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Legal background
| Copyright legislation | National Law Nº 11.723 Intellectual Property Law ("IPL") | |||||
| Patent legislation | Law N° 24.481License and Patent ("LP") | |||||
| Other relevant laws | National Constitution ("NC") | |||||
| Halabi vs Poder Ejecutivo Nacional s/Amparo Law 25.873 ("Halabi") | ||||||
| Penal Code ("PC") | ||||||
| Dec/Law 1224/58 ("DLA") | ||||||
| Law Nº 26.570 Modify Law 11.723 ("MIPL") | ||||||
| Law Nº 26.388 Computer Crime ("CCL") | ||||||
| Law Nº 26.285 Free License for Blind and Disability ("FLBD") | ||||||
| Law Nº 25.326 Personal Database Protection ("PDPL") | ||||||
| Law 24.240 Consumer Protection Law ("CPL") | ||||||
| Copyright treaties | Berne Convention | Rome Convention | Berne Appendix | TRIPS | WCT and WPPT | Paris Convention |
| Other relevant treaties | ||||||
Scope and duration of copyright
| Does copyright end immediately after the minimum period mandated by the Berne Convention? | No
Literary, artistic scientific and educational works are protected for 70 years from the author’s death, or in the case of corporations or societies 50 years from first publication. Law 26.570 modified IPL adding 70 years protection to artists and interpreters of phonograms. |
IPL and MIPL |
| Are works that are not fixed in some material form excluded from copyright? | Yes
|
IPL |
| Has a court or tribunal ever limited the exercise of copyright under competition law, for example by imposing compulsory licensing or regulating royalties charged by dominant rights holders? | In part
These safeguards do not exist in the copyright law, and Argentina's 1999 competition law has not been used against IP holders. Its patent law does include provision for compulsory licensing in cases of non-exploitation and anti-competitive practices. |
LP |
| Has a court or tribunal ever limited the exercise of copyright pursuant to a bill of rights or similar human rights instrument, for example by preventing copyright from being used to stifle protected speech? | Yes
The Constitution literally guarantees freedom of political speech, which could in appropriate cases prevail over copyright law. |
NC |
| Are databases of non-original material excluded from copyright? | No
|
PDPL |
| Are rights holders prohibited from excluding user rights under copyright law? | No
|
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| Is computer software excluded from the scope of patentable subject matter? | Yes
|
LP |
Freedoms to access and use
| By Home Users | Is there any general user right that is based on a set of balancing criteria, such as a "fair use" right? | No
|
IPL |
| Is time, space and format shifting allowed (such as ripping music from CD to an MP3 player)? | No
|
IPL | |
| Can consumers reproduce copyright material for their own use in the original format, for example for backup purposes? | In part
Only one copy from the original software as a backup in case of damage, where the user has paid for the licence. |
IPL | |
| Can works be communicated to a limited public (for example, family and friends) without infringing copyright? | No
|
IPL | |
| For Education | May students copy works for private research or study? | In part
Reproduction is limited to a number of 1000 words in scientific and literary material, or 8 measures in music, and only the required essential parts. |
IPL |
| Does any such research and study provision cover distance and online education? | No
|
IPL | |
| May translations of works be made for educational purposes? | No
|
IPL | |
| May educators copy works for use in the classroom? | In part
Reproduction is limited to a number of 1000 words in scientific and literary material, or 8 measures in music, and only the required essential parts. |
IPL | |
| Online | Are temporary or transient copies, incidental to a lawful use, excepted from copyright? | No
|
IPL |
| Does the law exclude or limit the liability of intermediaries such as ISPs for copyright infringements carried out on their network? | No
There is no specific provision on ISP liability. |
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| Is Internet access free of ISP filtering or monitoring for potential copyright-infringements? | Yes
|
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| By content creators | Is there any protection for consumers who non-commercially remix or mash up copyright works? | No
|
IPL |
| May computer software be copied for the purpose of reverse-engineering interoperable software? | Yes
You can make only one copy for backup purpose, and reverse-engineering is not prohibited specifically. |
IPL | |
| Is the incidental inclusion of a work in other material permitted? | In part
As a quotation and indicating the author and the original source. |
IPL | |
| Is there are copyright exception for parody or satire? | No
|
IPL | |
