Administrative Tribunal of Quito Protects the Rights of a Designation Of Origin Registered in the European Union and WIPO

Quevedo & Ponce successfully acted on behalf of the Consorzio Produttori e Tutela della DOP FONTINA in response to a lawsuit filed by an Ecuadorian company, which primarily argued that FONTINA was not registered in Ecuador. However, the Administrative Litigation Tribunal located in the Metropolitan District of Quito upheld the challenged administrative act, citing the risk of consumer confusion and applying Decision 486 of the Andean Community, emphasizing the importance of protecting designations of origin, even without formal registration in Ecuador.