INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS (“SENADI”) as a technical entity attached to the Secretary of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. This entity will replace the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (“IEPI”) created In 1998.
The SENADI is the local authority competent in all matters related to intellectual property, and will take over the regulation, management and control of the Intellectual Property rights pursuant to the Organic Code of the Social Economy of Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation and other regulations of legal order.
It will provide services for the acquisition and exercise of the intellectual property, as well as the protection of traditional knowledge.
FUNCTIONS
Among its responsibilities are the following functions:
1. To protect and defend intellectual rights, to organize and manage the information about the registration of all kinds of intellectual property rights.
2. To conduct the procedures and to resolve about the granting or refusal of the registration of industrial property rights for patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, slogans, commercial names, trade dresses, geographical indications, and others.
3. To conduct the procedures for the granting and registration of the rights over new plant breeders’ rights and to manage the deposit of live samples.
4. To guaranty, within the range of its competence, the acquisition and exercising of the intellectual property rights.
5. To make use of its faculties of regulation by means of issuance of technical regulations in this field, management and control of the intellectual rights and traditional knowledge.
6. To make, ex-officio or upon request of a party, inspections, monitoring and punishment functions.
7. To process and resolve the oppositions that are filed in connection with the registration of intellectual property rights.
8. To set the official fees and charges for the services rendered by the entity responsible for the management of intellectual property rights and the traditional knowledge.
Organization:
The General Director will represent the entity. The head of the Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation will appoint him. The Committee of this attached entity of Intellectual Rights will be made of by at least six members. The IEPI Director (a. i.) shall continue in charge of the institution until the new authority is appointed. All the IEPI employees with appointments will become part of the SENADI.
General Provision:
All the rest of competences, attributions, functions, among others, that were of the competence of the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI) as of this date shall be undertaken by the SENADI.
Transitory Provisions:
The organic structure of the IEPI will continue in force until the new organic structure of the SENAI is approved.
Final Provision:
The corresponding institutions shall comply with the provisions in this Decree within a 180 days’ term.
