Industrial Property Agents and Lawyers

We provide legal and technical advice on all matters related to Industrial Property and Intellectual Property registrations.

THE FIRM

We actively participate at several national and international events and engage directly with the world’s major firms.

At Estudio Coll Areco, we fundamentally strive to provide technical and legal advice on all matters related to Industrial Property and make all registrations conducive to the exclusivity of the inventions and identifications of industrial, commercial, and services companies.

For this purpose, we have a highly qualified team of experts specialized in the subject and IT infrastructure and support allowing us to cater to our clients’ needs, offering them the peace of mind necessary to deposit the custody and administration of their industrial property assets.

STAFF

Marcelo Coll Areco

marcelo@estudiocollareco.com.ar

Andrés Coll Areco

andres@estudiocollareco.com.ar

Fernanda Gagliardone

fernanda@estudiocollareco.com.ar

José Guzmán

jguzman@estudiocollareco.com.ar

TRADEMARKS

Trademark registration is the only effective legal tool against third parties who seek to appropriate your identification or use signs confusingly similar to yours. Argentine Law No. 22,362 allows you to register your name, logotype, visual identity, advertising phrases, and any other elements constituting identification. There is an official nomenclature grouping goods and services in different classes and exclusivity can only be obtained at those classes where the registration is made.

A trademark registration may be a made in the name of different holders to distinguish among different services or products. A trademark may be registered in all classes deemed convenient, constituting a completely independent certificate for each class. Before the application, it is highly recommended to conduct a trademark search in order to determine the viability with respect to previous trademarks that may be considered confusing.

When applying for registration, you automatically receive an application number giving you priority over third parties who may seek to register a trademark in the future. Afterwards, the application is published in an Official Gazette edited by the Argentine Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) allowing any potential oppositions. The term to present oppositions is 30 calendar days. If no oppositions are raised, the process continues until granting in approximately eighteen months. An ownership certificate is then issued granting exclusivity for a 10-year term that may be extended for successive 10-year terms.

PATENTS

The Argentine Patents Act (Law No. 24,481) protects new industrial products resulting from an inventive activity offering the solution to a technical problem or simply an improvement to something that already exists. The invention must be absolutely novel and have an industrial application. Patents last for 20 non-renewable years from the application date and are valid across the entire national territory.

To obtain a patent, written specifications of the invention must be submitted with a sufficient level of detail allowing any person with an average understanding of the field to use or reproduce the invention, together with schematic drawings representing the item to be patented and, as the main part of the documentation, written claims, constituting a sort of contract whereby the invention is delimited by a constitutive description.

The documentation is filed at the INPI and automatically assigned an Application number giving priority to the applicant. A preliminary examination is conducted to verify that all required documentation has been submitted, and then the application is published, upon which third parties have 60 days to file observations. Finally, an exhaustive examination is conducted to review the inventive step and background. Once a patent is granted, annuities must be paid during its effectiveness.

UTILITY MODELS

Some improvements or small adjustments to existing products receive the same treatment as Patents, but the protection is granted for 10 years and these are called Utility Models.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

Industrial Designs protect new shapes constituting ornamental innovations. Once deposited, their holder can prevent others from making, selling, and importing articles bearing the protected design without authorization. The holder may also totally or partially sell their rights, license the design, etc.

Another important aspect is the concept of innovation. The law requires absolute novelty until the design is presented, which is why it is very important that the invention not be disclosed, mainly through graphic media containing details thereof. A mere comment referencing the invention in general terms is usually not considered a disclosure.

PROCEDURES ABROAD

With a view to expanding our services for domestic and foreign clients, we have become members of several international organizations and constantly stay up to date on all matters related to Industrial Property.

We also have a comprehensive network of correspondents that allows us to conduct all procedures necessary to obtain patents and trademarks in all countries around the world. This lets us assist national clients who wish to expand their rights abroad and international clients who are interested in protecting their trademarks and patents in the Argentine Republic and neighboring countries.

PROCUREMENT OF WEB DOMAINS

A web domain or Internet domain is the name by which you are identified on the Internet. Each domain is unique. For example, the domain www.estudiocollareco.com.ar identifies our firm, Estudio Coll Areco.

We offer advice to obtain web domains in Argentina (.com.ar) and the rest of the world.

LEGAL

· Claim for trademark and patent misuse.
· Pre-trial mediations.
· Court proceedings.
· Claims with the INPI (Argentine Institute of Industrial Property).
· Recovery of web domains (dispute) before NIC Argentina.
· Claims with social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Mercado Libre, etc.)