On a bus ride home across Lima, Peru in early 2015, José Carlos Mallma Soto noticed a gas station next to a building with a revolving door and had an “aha moment” where the idea for a more efficient LPG gas bottle dispenser came to mind. José was inspired by the revolving door mechanism and shortly afterwards he invented an automatic LPG gas bottle dispenser.
His innovation brought him to the world of intellectual property (IP). In understanding the need to protect his innovation, he discovered IP rights as a tool to help commercialize his hard work.
Driven by this need, José took it upon himself to enroll in IP courses at the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property of Peru (INDECOPI) before registering his innovation as a utility model in 2016 with INDECOPI. A year later, José filed a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application for the innovative dispenser after which his appetite for IP knowledge grew as he expanded his learning to other online programs until deciding to ultimately pursue a Master’s Degree Program.
Leveling up with IP law
José was accepted into the first edition of the WIPO Joint Master’s Degree Program in Intellectual Property and Innovation (MIPI) offered with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) of Argentina and the University of San Andrés.
During his time on the program, José took courses on IP topics such as patents, trademarks, copyright and related rights, plant varieties, traditional knowledge, intangible asset valuation, international IP treaties, and technology transfer contracts.
“The knowledge I acquired from the MIPI about the importance of intellectual property included understanding national, regional, and international intellectual property regulations and how to apply and interpret them in protection, infringement, and dispute resolution procedures.” – José Carlos Mallma Soto, WIPO Academy alumnus, author and inventor
He graduated with the first cohort in 2018 and now passes on his knowledge to students as a university professor of IP law and consumer protection at the Technological University of Peru.
My favorite aspect of the MIPI was learning with students from other countries who became my close friends, and I am regularly in contact with them on IP issues across the region. I am also trying to transfer the knowledge I gained from the program about IP to future generations of lawyers as a professor. I notice that many students studying law don’t know of IP, which can be an interesting career path and field of specialization for them as it has a lot of positive impact on our lives.
José Carlos Mallma Soto, WIPO Academy alumnus, author and inventor
From innovator to creator
During his time in the MIPI, José also fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a writer. He took poetry workshops in Argentina and started writing his first novel which he finished when he returned to his home country of Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns gave him the time and solitude he needed to finish writing his first novel, El lenguaje de los abrazos: una historia en búsqueda de nuestra humanidad (The Language of Hugs: In Search of Our Humanity). The novel is set in a post-pandemic future where physical contact is prohibited and the protagonists go on an adventure to rediscover their humanity.
José self-published his novel on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform in 2022, because he found it difficult to get it published through a publishing house as a first-time author. Eventually, he participated in a literary contest in Peru, through which he became acquainted with Lex & Iuris Grupo Editorial, a local publishing house. José is now revising the novel with a view to putting out a second edition with Lex & Iuris Grupo Editorial, in addition to publishing his second book El Derecho de Propiedad Intelectual de los Consumidores (IP Rights for Consumers) in 2025. His second book address ways of striking a fairer balance between the interests of rights holders and those of IP consumers and users.
Lex & Iuris Grupo Editorial offered him a broader publishing deal that included editorial support and more avenues to market and distribute his books. As an IP expert, José also gave his publisher advice on copyright matters reflected in the publishing contract. He is now working on three more novels in addition to IP law books with the support of his publisher.
Writing runs in my family like ink on paper, with my great uncle being Jose María Arguedas Altamirano it is our legacy to write. I take a lot of inspiration from personal experiences and real-life stories, then I mix them up with my imagination and churn out a story. My next novel is inspired by my family’s experiences in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru. As a writer, copyright is very important, because when you write you not only tell a story, but you also give a part of yourself, so it is important to protect and value that.
José Carlos Mallma Soto, WIPO Academy alumnus, author and inventor
