Customs regulations allow for such measures.

Articles 37 and 38 of the 1992 Trademarks law No. 37 determine the illegal acts to be sanctioned by imprisonment and monetary fine or by either of the two penalties. Article 60 of the 1992 Patent law No. 44 lays down criminal sanctions and monetary penalties to be imposed to whom infringe any right protected by the law. The draft amendment of this provision intends to put a maximum to the fine that increases what is defined in the misdemeanor for the penalty to suit with the importance of the contravention. The 1992 Copyrights law No. 40 lays down the same procedures (Article 37 to 42).

The 1992 Trademarks, Patent and Copyrights laws provide for remedy measures like preventive seizure, destruction of products and, confiscation of equipments as well as removing of the effects of the illegal acts and compensation. Article 41 and 43 of the Trademarks law provide for precautionary measures, seizure as well as destruction of illegal marks, products and packaging and tools and the article bearing the illegal marks. Article 58 of the Patent law provides for the precautionary seizure. The related amendment will determine the affectivity of the measure on the application of the patent as well. Article 61 of the same law provides for confiscation of the seized objects, destruction or effacing of the impacts of the violating actions, as well as the equipments and tools used in the falsification. The 1992 Copyrights law provides for the same measures. The amendments to the copyright law envisage enhancing these measures.

The provisions cited above are applicable to the other forms of intellectual property. The 1992 Patent law No. 44 for instance covers, in its Article 60, patents, utility certificates, know-how, inventions, processes or an element of know-how, industrial designs or any right protected by the law as rights protected against falsification or infringement. These illegal acts against the mentioned protected rights are subject the criminal procedures and monetary fines.

The Ministry of Information and Culture, which is responsible for copyrights, has received during the biennium (2000-2001) 128 claims categorized as follows: - vendors: 23 cases - video films : 33 cases - computer programs: 18 cases - smart cards concerning TV broadcasting by satellite: 8 cases - electronic games: 6 cases In addition to the natural persons, the claimants were from various concerned parties such as the Arab Union for Anti-Piracy, the Union of Computer Programs Producers, International Union for Audio products, etc. The procedure followed in dealing with such claims use to start with verifying the claimed cases by the Inspection Division in the Ministry of Information and Culture in order to ensure a minimum of certainty of the elements being claimed. After the inspection action, coordination is made with the police authorities in order to engage necessary raids and seizure. The case is then presented before the competent court. The Ministry of Information and Culture has also the competency to decide the closing of the establishments taking part in infringement and piracy under the Law. As far as the trademarks infringement is concerned, there is a few cases received in the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to date (35 claims) since 1992, which are dealt with in the same way explained for the Copyrights infringement. The United Arab Emirates will provide the US delegation with further statistics very soon regarding civil and criminal enforcement.

The Ministry of Information and Culture, which is responsible for copyrights, has received during the biennium (2000-2001) 128 claims categorized as follows: - vendors: 23 cases - video films : 33 cases - computer programs: 18 cases - smart cards concerning TV broadcasting by satellite: 8 cases - electronic games: 6 cases In addition to the natural persons, the claimants were from various concerned parties such as the Arab Union for Anti-Piracy, the Union of Computer Programs Producers, International Union for Audio products, etc. The procedure followed in dealing with such claims use to start with verifying the claimed cases by the Inspection Division in the Ministry of Information and Culture in order to ensure a minimum of certainty of the elements being claimed. After the inspection action, coordination is made with the police authorities in order to engage necessary raids and seizure. The case is then presented before the competent court. The Ministry of Information and Culture has also the competency to decide the closing of the establishments taking part in infringement and piracy under the Law. As far as the trademarks infringement is concerned, there is a few cases received in the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to date (35 claims) since 1992, which are dealt with in the same way explained for the Copyrights infringement. The United Arab Emirates will provide the US delegation with further statistics very soon regarding civil and criminal enforcement.

