On
October 20, 2015, Raquel Araúz, Esq., the headof Mossack Fonseca’s (MF)
Intellectual Property Division, gave a highly informative interview to
representatives of the MF Marketing Division.
Raquel,
we would like our readers to get to know you; please tell us about yourself and
your career prior to working at MF
My
pleasure, I’m 38 years old, and for the past 10 years I have been working here
at MF. I started out as a legal assistant for Attorney Sara Montenegro. I then
began developing the Intellectual Property (IP) Division with the guidance of
Attorney Joanna Soto. I have been the director of the IP division since its
inception four years ago.
Prior to joining
MF, I spent several years working as an IP executive
assistant, specializing in managing and protecting trademark portfolios.
Please
tell us about your legal and continuing education
I
attended the Latina University (Universidad Latina) in Panama where I studied
law and political science. I have been a member of the International Trademark
Association and the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property for the
past six years. The International Trademark Association is a congress that brings
together around 10,000 IP agents and lawyers. A group of our lawyers, along
with the IP Division have been working really hard with these two associations.
Last
year, for the first time, we attended the International Anti-counterfeiting
Coalition meeting―they are an organization focused solely on combating product
counterfeiting and piracy. We also regularly attend local seminars and
congresses to continually update our knowledge base.
In
May of this year, my colleague Attorney Li An Chong and I were invited by the
Panamanian consulate in Venice to talk about our complete range of legal
services, as well as IP matters. We discussed the benefits of trademark
registration with the Venice Chamber of Commerce and the Verona Chamber of
Commerce. In addition, Attorney Amauri Batista is a member of the International
Offices Committee and the International Trademark Association.
Please
tell us more about your team here at MF
I
am fortunate to have a talented and highly committed team. I have an extremely
able attorney, Jorge Gutierrez, who recently earned his master’s degree in
litigation procedure. I also have a business administrator, Milena Pinilla, who
is my IP analyst, and Eric Carvajal who is my legal assistant―he is in charge
of monitoring our litigation process before the court. The team works directly
with and is supported by a truly outstanding group of lawyers in our Legal and
Trust Services Department.
What
are the benefits of going to MF instead of another provider?
First
and foremost, our dedication to quality service: MF is the only ISO 9001
certified law firm in Panama. We have over 500 staff members across every
continent, and more than 35 years of experience. Our clients can register and
protect their trademarks, patents, and copyrights not only in Panama, but in
any country in the world, through our allied offices. We offer the highest
commitment and most competitive costs and to our clients.
How
would you define intellectual property?
It
is the development of ideas, the creation of the mind, our inventions, dreams,
art, and designs that should be protected―to make them unique. It is important
to protect the rights over those designs, products or services―for many
reasons―to avoid third parties taking advantage of your work. That’s the way I
see it, I see it in a very passionate way. Keep in mind that intellectual
property goes beyond simple trademark registration―it is everything that comes
after that, and we work hard to ensure that no one else can take advantage of
our client’s dream.
Please
give us some specific examples of what constitutes intellectual property
Sure,
we have been protecting trademark registration for all kinds of products and
services―everything from cosmetics, fashion, sports, medical and pharmaceutical
goods, education, entertainment, financial services, management, and many
others.
Right
now we are working with software developers. In fact, recently we have been
working on protecting software developed by the Microsoft Corporation. We
protect Giorgio Armani which is one of our strongest trademarks. We also
provide trademark protection for Terpel, a company with over 2,000 gas stations
in Central and South America.
