How to protect your intellectual property rights in Argentina

Verónica Canton

Argentinian Legal Consultant

Are you interested in internationalizing your business to Argentina?  It is essential to protect your intangible assets through intellectual property rights. It is not an easy task. The first step is to find adequate information. Many doubts arise at the beginning of this challenge: How do I protect my trademark? What are the steps to register a patent? Can I extend the protection of my EU trademark, design, or patent to Argentina? What is the best way to combine patent and trade secrets protection? Who is the authority in charge of the registered patents, trademarks, and designs in Argentina? Do I need to register my copyright to obtain protection in Argentina? In our Helpline service, we answer these types of questions. If you are an entrepreneur who wants to discover Argentina, go ahead, and continue reading, this post is for you! The Latin America IP SME Helpdesk offers here an overview on how to protect your IP in Argentina.

Some basics:

If you are a European Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), an inventor, a creator, or a researcher you can gain useful tips on how to protect your Intellectual Property in the Argentina IP country factsheet. This will give you relevant and simplified information about the Argentine legislation on intellectual property and also its position at the international level. It will also briefly explain the different IP rights and specific measures to protect them.

Shall you have already registered some patents, trademarks, or designs in Europe, you can find the most important differences between Argentina and Europe in our IP Systems Comparative: Argentina vs Europe, and adapt your strategy accordingly.

For inventors and researchers – patents and technology transfer:

Developing, testing, and commercializing a technological improvement, including pharmaceutical compounds, machinery or software, is a long way. Patents and software protection are absolutely essential to guarantee the profitability of such investments. Obtaining patent protection is a long and difficult procedure. Only new inventions, whether a product or a process, with an inventive step that may be used in industry, are patentable. This level of innovation is not necessary when applying for a utility model. For more information, take a look at our case study Patent conversion into utility model in Argentina.

If you are planning to license your patent or utility model, externalize part of your know-how or engage in collaborative research with Argentinian institutions, our factsheet on Technology Transfer In Argentina is for you. 

Plant variety protection in Argentina

If your idea is to produce and or market a new variety of plant or seed, you should read our guide on Plant variety protection in Argentina. Here you will find the correct information that will guide you in this challenge.

For brand lovers – registered trademarks:

Building and maintaining a reputation is essential to being successful in any market. That is why trademark protection is very important. In our Guide to trademark registration in Argentina, you will find the answers to basic questions such as: What is a brand? What kind of signs can be registered as trademarks? How long does your protection last? What are the requirements to register a trade mark? What is the registration procedure like? In addition, this case study “Trade mark opposition in Argentina” may help you take action in the event that third parties oppose the registration of the trademark.

Design, register, succeed – Industrial Designs:

Industrial designs increase the value of a product, making it more attractive and eye-catching for customers, and it can even become the main reason for buying the product. For this reason, it is important to protect them. The protection of industrial designs covers the aesthetic and ornamental features of products, i.e. their external appearance, not their technical or functional aspects. This is therefore a key tool in certain sectors, namely textiles, furniture, toys, and the automotive industry.  Furthermore, unlike other IP rights, industrial design registration offers faster and cheaper protection for the external appearance of products. To learn more advantages and challenges of industrial design registration, take a look at this case study: Cancellation of industrial design

Copyright:

Copyright protects intellectual works, any scientist, literary, artistic or didactic production is subject to protection. Copyrights are automatically acquired by the mere act of creation; no formal registration is needed. However, registration of works guarantees greater certainty to the author. To know how to act in case of infringement of this right, you can learn from our case study on Copyright infringement in Argentina.

Software creations are also protected by Copyright. You must read this interesting case: Practical measures for enforcing your software copyright in Argentina. This will give you an idea of how to act in case of infringement.

Confidentiality and secrecy – trade secrets:

In any case, take into account that any disclosure of your invention, prior to applying for a patent, utility model or industrial design, may render your application non-novel. In addition, you might also want to keep confidential part of the information you plan to share with your Argentinian business partners. Hence it is paramount to properly protect confidential information by means of Trade secrets.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (Sun Tzu) – enforcement and customs:

Successful companies and products are likely to attract the interest of counterfeiters and free riders. If that is the case you do not need to worry: our factsheet “ IP enforcement in Argentina” aims to provide an overview of the legal framework in Argentina regarding IPR enforcement, focusing on the law applicable to each case and the kind of injunctions and remedies that can be applied for, as well as some practical advice.

If you need further guidance…

If before, during, or after reading our guides you happen to need further clarifications with regard to the protection of your intellectual property in Argentina, please contact our Helpline. All SMEs, inventors, and entrepreneurs from the European Union and COSME countries are eligible for free and confidential guidance from our IP experts – in just three working days.