Industrial property is a set of exclusive rights protecting not only the innovative activity stated in new products, new processes or new designs, but also the mercantile activity through the exclusive identification of products and services offered in the market.
In relation to Industrial Property and its aspects on Industrial Property, Paraguay ratified the following treaties:
Industrial Models
Importance of Industrial Models
Designs and industrial models make a product attractive and appealing; therefore they increase the commercial value of a product, as well as its capacity of commercialization.
When protection is provided to an industrial design or model, the right holder (the person or entity that has registered the design or model) has the exclusive rights that protect him against unauthorized copy or imitation of the design or industrial model by third parties.
An effective protection system also benefits consumers and general public, promoting fair competence and honest commercial practices, encouraging aesthetically more attractive products.
The designs or industrial models may be relatively simple and their development and protection uncostly. They are reasonably accessible for small and medium enterprises, as well as for artists and individual artisans, either in industrialized or in development countries.
Industrial Models Registration
In Paraguay a design or industrial model should be registered to be protected by the rights that govern them. As a general rule, to be able to be registered, the design or model must be “new” or “original”. In general, “new” means that there is not knowledge that there has previously existed an identical or very similar design or model.
When a design or model is registered a certificate of registration is issued. As of that moment the term of protection is five years, with the possibility of continuing the renewal of term for up to 15 years. The fact that it enjoys a shorter protection does not imply that it is of smaller importance than the inventions, but that it is a logical characteristic, since the objects “fashionable” have a shorter life from the technological or industrial point of view.
Current legislation on Industrial designs and models, Law Nº 868/81 - 02/11/81 sets forth that industrial designs and models will include all plastic form of lines and colors used to provide a special appearance to an industrial or artisan product and that they should be utilized as a model for its manufacturing.
The main reason for the norm, as in the case of others also relative to the field of industrial property, has to do with human creativity. Depending on its type, a design or industrial model may likewise be protected as a work of art under the copyright legislation.
Source: Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay
Translated by: United States Embassy in Paraguay
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Official Reports
IPR Toolkit for Paraguay
