In Argentina, the principle “First to file” rules trademark law. This means that whoever first applied for their trademark before the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has the priority in its registry.
Therefore, before filing a trademark application, it is advisable to conduct a trademark availability search in order to determine whether identical or confusingly similar marks have already been filed or registered in Argentina.
Contact us if you want to know if a trademark is registered in Argentina or otherwise, it is available for registration.
Trademark classification
One of the first steps when assessing whether a trademark may already be registered in Argentina is to identify the relevant classes of goods or services associated with the mark.
Argentina follows the Nice Classification, the international system used for the classification of goods and services for trademark registration purposes. This classification divides trademarks into 45 classes, including 34 classes covering goods and 11 classes covering services.
Trademark searches are generally conducted within the classes that correspond to the products or services offered under the mark.
Depending on the scope of the business activities, it may be advisable to seek protection in more than one class.
What happens if a trademark is already registered in Argentina?
If a prior identical or similar trademark is identified during the search, several alternatives may be available depending on the circumstances of the case.
These may include, among others, evaluating the scope of the earlier registration, assessing the risk of confusion, or considering possible legal strategies before filing a new application.
Trademark Filing in Argentina
Once the availability of the mark has been assessed, a trademark application may be filed before INPI.
In straightforward cases where no oppositions are filed, trademark registrations in Argentina are currently being granted within a few months, although the overall duration of the process may vary depending on the circumstances of each case.
For further information in relation with trademark searches, filings and prosecution in Argentina, contact us.
