RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/143
28 June 1999
(99-2666)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
 of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  Spanish
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLES 70.8 AND 70.9
The Secretariat has received the following communication, dated 25 June 1999, from the
delegation of Paraguay, concerning Paraguay's replies to the questions posed by the United States and
distributed in document IP/C/W/113.
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Question 1
In addition to the information provided in  your notification concerning the filing of
patent applications directed to pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical product inventions,
please:
(a) Identify the basis in your law that governs the handling of patent applications by
the responsible Government agency in  situations where the application is
directed to subject-matter that is not eligible to be patented.
Reply
Patent applications directed to subject-matter that does not meet the criteria for patentability
are governed by the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement as incorporated in Law No. 444/94 of theRepublic of Paraguay and, to the extent that it does  not contravene that law, Patent Law No. 773/25.
(b) Confirm that the measures specified in  your notification will ensure that any
patent application directed to pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical product
inventions that was filed on or after 1 January 1995, can serve as the basis for agrant of a patent with a term that expires no earlier that 20 years from the date
of its filing, once your Government extends patent protection to inventions
consistent with the scope of Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Reply
As we duly notified and in conformity with the TRIPS Agreement, as of 1 January 1995 the
Industrial Property Directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade introduced a special book for the
reception of patent applications directed to pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical product
inventions, with the guarantee that it would serve as a basis for the grant of a patent with a term thatexpired no earlier than 20 years from the date of filing of the application.
Question 2
Please identify the provisions of your law that govern the granting of exclusive
marketing rights for products covered by Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement.IP/C/W/143
Page 2
Reply
The Patent Law in force in Paraguay, No. 773/25, does not provide for a mechanism for the
granting of exclusive marketing rights for products covered by Articles 70.8 and 70.9, and to date they
are not regulated. This is because the Executive submitted a draft Patent Law to the NationalParliament in 1996 providing for the granting of patents for pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical
products, declining to avail itself of the transitional period provided for under the TRIPS Agreement.
Question 3
Please provide the identity and address of the government authority that is responsible
for the granting of exclusive marketing rights.
Reply
Since Paraguay did not avail itself of the transitional period and ultimately considered
pharmaceutical products and procedures or agricultural chemical products as patentable materialsunder the draft law submitted to Parliament, no government authority has been made responsible for
the granting of exclusive marketing rights.
Question 4
Please explain the procedures to be followed  by a private company or individual wishing
to obtain exclusive marketing rights for a pharm aceutical or agricultural chemical product that
fulfils the requirements of Articles 70.8 and 70.9.
Reply
As stated in the replies to questions 2 and 3, there is no established procedure for obtaining
exclusive marketing rights for a pharmaceutical procedure or product or agricultural chemical
product, since no adjustment period is envisaged.
Question 5
Please identify the fee, if any, for obtainin g exclusive marketing rights for a product of
family of products.
Reply
If the National Parliament establishes a time-limit for the entry into force of the Law on
Pharmaceutical or Agricultural Chemical Products in accordance with the adjustment period provided
for under the TRIPS Agreement, the granting of ex clusive trading rights will take place in accordance
with Article 70.9, by product.
Question 6
Please explain how an entity that has obta ined exclusive marketing rights pursuant to
TRIPS Article 70.9 can enjoy the benefit of such rights? In particular:
(a) Can marketing approval be granted under any circumstances to another party
prior to the expiration of the exclusive marketing rights period defined in
Article 70.9?IP/C/W/143
Page 3
(b) What remedies or procedures are available to the holder of an exclusive
marketing right to prevent the issuance of marketing privileges to another party
in respect of a product that is the su bject of the exclusive marketing rights?
Reply
As stated in the previous replies, since according to the draft submitted in 1996, the
Government does not intend to avail itself of the adjustment period provided for by the TRIPS
Agreement, no procedure has been established for the granting of exclusive marketing rights pursuant
to Article 70.9.  Consequently, it will only be possible to answer questions (a) and (b) above once the
National Parliament has approved the new Patent Law and it has been decided whether or not it will
establish an adjustment period.
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