| By the press | Is there a copyright exception for the news of the day? | Yes
|
IPL |
| May copyright material be reproduced for the purposes of review and criticism? | In part
Only 1000 words and 8 measures where indispensable and not constituting the substantial part of the work. |
IPL | |
| May quotations be used for any purpose? | In part
Only for educational or scientific purposes. |
IPL | |
| By Libraries | May libraries copy works if they cannot reasonably be obtained commercially? | No
|
IPL |
| May librarians copy works for users for the purpose of research or study? | No
|
IPL | |
| Are libraries allowed to make preservation or archive copies of materials in their collections? | No
|
IPL | |
| By disabled users | Is it permissible to copy or adapt work for the use of those with disabilities? | In part
Only by authorized institutions. |
FLBD |
| In public affairs | Are laws excluded from copyright? | Yes
|
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| Are other governmental works excluded from copyright? | Yes
Judicial Acts, for example. |
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| Are the results of publicly funded research required to be published under an open access license? | No
|
Freedoms to share and transfer
| Does the law permit a work to be released to the public domain before the copyright term expires, without any formality other than an overt act of relinquishment? | Yes
|
IPL |
| Can public domain works be used without the need for any payment or registration of the use? | No
In Argentina exists a "public paying domain" |
DLA |
| Does the law make special provision for the legal use of orphaned works? | Yes
Orphaned works are considered released into the public domain. |
IPL |
| Is parallel importation of copyright works permitted? | Yes
|
TRIPS |
| Are there national programmes or policies to promote the use, production or dissemination of openly-licensed material such as free and open source software or open educational resources? | Yes
In National Policy, but weak |
|
| Are there national programmes or policies that specify or promote the use of open document formats? | No
|
Administration and enforcement
| What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for an individual? | $30.000 (Argentine money), or imprisonment for up to 6 years or both | IPL |
| What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for a corporation? | Not limited | IPL |
| Is innocent infringement of copyright treated differently by the law? | No
Only the Courts made the distinction |
IPL |
| Is the creation or distribution of devices that can circumvent technological protection measures (TPM) permitted, where such devices can be used for legal purposes? | No
|
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| Is the use of such devices by consumers or intermediaries permitted in the legal exercise of user rights? | No
|
IPL and PC |
| Does national copyright or consumer protection law require that the use of TPMs on copyright works be disclosed to consumers? | Yes
Consumer’s Law protects the right of information. |
CPL |
| Are there cases in which the availability of injunctive relief for copyright infringement is limited by the law on public policy grounds? | No
|
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| Have major ISPs resisted requests from copyright owners to pass on allegations that their users have engaged in copyright infringement? | Yes
ISPs can not inform about infringement without a judicial order |
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| Are criminal sanctions limited to cases of large-scale commercial counterfeiting? | No
|
IPL and JA |
| Are damages for copyright infringement limited to the loss sustained, rather than a pre-established or statutory damages award? | Yes
|
IPL |
| Is there provision to penalise the wrongful allegation of copyright infringement? | Yes
|
PC |
| Is there provision to penalise the obstruction of consumers' exercise of user rights? | No
|
Conclusions
| The Argentinean copyright system is very restrictive, not including exceptions for personal or familiar reproduction of music, movies and backups, or for educational purposes. Only the Courts make a distinction between personal use and profit purposes in penalising infringement. The cost of original software makes it inaccessible for consumers and the only option they have is to buy it in black markets. The prevalence of such markets has made Argentina vulnerable to criticism from developed country rights holders. On the positive side, the Argentinean legislature has resisted the introduction of new legislation that would have strengthened criminal enforcement of intellectual property rights. There is not much awareness within Argentina about IP alternatives such as open source and open access licensing. |
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