Ecuador follows the French protection of intellectual works based on the rights of the author: droit d'auteur. The system distinguishes between moral rights which belong only to the author and economical rights which are assignable. Copyrights and related rights are protected by the Ecuadorian Intellectual Property Law, the Andean Decision No. 351, the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.  The law allows for cumulative protection, thus an owner of a copyright can assert its rights as a bar to a trademark application.