Chile “not doing enough” to protect Swiss rights
President Pascal Couchepin feels Chile needs to do more to protect the intellectual property of Swiss companies, a government spokesman announced on Tuesday.
Couchepin brought the issue up on day two of his three-day visit to Chile during a meeting with Edmundo Perez Yoma, the country’s interior minister.
The grievances stem largely from Swiss biotech companies and medical firms. Couchepin asked the Chilean authorities to apply their own laws regarding intellectual property more thoroughly.
Before the meeting, Couchepin visited Santiago’s Peace Park where victims of the regime of former dictator Augusto Pinochet were once tortured.
This is Couchepin’s first visit to Chile and his last as president. Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz assumes the office in 2009.
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