RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/271/Add.2
17 July 2001
(01-3530)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal: Spanish
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Response from Argentina to Questions Posed by the United States
Addendum
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of Argentina, dated 14 June 2001,
the Secretariat has received the following responses to questions posed by the United States, ascirculated in document IP/C/W/268.
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A. 
GENERAL
1. Please describe, in relation to each form of intellectual property covered by the TRIPS
Agreement, including plant variety protection, the manner in which nation treatment and most-
favoured-nation treatment are provided  to nationals of other WTO Members.
Argentina implements the principles of national treatment and most-favoured-nation
treatment through Law No. 24.425, ratifying the Uruguay Round Agreements, including the TRIPSAgreement, and Law No. 17.011 of 10 November 1966, which incorporates the Paris Convention
(Lisbon Act of 1958).
These principles cover all forms of intellectual property, patents and utility models, industrial
designs, trademarks, appellations of origin and indications of source, ranging from the acquisition ofrights, on equal grounds, to the maintenance and defence of such rights through administrative and
judicial procedures laid down in the relevant special laws and in the general legislation governing
civil, commercial and/or criminal procedure.
As regards copyright and related rights, the protection afforded by domestic legislation
likewise makes no distinction between national and foreign creations, thus guaranteeing national
treatment to all right holders.  The specific ru les on the subject do not provide for most-favoured-
nation treatment, since there is no difference in terms of the protection granted.
In the case of plant varieties, the applicable legislation in this sphere is the 1978 Act of the
Convention of the International Union for the Prot ection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which
was ratified by Law No. 24.376, and the provisions of Law No. 20.247 on Seeds and Phytogenetic
Developments, which lays down the national treatment principle in its Article 3.
The intellectual property laws make no distinction between nationals and foreigners, or
between foreigners from different countries, apart from the exceptions allowed under the TRIPS
Agreement.IP/C/W/271/Add.2
Page 2
B. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
2. Please explain how the copyright law of Argentina protects computer programs as
literary works and compilations of data as required by Article 10 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Law No. 25.036 amending Law No. 11.723 incorporates, in the list of protected works in
Article 1 of the latter, computer programs in the form of either source or object codes and
compilations of data or other material, thus protecting them on the same terms as literary works.
3. Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that rental rights for computer programs
and cinematographic works be available.  Please cite to the corresponding provision of the
copyright law of Argentina.
Pursuant to Article 2 of Law No. 11.723, copyright in a work listed in Article 1 of the Law
shall include the right to dispose of the work, which in turn includes rental rights in respect of
computer programs and cinematographic works.
4. Article 14.2 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that producers of phonograms are to
enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their phonograms.
Article 14.2 requires that producers of phonograms are to have the right to authorize or
prohibit the commercial rental to the public of originals or copies of their phonograms.  Please
describe how the copyright law of Argentina implements these obligations and indicate the termof protection.
As works protected under Article 1 of Law No. 11.723, phonograms are fully covered by the
provisions of Article 2 of the Law.  Hence, producers are entitled to authorize or prohibit the direct or
indirect reproduction of their works and to authorize or prohibit the rental of carrier media forcommercial purposes.  The term of protection is 50 (fifty) years, counted from the date of publication
of the works.
C. 
TRADEMARKS
5. Please describe the manner in which well-known trademarks are protected in Argentina
against unauthorized use and against so-called cybersquatting, i.e., incorporation of the
trademark of another into a domain name with out the authorization of the trademark owner.
Please cite to the relevant provisions of law and to any related court decisions.
The incorporation into a domain name of a registered trademark belonging to another party
may be challenged by the affected trademark owner under Trademark Law No. 22.362 (published in
the Boletín Oficial  of 2 January 1981), inasmuch as it allows the owner to register an exclusive right
entitling him to prevent others from using this sign or any other sign liable to cause confusion.
The situations covered by so-called "cybersquatting" have to do with wilful appropriation of
someone else's trademark, entailing the applicati on by analogy of Article 24(b) of the Trademark
Law.  This provision establishes that a trademark shall be null and void where it was registered by
someone who knew or should have known that  the trademark belonged to a third party.
The protection of well-known trademarks is also regulated by Article 6 bis of the Paris
Convention, Article 16 of the TRIPS Agreement, Articles 953, 1109 and 1071 of the Civil Code and
the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code.
Argentine case law in this respect may be su mmarized by the criteria set forth in the
following court decisions:IP/C/W/271/Add.2
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- Heladerías Freddo S.A. vs. Spot Networ k regarding misappropriation of the name
FREDDO on the Internet  (Case No. 5354/97, National Federal Civil and Commercial
Court No. 7, of 26 November 1997);
- Pugliese Francisco Nicolás vs. Pérez Carlos Enrique regarding precautionary
measures.
6. Please confirm that a pre-existing trademark is protected against usurpation by
geographical indications.  Please cite any relevant laws, regulations or judicial decisions.
Article 3(c) of Trademark Law No. 22.362 prohibits the registration of both domestic and
foreign appellations of origin.
