Argentine Trademark Protection System
A trademark is a unique identifier used by producers, traders, or suppliers of goods or services to distinguish them in the market. Its main function is to enable consumers to identify an individual or company’s goods or services in order to differentiate them from competitors. Brands play a crucial role in developing and marketing strategies by distinguishing companies from each other and their products or services from those of competitors, as they help showcase the image and reputation of the company’s products or services to consumers.
Argentina is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, but has not yet joined the Madrid system for international trademark applications and registrations.
INPI Introduction to the National Industrial Property Office of Argentina
The Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (INPI) of Argentina is under the Ministry of Economy’s Department of Industry and Production Development (Industry y Desarrollo Productivo) and is responsible for implementing intellectual property protection in Argentina.
website:www.argentina.gob.ar/inpi
Telephone:+54 11 4344 4902
Fax:+54 11 4344 5286
Email:infoinpi@inpi.gob.ar,infomarcas@inpi.gob.ar
address:Av. Paseo Colón 717, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (C1063ACH) Argentina
Introduction to Trademark Registration in Argentina
3.1 Types of trademarks
Text trademark: consisting entirely of text, letters, or numbers and their combinations.
Graphic trademark: composed only of concrete elements (graphics, symbols, logos, etc.), without letters and/or numbers.
Mixed trademark: Contains both text and graphic elements, or graphics with text elements presented in a stylized, non-standard form.
Three dimensional trademark: composed of three-dimensional forms, referring to the shape, container, or packaging of a product – if this shape is entirely derived from the function of the product, it cannot be registered as a trademark.
Sound trademark: a unique melody or chord that can be represented graphically.
Sports trademark: The movement or movement of certain objects.
Odor trademark: fragrance, but not an inherent attribute or natural quality of the product, but a feature provided by the applicant.
Other trademarks: such as location, touch, color combination, business appearance.
3.2 Collective trademark
The collective trademark (marca colectiva) is aimed at individuals who develop socio-economic joint ventures consisting of at least three members. They can be entrepreneurial groups, cooperatives, foundations, non-profit civil entities and associations, as well as individuals who develop production or service enterprises on a household basis.
3.3 Signs that cannot be registered as trademarks
The necessary or common name that constitutes the goods or services to be distinguished, or the name, text, and logo that describe their nature, function, quality, or characteristics.
The advertising name, text, logo, and phrase that have been widely used before applying for registration.
The shape required for the product.
The natural or solid color of the product, or a single color applied to the product.
A mark used to distinguish the same goods or services that is identical or similar to a previously registered or applied trademark.
National or foreign origin name. Origin name refers to the name of a country, region, locality, or geographical area used to designate products originating from that area, whose quality and characteristics are entirely attributed to the geographical environment. The name of origin is also considered to refer to the specific geographical production area of certain products.
Signs that may mislead in terms of the nature, attributes, advantages, quality, processing technology, functionality, place of origin, price, or other characteristics of goods or services.
Words, pictures, and other symbols that violate morality and etiquette.
Letters, characters, names, badges, and symbols used or to be used by national, provincial, municipal, religious, and health organizations.
The letters, characters, or names recognized by the Argentine government for use by foreign and international organizations.
Using someone’s name, pseudonym, or portrait without their or their heirs’ consent.
Activity name, including the name of the activity and the company name used to distinguish the product description. However, abbreviations, words, and other distinctive symbols, or a part of them that constitutes abbreviations, words, and symbols, may be registered to distinguish goods or services.
3.4 Trademark rights
The registration of a trademark ensures the ownership of the rights holder, enabling them to exercise all necessary defenses to prevent third parties from selling the same goods or services under the same trademark without authorization, or using names that may cause confusion.
Registration can also prevent partial imitation of the trademark, whether it is the name, text, logo, or advertising phrase, as well as their patterns and colors.
The trademark owner can also authorize third parties to use the trademark through exclusive and non exclusive license agreements, sell all or part of the trademark rights, or obtain credit by pledging the trademark as collateral through registration.
3.5 Protection period
The protection period for Argentine trademarks is 10 years, starting from the date of authorization; Afterwards, it can be indefinitely renewed, with each extension lasting 10 years.
Trademark registration process in Argentina
Argentina is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and anyone or their successor who has formally filed a trademark registration application in another member country (such as China) can enjoy a priority period of 6 months in Argentina.
