Argentina – Latam Guideline

WIPO-administered Treaties: 

Contracting Party of the Madrid System: NO. 

Trade Mark Law in force: 

Law No. 22.362 of 26 December 1980 and subsequent amendments. 

Classification: 

Nice classification, 11th edition. 

Multiclass Applications: 

Not possible. 

Registrable trademarks: 

Words, drawings, images, emblems, monograms, engravings, stamps, seals, a combination of colors applied to specific parts of the product or packaging, letters, numbers or a combination of both, packaging, original slogans, sound marks, a combination of all of the above items. Packaging may be registered as a three-dimensional trademark. 

Formal filing requirements: 

• Power of Attorney duly notarized and legalized within 40 working days from filing date. A complete  copy of document will suffice.
• Certified copy of priority application and its translation into Spanish within 90 days from filing. The translation of the priority application must be signed by a local sworn translator. 

Examination:

Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.

Relative grounds for refusal: YES. 

Opposition period: 

30 days from publication date. If an opposition is filed against the application, the applicant has three (3) months from the notification, to negotiate withdrawal of the opposition. If no agreement is reached, the opposition is held before the TM Office. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

Approximately 16 months, unless any obstacles were raised.

Term of protection: 

10 years from the date of registration. 

Use requirements: 

YES. D.O.U. is  required (i) a Midterm Declaration of Use: As from the fifth year from registration, the term to file the statement is of one year. This is before turning six years as from registration. (ii) Declaration of use for renewal purposes, consequently, any registration may be renewed only if it has been used during the last five years in Argentina, no matter for which products or services (this means that the trademark could have been used for different goods or services, other than those protected by the registration, and even to designate an activity). The use should have taken place also “in the market”, that is to say, involved in the commercialization of products or services in Argentina. Therefore, ONLY advertisements, promotional materials or use in the internet (and ONLY in the internet, without any link with the real market) are not enough to meet this requirement 

Renewal terms: 

• 6 months prior to renewal date.
• Grace period: 6 months. 

WIPO-administered Treaties: 

Contracting Party of the Paris Convention: YES

Contracting Party of the Patent CooperationTreaty (PCT): NO. 

Patent Law in force: 

Patent Law 24481 (as amended by Law 27444 and regulatory resolutions). 

Formal filing requirements: 

• Power of Attorney: Duly notarized and legalized up to Apostille. In case that same is not submitted on filing, there is a term of 40 working-days from filing in which to file the same with the Patent Office. No extension of term is available.
• Assignment document from the inventors: Merely signed, Not required if priority’s applicant is the same. In case that same is not submitted on filing – must be submitted within 90-day term from filing. No extension of time is possible.
• Digital copy of certified copy of priority application (including sworn translation thereof): In case the Priority Document is not submitted on filing it can be submitted within the subsequent 90 days as from the filing date If it is not filed in the aforementioned term, it can be requested by the Examiner on the substantive examination stage. BUT: filing the sworn translation of the priority document MUST be filed within the subsequent 90 days as from the filing date. DAS IS AVAILABLE.  
• Sequence listings must be filed in WIPO Standard ST.26 format.

Filing of the patent application in a foreign language: 

Accepted. Late submission of the Spanish translation is possible within 10-working days. It must be a sworn translation by a registered local translator.  

Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant: 

YES, within 18 months from filing date. 

Observations by third parties: 

YES, within 60-working days from publication. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

6 years. Acceleration prosecution available (Rule 56)  

Term of protection for utility models: 

10 years from filing date.

Maintenance: 

Yearly after grant. 

Compulsory licensing: 

YES 

WIPO-administered Treaties:

Contracting Party of the Hague System: NO. 

Applicable Law: 

Decree-Law 6673/63 on Industrial Designs and Models, as amended by Law 27.444/18, Resolution 250/18, Resolution 252/18 and Decree 353/2019 

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure: 

6 months, with exceptions.  

Multiple design applications -one application for different embodiments-available: 

Multiple designs are allowed. Up to 20 embodiments, provided that must fall under the same Locarno Classification. 

Formal filing requirements: 

Full details of the applicant & designer/s (inventor)

Description (optional); Drawings.

