Negative Enforcement Actions of Intellectual Property Rights in Ecuador

Abstract

Five years after the entry into force of the Ecuadorian Organic Code of the Social Knowledge Economy, Creativity and Innovation, not one case of negative enforcement has  been decided either at an administrative nor judicial level that puts into question the practical application of this legal figure within the industry. In essence, the negative enforcement action seeks the issuance of a declaratory judgment from an authority, that an act does not infringe the rights of a third party, such as several internal legislations in different countries already provide; even though no international agreement deals with this subject, not even at a regional level, for instance in jurisdictions such as the European Union. Therefore, this article pursues to provide a few pointers considering foreign legislation and jurisprudence, to allow the better understanding of this legal figure, and set forth its usefulness and possible applications according to Ecuadorian legislation.