4.1 Procedure for Applying for Registration of Argentine Trademark with INPI
1.Determine whether the logo can be registered
The applicant shall conduct a search of trademarks that have been registered or applied for in Argentina in accordance with Argentina’s requirements for trademark registration, in order to determine whether the symbol to be applied for can be registered as a trademark.
2.Use the tax code to enter the program portal website
Applicants need to submit their applications through the online application system. To use the system, you need Argentina’s unique tax identification code (CUIT), unified labor identification code (CUIL) or ID number (CDI), and apply to the Argentine Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP) for a secret key. Therefore, Chinese applicants without the above identification codes should entrust agents to handle relevant business. The agent shall prepare a copy of the authorization letter signed by them and declare under oath that the authorization letter is faithful to the original and is a valid power of attorney.
According to the requirements of the INPI website: (1) If personnel using the system act on behalf of others, they need to make an oath declaration in the “REPRESENTACI Ó N” section; (2) If the system is used by an authorized agent (apoderado), no documents need to be attached, although INPI may request them to provide documents at any time; (3) If the system is used by the industrial custodian (gestor de negocios), an approval statement indicating the owner must be attached within 40 working days.
After entering the system, the following operations need to be performed:
Select “MARCAS”/”TR Á MITES”/”SOLICITUD NUEVA”;
Indicate the type of trademark;
Select the category to which the trademark belongs – the applicant can use the search engine provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization or the TMclass provided by the European Union Intellectual Property Office to determine the goods or services category that the trademark needs to specify; Note that if “TODA LA CLASE (all categories)” is selected, the application will be rejected;
Indicate trademark ownership – If 2 or more owners are uploaded, the total percentage of rights allocation must be 100%, and the information of each owner must be filled in the form;
If a trademark has been applied for in other countries before, relevant priority rights can be invoked;
Voluntarily, a third party may be authorized to act as a representative in handling documents;
If it is a mixed logo or a poorly formatted logo, “OBSERVACIONES” should be used to clarify the pronunciation or order of each part (t é rmino).
3.Sign on the spreadsheet
4.Payment program fees
Payment methods can be found in the guidelines provided by INPI.
5.Follow up on the application through the portal website
The trademark registration application process that does not go through the simplified examination stage takes 24 months, while the application process that goes through the simplified examination stage takes 12 months. If the application is objected to, the process may be delayed.
If one or more objections are received, INPI will promptly notify the applicant and give them 3 months to reach an agreement with the objector.
If the objection is not resolved during this period, INPI will issue a notice to the objector requesting them to maintain the validity of the objection and pay the corresponding fees. In this way, the objection will be considered valid, and the applicant will also receive notice to respond to the objection and provide the evidence they are entitled to provide.
If the objector fails to pay, the objection will automatically become a warning, and the applicant’s documents will be unsealed and returned to the review stage for evaluation.
After the trademark is authorized, the applicant will receive an alphanumeric code via email for downloading a digital certificate of ownership.
For more information, please refer to the official website of INPI.
Introduction to Argentine Trademark Office Fees
project | Starting from March 1, 2023, the fee schedule (in pesos) |
Service Charge | |
Apply for a new trademark registration that can protect up to 20 named positions (posici ó n de nomenclador) | 7072 |
On the basis of the previous item, for every additional position added | + 50 |
Third party raises objections | 7072 |
Third party raises objection to collective trademark | 14144 |
Request INPI for Pinyin Search – for 1 Product or Service Category | 1600 |
Request INPI for Pinyin Search – for all product categories | 6400 |
Request INPI for Pinyin Search – for all service categories | 6400 |
Request INPI to conduct background search by everyone – for every individual in all categories of goods or services | 2912 |
Request INPI to provide a product or service classification report | 915 |
Continued validity of trademark application objection – initiation of administrative resolution objection procedure – expansion of grounds for objection | 35360 |
Request to declare the registered trademark invalid | 48000 |
Request for invalidation of registered trademark in case of opposition to trademark application | 24000 |
Request for revocation of trademark application | 48000 |
Request for revocation of registered trademark in case of opposition to trademark application | 24000 |
Article 24 and Article 26 of Law No. 22.362 provide for direct appeal | 3536 |
Declaration of Use as Provided for in Article 26 of Law No. 22.362 | 3200 |
Renewal fee | |
Apply for trademark renewal registration | 8736 |
The processing of renewal registration application expires within the grace period | + 8736 |
For more information, please refer to the 2023 expense table. The official fees in Argentina are frequently adjusted, and the actual fees are subject to the latest published fees by INPI.