The following provisions also apply:- Article 7 of Law No. 22.802 regulating commercial loyalty stipulates that a domestic
or foreign appellation of origin may not be used to identify fruit or any other goods
not originating in the indicated area, except where the appellation has been registered
as a trademark prior to the entry into force of the Law.
- Article 1135 of the Argentine Food Code (Law No. 18.284) stipulates that
geographical names designating or characterizing distilled spirits or liqueurs may not
be used for goods originating in places other than the regions indicated by the names.
A case in point was the judgment of 15 February 2000 handed down by the Court II of the
Federal Civil and Commercial Chamber in the case The Scotch Whisky Association et al.  vs. García
José.
D. 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
7. Please describe in detail how the laws of Argentina provide for the recognition and
protection of geographical indications required by Article 22.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, citing
to the relevant provisions of law or regulation, and provide examples of Argentine geographical
indications so recognized and protected.
Argentina has enacted the following legal prot ection instruments to implement Article 22.2 of
the TRIPS Agreement:
- Trademark Law No. 22.362, published in the Boletín Oficial  of 2 January 1981.  The
provisions of Article 3(c) and (d) stipulate that neither domestic or foreign
appellations of origin nor appellations that might cause confusion as to the origin of
the goods may be registered as trademarks.
- Law No. 25.163 on Wines and Spirits, relating to the protection of indications of
source, geographical indications and appellations of origin, Chapter V, Scope and
Obligations.
- Article 1135 of the Argentine Food Code prohibits appellations of origin using names
other than the true places of production of distilled spirits or liqueurs.
- Article 4 of Consumer Protection Law No. 24.240 on information provided to
consumers.IP/C/W/271/Add.2
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- Article 5 of Law on Fair Trading No. 22.802.
- Article 4 of Consumer Protection Law No. 24.420.The other applicable provisions are Article 10 bis of the Paris Convention (Law No. 17.011)
and those of the Competition Law (No. 25.156).
8. Please describe in detail the manner in which the additional protection required for
wines and spirits under Article 23.1 of the TRIPS Agreement is implemented, citing to the
relevant provisions of law or regulation, and provide examples of Argentine geographical
indications for such products so protected.
The additional protection for wines and spirits under Article 23.1 of the TRIPS Agreement
was established in Argentina through the enactment of Law No. 25.163 of 15 October 1999, laying
down general rules concerning the designation and presentation of wines and spirits obtained from
wine of Argentine origin.
E. 
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
9. Please describe the procedure that must be followed to obtain protection for textile
designs in Argentina and cite to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
There is no specific legislation for the protection of textile designs.  However, these are
covered by the legislation governing industrial designs (Decree Law No. 6.673/63, Decree
No. 5682/65 and Resolution No. 21/74 of the National Directorate of Industrial Property).
F. PATENTS
10. What term of protection does the patent law of Argentina provide for patents?  Please
describe any provisions for extension of the term of protection and cite to the relevant
provisions of the law.
No reply is given to this question, as it refers to issues that are being dealt with in
consultations with the United States in the framework of the WTO or to matters which – because they
relate to such issues – may have a direct impact on the consultations.
G. LAY-OUT DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
11. Please describe in detail the protection  for lay-out designs of integrated circuits
provided under the laws of Argentina, including the term of protection, and cite to the relevant
provisions of law.
Integrated circuits are not protected by specific legislation but are covered by the various
intellectual property laws, depending on the context in which they are used.
H. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
12. Please describe in detail how the laws of Argentina provide for the protection of
undisclosed information as required by Article 39.2 of the TRIPS Agreement and provide
citations to the relevant provisions of law.
No reply is given to this question, as it refers to issues that are being dealt with in
consultations with the United States in the framework of the WTO or to matters which – because theyrelate to such issues – may have a direct impact on the consultations.IP/C/W/271/Add.2
Page 5
I. ENFORCEMENT
13. Please describe in detail the manner in which the laws of Argentina provide for effective
action against infringement of intellectual prop erty rights as required by Article 41.1 of the
TRIPS Agreement.
No reply is given to this question, as it refers to issues that are being dealt with in
consultations with the United States in the framework of the WTO or to matters which – because they
relate to such issues – may have a direct impact on the consultations.
14. Article 43.1 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that judges be authorized to order
production of evidence necessary to substantiate a party’s claims where that party has beenunable to obtain such evidence from the opposi ng party.  Please describe how the laws or
regulations of Argentina provide this authorization, citing to the relevant provisions of law or
regulation.
No reply is given to this question, as it refers to issues that are being dealt with in
consultations with the United States in the framework of the WTO or to matters which – because they
relate to such issues – may have a direct impact on the consultations.
J. 
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO BORDER MEASURES
15. Please describe in detail the manner in which Argentina provides for border
enforcement at least for trademark counterfe iting and copyright piracy, identifying the
competent authority and citing to the re levant provisions of law or regulation.
There are no special requirements related to border measures.  The applicable national
legislation is the Argentine Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, which provides for thepossibility of filing a request for a precautionary measure, stating the right for which protection is
claimed, the measure applied for and the provision of the law on which it is founded, and confirming
that the relevant requirements, in particular regarding the measure requested, have been met.
