Article 50 of Decision 486 of the Andean Community
("Decision") determines that the duration of a patent is
twenty years, starting from the date of submission of the
application in the member country. Therefore, this ruling means
that the applicant has twenty years to process the granting of his
patent and make effective the right that this protection gives
him.
On May 25, 2000, a foreign company applied to protect the patent
"PREVENTION OF AMYLOIDOGENIC DISEASES." Eight years
later, in November of 2008, the National Industrial Property
Directorate denied said patent, considering that it did not meet
the patentability requirements. The petitioner filed an appeal,
which was rejected in January of 2011. Faced with this resolution,
the petitioner filed a subjective action before the Contentious
Administrative Tribunal of Quito ("Tribunal") in May of
the same year.
