The new Civil and Commercial Code entered into effect on August 1 2015 and includes a number of IP regulations.(1) Several sections of the code refer to IP matters that govern agreements, including the concession agreement.

Concession agreement

A concession agreement is a contractual type of agreement that has gained increasing importance in Argentina. According to a concession agreement, a businessperson (concession grantor) can, under certain conditions, ask a third party (concessionaire) to place its products on the market in the concessionaire's name.

Section 1502 of the code defines such an agreement as follows:

"There is concession agreement when the concessionaire, who acts in his own name and independently before third parties, undertakes, by means of payment, to dispose of his or her business organization in order to commercialize goods provided by the concession-grantor, render such services and provide such spared parts and accessories as agreed."

Some of the provisions under Section 1504 have an IP interest (eg, Subsection c), while some tackle IP-related questions directly (eg, Subsection e):

"Concession-grantor's obligations. The concession-grantor shall have the following obligations:

c. to provide the concessionaire with the technical information and, if required, the manuals and staff training necessary for the exploitation of the concession;

e. to allow the use of trademarks, logos and other distinctive elements, as may be necessary for the exploitation of the concession and for publicizing the concessionaire within its territory or area of influence."

Marital community

In a different branch of law, IP rules exist in the marital community regulation.

From a general viewpoint, Section 463 states that on failure to opt for a prenuptial agreement, spouses will, from the execution of marriage, be subject to the marital community regime established by the code. Section 464(o) states that separate property of husband and wife is intellectual, artistic or industrial property from when:

  • the intellectual work has been published or interpreted for the first time;
  • the artistic work has been concluded; or
  • the invention, trademark or industrial design has been patented or registered before the commencement of marriage.

The moral right over the intellectual work always belongs to the author.

Section 499 refers to marital community distribution. It establishes a preferential right in the assignment to one particular spouse, with respect to such goods covered by intellectual or industrial property, when the goods relate to the spouse's professional activity or to an agricultural, commercial or industrial establishment.

For further information on this topic please contact Daniel R Zuccherino at Obligado & Cia by telephone (+54 11 4114 1100) or email ([email protected]). The Obligado & Cia website can be accessed at www.obligado.com.

Endnotes

(1) For further details please see "Image rights under new Civil and Commercial Code"; "Comparative advertising under new Civil and Commercial Code"; "IP rights under new Civil and Commercial Code"; and "New Civil and Commercial Code and industrial property rights".

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