As a large full service law firm with a growing IP department, Allende & Brea was introduced into the rankings last year and sustains its position in this edition. The firm has been prosecuting IP matters since it was established in 1957 and has gradually been branching out into other areas of IP law, with a particular focus on technology. It has represented Equifax, Dineromail, Sygenta and La Meridional, the AIG branch in Argentina.
Associate Pablo Palazzi was a member of the committee that created the draft arbitration rules for .com.ar domain names and has been involved in several computer crimes bills. Palazzi, who teaches at the San Andres University School of Law, will also serve in the 2010-2011 INTA Internet Committee and the 2011-2012 AIPPI Domains and Internet Committee.
The firm represented Dineromail in the first Argentine litigation involving typosquatting, a form of cybersquatting which relies on typographical errors made by users when they attempt to access a website. The case involved phishing of an online payment system in Argentina called e-Payments. It also advised the Fortabat Collection of Art on artists' rights agreements and authorisations for the use of images in merchandise and online, and advised Dow Jones on IP enforcement over indexes and data in Argentina. At the time of going to press, it was representing Equifax-Veraz in the first Latin American case over AdWords – the use of trade marks as keywords in sponsored links in search engine advertising. The issue is hotly debated in Europe and the US, where courts have given varying opinions.