Paraguay – Latam Guideline

WIPO-administered Treaties:

Contracting Party of the Madrid System: NO. 

Trade Mark Law in force: 

Trademark Law 1294/98. 

Classification: 

Nice classification, 11th edition. 

Multiclass Applications: 

NO. 

Registrable trademarks: 

Marks may consist of one or more words, mottos, emblems, monograms, seals, names, fanciful word forms, letters and numbers in distinctive shapes or combinations and arrangements of colors, labels, containers and wrapping. Shapes, presentation or packaging of products or their containers or wrapping or the mode or place in which the corresponding products or service are provided are also included.  

Formal filing requirements: 

• Power of Attorney duly notarized within 60 working days from the application date. Unextendable.
• Certified copy of priority application 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: 

60 days from publication. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

Approximately 12 months, unless any obstacles were raised. 

Term of protection: 

10 years from the date of registration. 

Use requirements: 

YES. Cancellation can be requested if the trademark has not been used for 5 years, counting from the registration date. Partial cancellation is not possible. 

Renewal terms: 

1 year prior to renewal date.

Grace period: 6 months. 

WIPO-administered Treaties: 

Contracting Party of the Paris Convention: YES

Contracting Party of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): NO. 

Patent Law in force: 

Patent Law 1630/2000 modified by Law 2593/2005, regulated by Decree Law 14201, modified by Decree Law 8069. 

Types of protection available: 

Patent of Invention; Utility Model 

Formal filing requirements: 

• PoA, merely signed (NO legalization) within 60 working-days from filing. No possible extension of term.
• Assignment document, merely signed (NO legalization) to be filed with application. If document has not been filed at the time the Patent Office issues the formal examination, applicant is granted a 60 working day period as from the official notification to file the document. Assignment document of priority is accepted, certified copy issued by patent office of country or origin.
• Certified copy of priority application within 3 months from filing. The translation of the priority application must signed by a sworn registered local translator and must be filed within 3 months from filing. 
• Sequence listings must be filed in WIPO Standard ST.26 format.

Filing of the patent application in a foreign language: 

Not possible.  

Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant: 

YES, within 3 years from filing date. 

Search report must be requested by the applicant: 

NO 

Observations by third parties: 

YES, before requesting of technical examination. 

Opposition: 

YES, before requesting of technical examination. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

7 years 

Term of protection for patents: 

20 years from filing date. 

Term of protection for utility models: 

10 years from filing date. 

Differences between utility model and patent: 

UM suitable for utensils, instruments, tools, apparatus, devices, or any parts thereof but not to chemical products, methods or uses; lower threshold for inventive step. 

Maintenance: 

Yearly, as from 3rd year of filing (year of filing is considered 1st year) also during prosecution of the application until expiration of patent. 

Compulsory licensing: 

YES 

WIPO-administered Treaties:

Contracting Party of The Hague System: NO. 

Applicable Law: 

Law 868/1981 and Decree Law 30007/1982 and Law 4798/12, as well as the Inter-American Convention on “Patents and Industrial Designs” (Buenos Aires 1910). Ratified by Law of 20 June 1917 and WTO ” Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ” – TRIPS. Ratified by Law No. 444 of 10 November 1994. 

Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure: 

6 months. 

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

YES, the application may include up to ten diversified examples of the design, provided that the products correspond to the same class and there is similarity among all 

Formal filing requirements: 

Power of Attorney, duly notarized- 60 days from filing.

Certified copy of the priority document: 90 days from filing.  

Drawings. : Three graphic or photographic representations of the design, in color if necessary.

Brief description of the design.

Identification of applicant and designer 

Locarno classification:

NO. Local classification applies.

Deferred publication: 

NO. 

Registration Proceeding Outline: 

Filing. Formal examination. Substantive examination. Office Actions. Publication. Oppositions. Granting 

Opposition: 

YES. Oppositions may be filed within 60 business days from the publication date. Cancellation actions -before Courts- may be filed within 2 years from the public use of the design. 

Average time from filing to grant: 

1 year. 

Term of Protection and Maintenance: 

5 years, counted from the filing date, plus 2 renewal terms of 5 years each. 

Does it accept an administrative request for surveillance?

