Alvaro Gutierrez

Partner
  • Biography

    Alvaro Gutierrez is a partner in Estudio Echecopar. He acted as secretary of the Commission of the Andean Community at the General Secretariat of the Andean Community and the Cartagena Agreement Board. Alvaro was part of the Andean Community's team that negotiated an association agreement with the EU's Intellectual Property Chapter and for the Chapter on Intellectual Property in ALCA (America's Free Trade). He was adviser to the vice minister on foreign trade in negotiations for the free trade agreement with the US. Alvaro is also a former vice president of the Peruvian Copyright Office.

    Practice focus

    Alvaro has extensive experience in handling cases involving life sciences and intellectual property issues. He counsels a variety of pharmaceutical, cosmetics, medical devices, food and beverage, and agrochemical companies on sanitary regulatory matters. Alvaro litigates before the Justice Tribunal of the Andean Community on matters related to intellectual property and foreign trade.

  • Experience

    • Advised Compañia Latinoamericana de Radiodifusion SA regarding the copyright infringement of an audio-visual work in Peru. The workload included filing arguments that demonstrate the compliance with the requirements of a parody, taking into account that there are no Peruvian precedents on the subject, other than the applicable Andean Decision.
    • Advised Farmindustria regarding the infringements of a pharmaceutical patent in Peru. The work included assessing the infringement actions with the client and challenging the validity of the abovementioned patent.
    • Represented Farmindustria on the invalidity of a pharmaceutical patent in Peru. The work included assessing the infringement claim with Farmindustria and then filing an invalidity action against the pharmaceutical patent due to failure of compliance with patentability requirements, particularly, lack of inventive step and novelty.
    • Advised the largest Peruvian dairy and food products company on the defense strategy of its product Pura Vida, which was questioned by the sanitary and unfair competition authorities.
    • Advised the Peruvian Guild of Cosmetics and Hygiene in an administrative proceeding that has made it illegal to increase the payment of processing fees for cosmetic products.
    • Advising an international energy drink company on sanitary regulatory matters.
    • Advising international medical device companies in connection with distribution agreements and sanitary regulatory matters.
    • Advising international pharmaceutical companies in connection with pharmaceutical establishment regulations.
    • Advising an important Peruvian public entity in software litigation.
  • Publications

    • Co-author, "El rol de la propiedad intelectual en los procesos de integracion," Derecho de Autor y Propiedad Industrial, Congreso Internacional de Propiedad Intelectual, Universidad de Margarita, Venezuela, 2004.
    • Author, "Implicancias de la proteccion de datos de prueba en el Peru," Actualidad Juridica, N° 184, March 2009.
  • Industries

    • Consumer Goods & Retail
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • Industrials, Manufacturing & Transportation

    Education

    • Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lawyer, 1996.
    • Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Pharmaceutical Marketing Diploma, 2012.

    Admission

    • Lima Bar Association, 1996.

    Membership

    • Peruvian Association of Intellectual Property – APPI.
    • Inter–American Association of Intellectual Property – ASIPI.
  • Additional Information

    Experience

    • Partner at Estudio Echecopar, 2016 – to date.
    • Principal Associate at Estudio Echecopar. 2008 – 2015.
    • Peruvian Copyright Office – Member / Vice president, 2008 – 2013.
    • General Secretariat of the Andean Community – International Officer, 1997 – 2008.
    • Cartagena Agreement Board – Officer, 1996 – 1997.
    • Vice Minister on Foreign Trade – Advisor, 2004 – 2005.

    Ranking and awards

    • Chambers and Partners; Latin America Guide 2015. Life Sciences – Star Associate.