Simón Valverde

Simo´n Valverde is a partner. He is commonly identified as one of the leading authorities in Intellectual Property in Costa Rica. He was counsel for the Vice-Dean’s Office of Investigation at the Universidad de Costa Rica, responsible for intellectual property, technology and knowledge transfer of the university. Attorney Valverde is a founding member and past Director of the Costa Rican Association of Intellectual Property Professionals (APPICR). Mr. Valverde has directed prosecution of a large percentage of the patent applications filed by the firm in Costa Rica, attending more than 100 interviews with patent examiners, by far the largest number of any patent professional in Costa Rica.

Attorney Valverde successfully litigated at the judicial courts (Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo), along with attorney Luis Diego Castro, the two cases that set the current standard of what should be included in a patent examiners review of a patent application and set the mandatory use of the Patent Examination Guidelines, of discretionary use by examiners before that decision. On behalf of APPICR he organized and coordinated, jointly with the Patent Office, two seminars on patent examination guidelines and examination of pharmaceutical patents. Advised the Costa Rican Patent Office during the process to draft the new bylaws to the Costa Rican Patent Law (Reglamento a la Ley de Patentes No. 6867). He also provides advice in trademark, trade secret and copyright matters to Fortune 500 companies as well as to public institutions and individuals.

Since 2011 he is a faculty member of the Intellectual Property course of the Criminal Law Master Degree program at Universidad Latina of Costa Rica (a member of the Laureate International Network) and currently he is faculty member and technical expert in the changes to the curriculum of the Intellectual Property Master Degree program at Universidad Estatal A Distancia de Costa Rica (the only such program in Costa Rica).

Education

• Law Degree from the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Post-graduate Studies in Notary Law from the Universidad Autónoma de Centroamérica. LL.M in Intellectual Property, Commerce and Technology Degree from the University of New Hampshire (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center).

Memberships

• Costa Rican Bar Association. International Trademark Association (INTA). Costa Rican Association of Intellectual Property Professionals (APPICR International Bar Association (IBA)

Awards and Recognitions

• Listed by Best Lawyers since 2018. Recognized by IP Stars as a Patent Star. Listed in Chambers and Partners Global and Chambers and Partners Latin America for his Intellectual Property practice. Listed in the World Trademark Review ranking as one of the highlights in the practice of intellectual property professionals.