YES

Intellectual property rights protected through an administrative request for surveillance

Trademarks

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

List and Registration of Trademarks
Certificate of Registrationc
PoA
Catalogs

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.
In order for the counterfeit merchandise to be seized, the trademark holder must file a criminal complaint, and the criminal proceeding will begin. The trademark owner acts as a victim assisting the Prosecutor, but is not a party to the proceedings. To order the destruction of the merchandise, the Prosecutor will order a technical expertise, and once the quality is confirmed, he will order its destruction or donation.

If the offender is identified, the Prosecutor may formalize the investigation and charge him and thus begin the oral trial for his conviction or, as in the case of crimes against IP, he may propose an alternative route: reparatory agreement (victim-offender) or abbreviated process.

Territory: Paraguay

Data Protection Regulations: Remark: Paraguay does not currently have a comprehensive data protection law, however, Law № 6534/20 “de Protección de datos crediticios” is in force.

Regulatory purpose: Guarantee the protection of credit data of all persons, whatever their nationality, residence or domicile. Regulate the activity of collection and access to credit information data, the constitution, organisation, operation, rights, obligations and termination of legal persons engaged in the collection and provision of credit information, in order to preserve the fundamental rights, privacy, informational self-determination, freedom, security and fair treatment of persons, in accordance with the provisions of the National Constitution, this Law and the Treaties signed and ratified by the Republic of Paraguay. (Art. 1)

Parties: This law applies only in relation to personal credit data.

• Data controller: Natural or legal person, public authority or other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the data processing. (Art. 2 (f))
• Data Processor: Natural or legal person, public authority, or other body processing personal data on behalf of the controller. (Art. 2 (g))
• Data Protection Officer: No.

Supervisory Authority: Secretariat for Consumer and User Defence (SEDECO)

• Other: Central Bank of Paraguay, through the Superintendency of Banks.

Principles: No.

Obligations:

• Register of Processing Activities: No.
• Impact Assessments: No.
• Risk analysis: Yes.
• Technical and organisational security measures: Yes.
• Duty to inform: Yes.
• Data Protection Officer: No.
• Other obligations:

Handle information with high standards of ethics, confidentiality and security (Art. 17 inc. a);

Have efficient measures in place to prevent credit information from being lost or altered. (Art. 17 inc. b);

Report credit information without any alteration or modification. (Art. 17 inc. c);

Rectify credit information, at the request of the source or the owner of the information. Credit reporting agencies may not rectify ex officio information transmitted to them, unless the error can be attributed to the credit reporting agencies. (Art. 17 inc. d);

Channel to the sources of the information, the claims of the holders in relation to illegal, inaccurate, erroneous information, when the illegality, inaccuracy or error is not attributable to the credit reporting company. (Art. 17 inc. e);

Eliminate information that has expired in accordance with the terms of the present law. (Art. 17 inc. g).

Data subjects’ rights:

• Right of Access: Yes.
• Right of rectification: Yes.
• Right of Suppression: Yes.
• Right to limitation: Yes.
• Right to portability: No.
• Right to object: No.
• Automated individual decisions, including profiling: No.
• Other rights:

Right to informational self-determination (Art. 5);

Informed consent (Art. 6);

Quality of information (Art. 7);

Right to be forgotten (Art. 9);

Data security (Art. 10).

International transfers:

Warning (Art. 23 inc. a); Fine of up to 15,000 minimum wages in force at the time of imposition of the sanction (Art. 23 inc. b); In the event of a repeat offence, the fine shall be double the initial fine applied, which may be increased to 50,000 minimum wages in force at the time of imposition of the sanction for the natural or legal person who registers an annual turnover of more than Gs. 6,000,000,000,000 (Art. 23 inc. c); Suspension of activities related to data processing for up to 6 months; the act of suspension shall indicate the corrective measures to be adopted (Art. 23 inc. d); Disqualification from holding a job, position or commission within the financial and credit system and in personal data information companies, for a period of 6 months to 5 years (Art. 23 inc. e); Temporary closure of the company for a period of 6 months to 5 years (Art. 23 inc. f); Temporary closure of the company for a period of 6 months to 5 years (Art. 23 inc. g); Suspension of the company for a period of 6 months to 5 years (Art. 23 inc. h). 23 inc. e); Temporary closure of the operations related to the processing of data once the term of suspension has elapsed without the corrective measures ordered by the supervisory authority having been adopted (Art. 23 inc. f); Immediate and definitive closure of the operation involving the processing of sensitive data (Art. g).

Sanctioning regime: No.

Certification or accreditation of compliance for companies: No.

Other highlights: No.

Other related legislation: No.