Uruguay – Latam Guideline
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- Uruguay – Latam Guideline
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of the Madrid System: NO.
Trade Mark Law in force:
Law 17.011 dated 25 September 1998
(Regulatory Decree 34/99 of 3 February 1999)
Classification:
Nice classification, 11th edition.
Multiclass Applications:
YES.
Registrable trademarks:
Words, names, acronyms, letters, numbers, devices, combinations of colors, three-dimensional forms, the three-dimensional form of a good or its packaging, sound marks and any sign capable of distinguishing goods or services.
Formal filing requirements:
Examination:
Absolute grounds for refusal: YES.
Relative grounds for refusal: YES.
Opposition period:
30 days from publication date.
Average time from filing to grant:
Approximately 20-24 months, unless any obstacles were raised.
Term of protection:
10 years from the date of registration.
Use requirements:
YES. As of 1 January 2014 cancellation can be requested if a trade mark has not been used for 5 years, counting from the registration date. Cancellation actions due non-use are possible as of 1 January 2019. Partial cancellation is not possible.
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 Cooperation Treaty (PCT): NO.
Patent Law in force:
Patent Law 17.164/2000
Types of protection available:
Patent of Invention; Utility Model
Formal filing requirements:
Filing of the patent application in a foreign language:
Substantive examination must be requested by the applicant:
YES, within 120 days from publication.
Search report must be requested by the applicant:
NO
Observations by third parties:
YES, within 60 working days from publication.
Opposition:
YES, within 60 working days from publication.
Average time from filing to grant:
8 years
Term of protection for patents:
20 years from filing date.
Term of protection for utility models:
10 years from filing date and could be renewed for 5 more years the same for Industrial Designs
Differences between utility model and patent:
Maintenance:
Yearly after grant.
Marking of the product with the application/ patent number:
NOT mandatory.
Compulsory licensing:
YES
WIPO-administered Treaties:
Contracting Party of The Hague System: NO.
Applicable Law:
Law No. 17,164. TRIPS
Grace period for filing applications, from disclosure:
6 months.
Multiple design applications -one application for different embodiments-available:
YES.
Formal filing requirements:
Power of Attorney.30 days from filing. Merely signed.
Priority document when applicable, translated by local sworn translator. 180 days from filing.
Drawings displaying all views of the design.
Description not required.
Locarno classification:
YES
Deferred publication:
YES. 12 months.
Registration Proceeding Outline:
Filing. Publication request within a 12 months term since the priority date, upon which the application is effectively published within 1-2 months. Payment of examination fees. Decision.
Opposition:
YES. Oppositions can be filed within 60 days from the publication. Nullity actions are also possible, within 5 years from granting or within 3 years from exploitation, whichever term expires first.
Average time from filing to grant:
12-18 months.
Term of Protection and Maintenance:
10 years, extendable for 5 additional years (payment of the renewal fee has to be made in the tenth year, requesting the extension for the additional 5 years). Annuities have to be attended in order to preserve the rights.
Does it accept an administrative request for surveillance?
YES
Intellectual property rights protected through an administrative request for surveillance
Trademarks
Copyrights
Requirement to file for an application of an administrative request for surveillance
List and Registration of Trademarks
Certificate of Registrationc
PoA
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: Uruguay
Data Protection Regulations: Law 18.331 on the protection of personal data and its regulatory decrees, numbers 414/009 and 64/020, as well as Articles 37 to 40 of Law 19670.
Regulatory purpose: The purpose of the various regulations is the protection of personal data, considered a fundamental human right by the Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (Art. 72), in any medium that makes it susceptible to processing, as well as any form of subsequent use of such data.
Parties:
Principles:
Article 5 of Law 18.331 establishes that the actions of those responsible for databases, both public and private, and, in general, of all those who act in relation to the personal data of third parties, must comply with the following general principles:
These general principles shall also serve as an interpretative criterion for resolving any questions that may arise in the application of the relevant provisions.
Obligations:
Data subjects’ rights:
International transfers:
The transfer of personal data of any kind to countries or international organisations that do not provide adequate levels of protection in accordance with the standards of international or regional law on the matter is prohibited.
The prohibition shall not apply in the case of:
The international transfer of data shall also be possible in the following cases:
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of this Article, the Personal Data Protection Regulatory and Control Unit may authorise a transfer or a set of transfers of personal data to a third country which does not ensure an adequate level of protection, where the controller provides sufficient safeguards with respect to the protection of the privacy, fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals, as well as with respect to the exercise of the respective rights. Such safeguards may derive from appropriate contractual clauses.
Sanctioning regime:
The supervisory body may apply the following sanctions to those responsible for databases, those in charge of processing personal data and other subjects covered by the legal regime, in the event that the rules of this law are violated, which shall be graduated according to the seriousness, repetition or recidivism of the infringement committed:
Certification or accreditation of compliance for companies: No.