The first question refers to issues dealt with at the following consultations with the United States within the framework of the DSU: "Argentina - Patent Protection for Pharmaceuticals and Test Data Protection for Agricultural Chemicals" (WT/DS171) and "Argentina - Certain Measures on the Protection of Patents and Test Data" (WT/DS196). In order to protect its rights at the said consultations, Argentina will not be answering the first question posed by Canada within the framework of the review of national implementing legislation by the Council for TRIPS. Argentina wishes to take this opportunity to point out to Canada that, although it confirms its willingness to fulfil its obligations with regard to the review of national implementing legislation by the Council for TRIPS, it is in its interest to ensure that the review process does not prejudice or affect either the course or outcome of the consultations being held under the DSU.

Argentine legislation affords foreign works the same degree of protection as domestic works. With regard to administrative formalities, foreign works are actually in a better position than domestic works since they are exempt from all formalities.

Argentina's legislation does indeed include measures to protect public health and nutrition and to promote the public interest in sectors of importance to the country's socio-economic and technological development. These principles are enshrined mainly in the National Constitution, which establishes the primacy of international treaties over domestic law.

Copyright Law No. 11.723 remains in force, as amended by Law No. 25.036, which includes software and databases among the works protected under Article 1 (Boletín Oficial of 11 November 1998). Law No. 25.140 (Boletín Oficial of 24 September 1999) ratified the Berne Convention (Paris Act of 1971), although it should be pointed out that prior to acceding to the treaty Argentina was already applying the substantive provisions of the Convention's Brussels Act of 1948.

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.

Pursuant to Article 2 of Law No. 11.723, copyright in a work listed in Article 1 of the Law includes the right to dispose of the work, which in turn includes rental rights in respect of computer programs and cinematographic works.

Law No. 11.723 covers phonograms on the same terms as other protected works. The protection of performers is provided under Article 56 of the Law, its Implementing Decree No. 41.233/24, Decree No. 746/73 and Decree No. 1.670/74, which grant performers exclusive rights in respect of the fixation of their performances and a right of remuneration for public use of their recorded performances. Law No. 23.921 ratified the 1961 Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations.

Limitations on exclusive copyright are set forth in Articles 10 and 36 of Law No. 11.723, which provide for the right to quote, solely for educational or scientific purposes, commentaries, reviews or notes relating to intellectual works; the right to perform works already published, at public functions organized free of charge by teaching establishments for educational purposes; and the performance, free of charge, of musical works by orchestras, bands, fanfares and choirs belonging to national, provincial or municipal institutions.

The term of protection for literary and artistic works, including software, databases and phonograms, is 70 years from the date of the author's death. Argentine legislation and case law deem the same term of protection to be applicable, by analogy, to performers.

Since Argentina has acceded to the Berne Convention (Paris Act of 1971), the protection of foreign works is governed by Article 18 of the Convention. Hence, a foreign work is protected for as long as the term of protection in its country of origin has not expired.

The following are recognized as signs under Article 1 of Law No. 22.362: one or more words, with or without meaning; drawings; emblems; monograms; engravings; stampings; seals; images; bands; combinations of colours applied to a particular place on the goods or their packaging; wrappers; containers; combinations of letters and numbers; letters and numbers insofar as they concern the special design thereof; advertising phrases; reliefs having distinctive capacity; and all other signs having such capacity. The list in Article 1 is not exhaustive and provides examples of signs that may be registered as trademarks to distinguish goods or services. Argentine case law has extended this merely indicative list of signs eligible for registration as trademarks (and therefore entitled to protection) to all signs that have distinctive capacity and that are not liable to mislead consumers. Owners of registered trademarks enjoy an exclusive right of use entitling them to prohibit third parties from using the signs in question or any other sign liable to cause confusion.

Articles 1, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the Trademark Law protect both goods and services, and any sign with distinctive capacity, including trade descriptions. To be eligible for registration under the Trademark Law, a sign does not have to be visually perceptible, which means that sound and olfactory marks may be registered inasmuch as they have distinctive capacity. Article 1 of the Law expressly specifies that containers shall be eligible for registration.

Although use is not a condition for trademark registration, it is required for renewing the validity of the trademark, as specified in Article 5 of Trademark Law No. 22.362. Indeed, a trademark "may be renewed indefinitely for like periods provided that it was used, within five years preceding each expiry date … ". Use does not have to be continuous for registration to be maintained. Article 5 further states that use may be established through the marketing of a product, the performance of a service, or utilization of the trademark as part of the designation of an activity.

Trademarks are valid for ten years and may be renewed indefinitely for like periods.