I am Hunter Carter, an lawyer in New York City for corporate, commercial, and real & intellectual property cases, with a passion for Colombia. (I am also a partner at the law firm of Arent Fox LLP - here’s my bio.)

This site is a place where I share news, research and analyses about law and business issues in Colombia, in order to disseminate information and analysis and stimulate dialogue. Please see disclaimers: Copyright-protected, this site is personal, the views are my own, my views are not legal advice, and this is not an advertisement for clients.

UPDATE: Colombia Senate rejected marriage equality bill, 17-51, closed vote before all senators voted.

Stereotypes and Dogma Dominate Colombian Senate Debate on Marriage Equality

The debate over marriage equality for same sex couples raged in the Colombian Senate yesterday for the second day in less than a week. A vote is due today.

On the same day the French National Assembly gave its final approval to marriage equality, and after a week that saw New Zealand, Uruguay, and Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil do the same, Colombia is going in the other direction. Supporters appear to be outnumbered by opponents, although a significant number of Senators are officially undecided from parties on both sides of the issue.

Opponents relied principally on religious principles, stereotypes, and the tradition of excluding same-sex couples from equality, while arguing that they represent the interests of children who have a right to be raised by idealized heterosexual couples, ignoring the scientific consensus of sociologists, medical, and therapeutic professionals that sexual orientation has nothing to do with the quality of parenting. MORE

Estereotipos y Dogma Religiosa Dominan Al Debate De Matrimonio Igualitario En El Senado Colombiano

El debate sobre matrimonio igualitario para parejas del mismo sexo rabiado en el Senado colombiano ayer por segundo día en menos de una semana. Un voto es por hoy.

El mismo día, la Asamblea Nacional de Francia dio su aprobación final a matrimonio igualitario, y después de una semana que vio a Nueva Zelanda, Uruguay y el estado de Río de Janeiro en Brasil haciendo lo mismo, Colombia va en la otra dirección. Los partidarios parecen ser superados en número por los opositores, aunque un número importante de Senadores que están oficialmente indeciso son de partes en ambos lados de la cuestión.

Los opositores se basó principalmente en los dogmas religiosas, estereotipos, y la tradición de excluir a las parejas del mismo sexo la igualdad, mientras que argumentaron de que representaran a los intereses de los niños que tienen derecho a ser criados por parejas heterosexuales idealizadas, ignorando al consenso científico de los sociólogos, médicos y los profesionales terapéuticos que la orientación sexual no tiene nada que ver con la calidad de la crianza de los niños. LEER MÁS

Matrimonio Es Un Derecho Humano – Informe Al Senado Colombiano

Ver mi informe al Senado de Colombia antes de su debate el Martes 23 de Abril 2013 con respecto al matrimonio igualitario.

Marriage Equality Debate In Colombia – What You Need To Know. (Version Español)

UPDATE: The Colombian Senate will vote Tuesday, April 23, on a proposed law to give same-sex couples equal legal marriage rights (“marriage equality”). The debate began on April 17, but was adjourned because the Congressional TV channel had to switch to the House of Representatives and Senators favored having the historic discussion on live national TV.

As designated by the bill’s sponsor, Senator Armando Benedetti, I was proud to argue from the well of the Senate that marriage is a human right protected by international human rights guarantees.

For the debate that day I published the following: Here’s what Colombian Legal and Business Leaders need to know.

Mi discurso, pronunciado a miembros del senado de Chile y el Instituto Chileno de Derechos Humanos: porque alegamos en la CIDH contra Chile que el matrimonio igualitario es un derecho humano.

Improving Recognition and Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards – Analysis and Translation of Proposed Arbitration Law

A proposed new arbitration law is circulating among legal circles in Colombia, and has reached me thanks to Daniel Peña of Peña Mancero Abogados.

There is good news. Recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards has not followed the New York Convention, and can take up to two years (see my article on arbitration here and others here.)

All that is changing. The proposed law very closely tracks the he Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, also known as the “New York Arbitration Convention” or the New York Convention, Daniel says in his blog. You can see that for yourself with my translation, below – just compare Articles 111 and 112 to Articles V and VI of the New York Convention. Click HERE to keep reading.

Preventing Piracy or Creativity – The Debate Over The Ley Lleras, Colombia’s Proposed Version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

A familiar debate is raging in Colombian intellectual property circles — copyright holders versus consumers of information — over whether copyright laws prevent piracy or creativity.

The debate arises in the context of a proposed law “to regulate infringement of copyright and related rights on the Internet.” submitted to the Colombian Congress by the Minister of Justice and the Interior, German Vargas Lleras.
The “Ley Lleras” or “Lleras Law,” is a step in Colombia’s adherence to the intellectual property rights chapter of the anticipated US-Colombian Trade Promotion Agreement. Colombia will, by adopting this WIPO-treaty based approach, catch up to the United States, the European Union (and beat out the rest of Latin America) in embracing a modern rights enforcement approach. In the United States, the approach is codified in Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, sometimes referred to as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA).

The law strikes a balance between rights holders and information consumers by exempting online service providers from the duty to monitor for infringement, and by creating a safe harbor for them when, upon notice from a rights holder demonstrating its copyrights as set forth in the law, they block access to or remove an allegedly infringing work in order to avoid damages liability. A counter-notification procedure protects those accused of posting infringing material who make a demonstration that the material is not protected.

To read more, click on the headline or HERE.

Ed. Note: This article appeared in April 2011 Latin American Law & Business Report published by Thomson Reuters/WorldTrade Executive. See http://www.wtexecutive.com

Preventing Piracy or Creativity? The “Ley Lleras” Translated – Colombia’s Version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

A familiar debate is raging in Colombian intellectual property circles — copyright holders versus consumers of information — over whether copyright laws prevent piracy or creativity.

The debate arises in the context of a proposed law submitted to the Colombian Congress by the Minister of Justice and the Interior, German Vargas Lleras. For that reason many call it the “Ley Lleras” or “Lleras Law,” it is in reality Colombia’s attempt to catch up to the United States, the European Union, and much of the rest of the world’s economies in striking a balance between rights holders and information consumers. In the United States, the issue was settled, as a matter of legislation anyway, by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which Title is sometimes referred to as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA). It does not create or change the copyright laws, but instead deals with online intermediaries, excusing them from the obligation to patrol their services to prevent infringement, instead imposing the policing burden on rights owners. Consumers who want free access to all information, irrespective of the wishes of the author or his publisher, complain this law prevents innovation, but the only innovation it seems to prevent is innovations in circumventing author’s rights in the digital space.

I will have more to say about the myths and facts in the debate, but for readers interested in what the proposed law actually would do, I have translated it. To read it, click HERE or on the headline.

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PERMISSION TO RE-USE INFORMATION REQUIRED. LINKS TO THIS SITE ARE WELCOME.