Argentina adheres to most treaties and international agreements on intellectual property and belongs to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).　　In January 1995, the Argentine Congress ratified the Uruguay Round agreements, including the provisions on intellectual property. Under Argentine law, the piracy of computer software, entertainment software (movies), and books, to name a few, is prohibited. However, vague and uneven regulatory policies have made the entry of materials and the copy of these products rampant throughout the nation. Although there is still room for greater improvements, intellectual property protection for books, films, music, and software in Argentina has already been improved in recent years.　　

Patent

　　Argentina is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property as of February 10, 1967. Argentina is not a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) yet.　　After a 3 year conflict between the Argentine Executive and Congress over the issue of patent protection for pharmaceutical products, the Executive issued a decree in March 1996 which improved earlier Argentine patent legislation. This decree authorized the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) to provide pharmaceutical patent protection starting from November 2000. The decree does not provide patent protection for products under development, and contains ambiguous language on parallel imports and compulsory licenses. Argentina is a member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The sorts of patents which the Argentinean State grants are as follows:

Patent of Invention

　　The requirements to patent inventions are:　　Totally new breakthrough: The novelty must be worldwide. It must not be within any technical knowledge already launched all over the globe. However, the exhibition of the invention at a national or international exhibition within one year prior to the patent application date or the priority date will not affect the novelty requirement.　　Inventive activity: The invention can’t be made of any mixture of already known elements.　　Industrial use: The object of the invention must aim at an industrial product or result. Patents in Argentina have 20 years of validity, starting from the date of presentation of the patent.

Utility Model

　　Any new disposition or form obtained or introduced within tools, working instruments, utensils, devices or known objects which can be used in a practical work, whereas they provide a better use for the function which they were created for. They will confer to its creator the exclusive right of exploitation. The utility model certificates are valid for a term of 10 years.

Industrial Design

　　Industrial model or design is the form or the aspect incorporated or applied into an industrial product which confers to it an ornamental characteristic. The duration of a design is of 5 years, renewable for two 5-year terms.　　

Trademark

　　Trademark laws and regulations in Argentina are generally good. The key problem is the slow registration process, which the government has worked to improve.　　The Trademark Law states that trademark ownership begins with its registration. Registration of a trademark is not compulsory, but for protection or renewal, it must be registered in the trademark register. The law provides that a registration may be renewed only if the trademark has been used within the 5 year period before the renewal application. Failure to use a trademark for 5 consecutive years can drive judicial action to declare the trademark expired because of lack of use. The trademark is not considered to have been used if it has been used to mark a different product in a class not covered by the original registration or if the mark is part of a trade name.　　Trademarks in Argentina have 10 years of validity.　　Registration of a trademark may be indefinitely renewed for periods of 10 years each time. The term of renewal starts from the date of renewal. The property of a trademark and the exclusivity for its use are obtained under registration.　　Trademark fraud is a criminal offence.　　Once the trademarks have been published, there are 30 days available to be opposed by other interested people who can stop the registering process until the opposition is freed.　　

Copyright

　　The National Directorate of Copyright and the Collective Management Societies protects art, scientific, and literature works, as well as drama and any other kinds of compositions. Other types of works this law grants are drawings, sculptures, paintings and architectures, photographs, engravings, films, programs and software.　　Argentina’s Copyright Law, enacted in 1933, appears to be adequate up to the level of international standards. An executive decree extends the term of protection for motion pictures from 30 to 50 years after the death of the copyright holder. As in many countries, video piracy is a serious problem in Argentine. Efforts are underway to combat piracy, including arrests, seizure of pirated material, and introduction of security stickers for packages.　　In October 1995, a lower court invalidated a 1994 Argentine decree extending copyright protection to software. The software industry immediately appealed the decision to the Argentine Supreme Court. The Congress is considering legislation, which would make criminal sanctions available in cases involving piracy of software. In October 1998, the Argentine Congress enacted legislation criminalizing software piracy. The law closes an important gap in Argentina’s protection of intellectual property rights.　　Yet a cumbersome judiciary and lack of policies resources continue to hamper enforcement efforts.　　Copyright belongs to the author of the work and lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years post-mortem. For works of joint authorship, anonymous or pseudonymous works, audiovisual or broadcast works, or computer programs, it is 50 years from their disclosure or date of first publication.　　Foreign copyrights are recognized.　　

IP Enforcement

　　Argentina does not have specific courts to deal with intellectual property rights per se. Most IP matters fall within the federal court jurisdiction, whose judges are IP specialists.　　However, a person whose application for a patent or trademark has been rejected can make use of administrative remedies which can be judicially reviewed.　　The Patent and Trademark Law and the Civil Law provide legal action against anyone who violates obligees’ exclusive rights. Owners of intellectual property rights can obtain preliminary measures; seize goods and provisional remedies always on the basis of documentary evidence. Conciliatory measures or mediation hearings have been provided according to TRIPs provisions. Moreover, the Argentinean legal system provides a private mediation before any court action in order to give the right holders the opportunity to reach an agreement.

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