Costa Rica: Decriminalization in the area of ​​intellectual property

Whoever fails to comply with the rules, which aim to protect several types of intellectual property, especially literary and artistic works and recordings, will not be exposed to the possibility of a criminal conviction.

Currently, the unlawful use of protected works, could result in imprisonment for up to five years.

The new rules, which vary the law of Procedures and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, were recently approved by the Legislature, and will come into force, once signed by the President and published in the official gazette.

The proposed law maintains fines of up to 500 times the minimum wage, or a maximum of the equivalent of about $250,000, for the unlawful use of intellectual property, which consists basically in copying protected works for purposes of disclosure to the public without consent of the owner, except for use in an academic, non-profit context.

For more information, please consult  Lic. Ana Catalina Monge, at [email protected] or  (506) 22574681