Priority document along with its sworn translation into Spanish, certified by an Argentinean public translator, if applicable.

Power of Attorney. Notarized and Apostilled. Deadline of filing is 40 working days from filing.  

Locarno classification: 

YES. 

Deferred publication: 

Yes. 6 months. Paying additional fee.

Opposition: 

NO. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

From 1 week to a maximum 3 months if priority is claimed. 

Term of Protection and Maintenance: 

5 years, plus 2 renewal terms of 5 years each. The term for paying the renewals opens 6 months prior to the deadline and can be filed until the due date. Likewise, a six-month grace period after the expiry is available for paying the renewal, with a surcharge.

Does it accept an administrative request for surveillance?

YES

Intellectual property rights protected through an administrative request for surveillance

Only Word or Word+Device Trademarks

Requirement to file for an application of an administrative request for surveillance

Owner Info
Representative
Country of Origin
Tariff Possition
PoA
List and Registration of Trademarks
Certificate of Registration
CUIT

Procedure (special aspects)

Although there is an Administrative surveillance procedure, once a counterfeit product is found, there is no simplified administrative procedure for the destruction of the goods.

The Trademark Fraud Division notifies the holder of the trademarks, so that within a short deadline he/she may state his/her opinion as to the authenticity or otherwise of the seized merchandise.

For this purpose, the owner shall submit a written statement stating whether the merchandise in question is false or genuine. The holder must initiate the corresponding administrative or legal actions for the destruction of the false merchandise.

Territory: Argentina

Data Protection Regulations: Law 25.326

Regulatory purpose: Comprehensive protection of personal data recorded in files, registers, data banks, or other technical means of data processing, whether public or private, intended to provide information, in order to guarantee the right to honour and privacy of individuals, as well as access to the information recorded about them.

Parties:

• Data controller: Natural person or legal entity, public or private, who is the owner of a file, register, database or databank.
• Data Processor: No.
• Data Protection Officer: No.
• Supervisory Authority: Yes. Decentralised body within the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation.

Principles: Lawfulness, Quality, Consent, Information, Categorisation of data, Confidentiality

Obligations:

• Register of Processing Activities: Yes.
• Impact Assessments: Yes.
• Risk analysis: Yes.
• Technical and organisational security measures: Yes.
• Duty to inform: Yes.
• Data Protection Officer: Yes. One must be designated where: the processing is carried out by a public authority or body (with the exception of the judicial function), the main activities of the controller consist of processing operations requiring regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale; or where the main activities of the controller or processor consist of processing on a large scale of sensitive data or data relating to criminal convictions.

Data subjects’ rights:

• Right of Access: Yes.
• Right of rectification: Yes.
• Right of Suppression: Yes.
• Right to limitation: Yes.
• Right to portability: Yes.
• Right to object: Yes.
• Automated individual decisions, including profiling: Yes.

International transfers:

• General principle: The transfer of personal data of any kind with countries or international or supranational bodies, which do not provide adequate levels of protection, is prohibited.
• Exceptions: a) International judicial cooperation; b) Exchange of medical data, when so required for the treatment of the affected person, or an epidemiological investigation, as long as a procedure of dissociation of the information had been applied, so that the data subjects are unidentifiable; c) Banking or stock exchange transfers, as regards the respective transactions and in accordance with the applicable legislation; d) When the transfer has been agreed within the framework of international treaties to which the Argentine Republic is a party; e) When the purpose of the transfer is international cooperation between intelligence agencies in the fight against organised crime, terrorism and drug trafficking.

Sanctioning regime:

• Administrative sanctions of warning, suspension, fine of one thousand pesos ($ 1.000.-) to one hundred thousand pesos ($ 100.000.-), closure or cancellation of the file, register or data bank.
• Criminal: Imprisonment from one month to two years

Certification or accreditation of compliance for companies: No

Products that can be registered:

Food, fertilisers, medicines and cosmetics.

Authority to which registration must be applied for:

National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT)

Legal person who can apply for product registration:

Professional university technical director registered in the MS and AS in accordance with the rules of their competence. Pharmacists, biochemists, graduates and doctors of chemistry are currently enrolling.

Do you require company registration in the country?

YES

Is a Certificate of Free Sale (CLV) required?

YES