Q&A: María José Sánchez Rey

Tell us about the course of your career.

I studied law in Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. Since I graduated from the University in 2009, I have been practising IP, mainly in the trademark field, but I also have experience in geographical indications, patents and copyrights. I have worked in specialised law firms in Colombia and Spain and as an in-house counsel in private companies across different sectors.

In 2014, I moved to Alicante, Spain to study for an LLM in IP and I did an internship in a specialised law firm in Madrid for one year. I came back to Colombia in 2016, and later in 2018, I did a Master’s degree in corporate law at Universidad del Rosario in Bogota.

For the past three years I have been working as the IP Coordinator at Federación Nacional de Cafeteros—the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). Our team is responsible for designing IP strategies that ensure the proper protection and exploitation of intangible assets, to deliver more benefits to the coffee growers and profitability to our organisation.

As part of our main duties we are responsible for the administration of the appellation of origin Colombian Coffee, and the licensing processes for the Café de Colombia and Juan Valdez brands.

Outline a typical day in your role.

I cannot start my day without drinking a cup of 100% Colombian coffee, while I review my agenda and organise the day’s tasks. After that, I usually have several meetings with other business units and dependencies of the FNC to learn about ongoing projects and identify possible intangible assets that must be protected to guarantee the strategic interests of the organisation.

“Many producers do not have a high degree of education, so we constantly have to reinvent ourselves and our communication strategies.” - María José Sánchez Rey, FNC

We also provide advice to Colombian coffee producers and members of the productive chain, on how they can obtain authorisation for using the denomination of origin and the Café de Colombia logo to differentiate their products from other coffee brands in the market.

I review and prepare cease-and-desist letters for trademark and appellation of origin infringements, and work with in-house attorneys to ensure the proper use and defence of the intangible assets.

Finally, I review and approve trademark and patent licence agreements and supervise the liquidation and collection of royalties for the use of intangible assets.

What is the best part of your job?

IP has been my passion since I was studying law and working in an organisation that has such a broad and diverse intangible asset portfolio is a privilege, but what I like most about working at the FNC is that I have been able to witness how IP can positively impact the lives of more than 540,000 coffee producers’ families.

Working with this higher purpose makes my career even more meaningful.

What is the most difficult part?

Explaining the added value that IP gives to coffee products produced by our coffee growers will always be one of our biggest challenges. Many producers do not have a high degree of education, so we constantly have to reinvent ourselves and our communication strategies to capture their interest and convince them of the advantages that IP offers to their businesses.

Another big challenge is being able to participate from the beginning in new projects that may involve legal or IP rights risks.

The FNC is a big and complex organisation that has offices in all the municipalities and departments where coffee is produced. Therefore, is not always easy to know what other offices or agencies are working on and we constantly receive requests for advice when they are already facing a challenge, which means that our advice is often reactive, and not always as preventive as we would like it to be.

Have you faced any barriers or challenges in your career?

Practising IP in a country where the importance of protecting and managing intangible assets and knowledge became important relatively recently is a great challenge. There is not a big job market for those professionals who prefer working in-house instead of working at a law firm.

At one point of my career, I considered seeking a job in which I not only had to work in IP matters but also with other areas of law, to try to make my professional profile even more competitive.

What is your biggest achievement?

It was always a dream for me to work at the FNC and manage two of the most well-known Colombian brands in the world: Café de Colombia and Juan Valdez. Achieving this dream and working in an organisation that has worldwide recognition for its outstanding contribution to the wellbeing of coffee growers in Colombia has been one of my greatest achievements at a professional level so far.

What advice would you give to those looking to pursue a similar career path?

Never stop studying and learning new things, not only in relation to their job and profession, but also be open to learning from other professionals, processes and business.

Perform any single task with passion and excellence, even the ones that seem to be less important.

Dream big and enjoy the journey, while being conscious that every little step in their career will provide them with knowledge to face big challenges later on.

Above all else, be ethical.

Who or what inspires you?

It inspires me to work with a higher purpose: knowing that what we do at the FNC positively affects the lives of 540,000 families in my country. That motivates me to deliver my work with excellence every single day.

What was your most unusual job before becoming an attorney?

Four years ago, before working at the FNC, I was an account manager in an information services company related to IP. That job took me out of my comfort zone because I had never sold anything before and never had a different job besides being an IP attorney.

However, I can say that that job taught me a lot and confirmed that where you learn the most about business and the needs of companies and clients is in the commercial field, outside an office.

Women in law

What are the major issues facing women in law?

Traditionally in Latin America, important positions in law were held by men, but in the past decade and specifically in the IP field, it is more common to see women leading teams, being outstanding partners in law firms or legal directors in companies.

However, there’s still a wage gap to close and the need to promote work/life balance so that women experience less social pressure. Everyone expects us to be good professionals, but also good and present mothers, and great wives.

It is necessary to reinforce that the responsibility of children and the home should fall to men as well as women even in the most macho cultures, and to emphasise that it is acceptable for men to make “sacrifices” for the wellbeing of their family to allow women to succeed professionally.

Is the legal profession doing enough to improve gender diversity?

In the private sector there have been remarkable advances, but in Colombia’s public sectors, including the judicial branch and high courts, the role of women is still relegated, and it is men who occupy high positions.

How are you involved in promoting diversity?

Our team actively supports coffee production projects owned by women, training them on IP matters such as the importance of protecting their brands, giving them tools through IP rights to differentiate their products in the market and supporting other projects developed by the social directive of the FNC that seeks to give more prominence to women in the coffee industry.