Articles 24, 83 and 79 apply in matters pertaining to industrial designs, patents and copyright
law, respectively.
A reading of these Articles makes it clear that, under Argentine legislation, the suspension of
release of prima facie counterfeit goods may be requested as a precautionary measure.
16. Please indicate if border enforcement is available to owners of other forms of intellectual
property and, if so, please describe the procedures and remedies available in relation to eachform of intellectual property, citing the relevant provisions of law.
See the reply to question 15 above.
17. Article 58 of the TRIPS Agreement specifies procedures to be followed where the
competent authorities can act ex officio.  Plea se explain whether the competent authorities in
Argentina are empowered to act ex officio and, if so, please identify the intellectual property
areas subject to ex officio action.
In addition to the procedures under the core codes and each of the special laws, it should be
mentioned that, as criminal actions concerning patents, copyright and trademarks are public
prosecution proceedings, the Public Prosecutor's Office is empowered to institute such proceedings
and shall initiate them ex officio, pursuant to Article 5 of the Argentine Code of Criminal Procedure.IP/C/W/271/Add.2
Page 6
K. CRIMINAL PROCEDURES
18. Please describe in detail how the laws of Argentina implement Article 61 of the TRIPS
Agreement that requires Members to have criminal procedures and penalties, including
imprisonment and/or monetary fines sufficient to act as a deterrent, at least for cases of wilfultrademark counterfeiting and copyright infringement  on a commercial scale.  Please cite to the
relevant provisions of law and regulation.
Jurisdiction for hearing cases of criminal infringement of industrial property rights lies with
the Federal Criminal Courts ( Jueces Federales en lo Criminal y Correccional ).
The relevant articles and laws are the following:
(a) Articles 75, 76, 77 and 78 of the Law on Patents and Utility Models;
(b) Articles 31 and 38 of the Trademark Law;
(c) Article 21 of Decree No. 6.673/63 on Industrial Designs.
The National Criminal Courts have jurisdiction as regards procedures relating to
infringements of copyright and related rights, and are empowered to order rapid and effective
precautionary measures in order to preserve evidence of infringement of such rights.  This is providedfor in Articles 71, 72, 72 bis, 75, 76 and 79 of Law No. 11.723.  Precautionary measures may be
ordered without prior notification of the alleged infringer.
19. Article 61 also requires that remedies in a ppropriate cases include the seizure, forfeiture
and destruction of infringing goods and any materials and implements the predominant use ofwhich has been the commission of the offence.  Please describe the provisions in the laws of
Argentina that provide for such remedies, and describe the circumstances in which those
remedies would be imposed, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
See the reply to question 18 above.
20. Article 61 also indicates that Members may provide for criminal procedures and
penalties in cases of wilful infringement of oth er forms of intellectual property.  Please describe
any provisions of the laws of Argentina that provide for such procedures and remedies, citing to
the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
See the reply to question 18 above.
L. 
STATISTICAL QUESTIONS
21. Please provide statistical information related  to civil copyright, trademark, geographical
indication, industrial design, patent, integr ated circuit lay-out design, and trade secret
enforcement for 2000, including the number of ca ses filed;  injunctions issued;  infringing
products seized;  infringing equipment seized;  cases resolved (including settlement);  and the
amount of damages awarded.
Statistical data available from administrative sources is as follows for the year 2000:
(a) Industrial designsIP/C/W/271/Add.2
Page 7
A total of 1,738 applications for registration, including 1,248 original applications and
490 applications for renewal, were filed in 2000.
Registrations were granted for 1,709 of these applications, including 1,233 original
applications and 476 applications for renewal.
(b) Patents and utility models
In 2000, the National Patents Office received 7,033 applications, including 6,636 for
patents and 397 for utility models.
A total of 4,224 applications were processed, with the following results:
- Granted:  1,864
- Withdrawn:   1,830
- Refused:      30
- Abandoned:       500
(c) Trademarks
In 2000, the Trademarks Office recorded 57,723 applications for new trademarks and
3,989 applications for renewal, i.e., a total of 61,712.  As many as 52,021 applicationswere processed, with the following results:
- New trademarks granted: 36,640
- Renewed:     8,046
- Abandoned:     3,177- Withdrawn:    1,367
- Lapsed:    1,884
- Refused:        822
(d) Copyright and related rights
A total of 157 civil and criminal actions claiming protection of intellectual property of
software were brought in 2000.  Judicial search orders or orders to make findings
inaudita altera parte  were issued, thus making it possible to ascertain infringement
and to continue examining the merits of  the complaints.  These actions led to
prosecutions and convictions for software piracy, subject to punitive sanctions on
grounds of omission and fines.
22. Please provide statistical information relat ed to criminal enforcement in the area of
copyright piracy and trademark infringeme nt for 2000, including the number of raids,
prosecutions, convictions, and the amount of fines and/or jail terms (including whether the fines
were paid and whether the jail term was actually served or was suspended) and any otherinformation establishing that the criminal syst em operates effectively to deter copyright piracy
and trademark counterfeiting.
The Executive does not have the requested information in hand at present.
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