TRADEMARKS

Concerning the registration procedure: the trademark application is filed before the Trademark Office and then published for three business days. The deadline for third parties to file oppositions is 60 business days from the last publication date. If no oppositions are filed, the Examiner of the Trademark Office conducts a search of anticipations of the trademark application and then an Official Examination is conducted. In case no official objections are made, the registration is granted by the Director of the Trademark Office. In case the application is rejected, the rejection may be appealed. The registration should be granted in approximately 8 to 10 months provided no opposition is filed.

Requirements

• Full name and address of the applicant
• Trademark denomination and label (if any)
• Goods or services to be claimed
• Notarized Power of Attorney.Consular legalization is not required.

OPPOSITION PROCEEDINGS

General opposition procedure is the following: Once the opposition writ is filed, the applicant is served with the opposition; he has 18 business days to file a reply to the opposition. Afterwards, the discovery phase will be opened for 40 business days. Then, both parties must be served with the closure of the mentioned phase. Finally, the dossier is submitted to the Director of the Litigation Department, who will render a decision.

Please note that in order to lodge opposition immediately we will require the full name and address of the proprietor and simple scanned copies sent via email of the registration certificates of the trademark in the home country and/or other countries around the world.

Notarized Power of Attorney.Consular legalization is not required.

PATENTS

The applicant for a patent may be a natural person or a legal entity, national or foreign.

The patent application of the invention will be presented to the Directorate of Industrial Property, the assigned number, date and time of filing, and will include the following:

a) The data of the applicant and the inventor;

b) The name assigned to the invention and its description;

c) One or more claims;

d) The corresponding drawings; Y,

e) A summary.

The patent application shall indicate the date, number and filing office of any patent application or other security title that has been previously filed or patented in a foreign instance, the procedure of which includes a substantive examination of the application by the patent and which refers in whole or in part to the same invention claimed in the application filed with the Industrial Property Office.

The description will be accompanied by the pertinent drawings, when necessary so that the disclosure of the invention is clear, complete and understandable in order to enable its execution. Likewise, the description of the invention will indicate its name, the sector to which the prior known technology is applied or to which the references, documents and previous publications relating to said technology are applied. The technical problem and the solution provided by the invention were detailed, as well as the best way to carry out the practice, the invention using examples and references to the drawings, indicating the way in which the invention can be produced or used in some productive activity.

When the invention relates to a product or process relating to biological material which is not available to the public and can not be described in such a way that the invention can be performed by a person skilled in the art, of said material in an institution of deposit recognized by the Direction of the Industrial Property. Such deposit shall be effected no later than 60 days after the date of filing of the application or, where a right of priority is invoked, no later than the date of priority of the original application. No such deposit shall be required if it has already been made in any member country of the World Trade Organization or the examination of novelty has already been carried out by the authority of any such country. In this case, the name and address of the deposit institution, the date of filing and the deposit number attributed by the institution shall be indicated. The nature and characteristics of the deposited material will also be described where this is necessary for the disclosure of the invention.

The claims will define precisely the subject matter to be protected by the patent. The claims will be clear and concise, and will be fully supported by the description presented.

The summary will have only an informative purpose and will comprise a synthesis of the content of the description, a mention of the claims, the chemical formula or the drawing that best characterizes the invention and the drawings contained in the application, when there are any. The summary will comprise the essence of the technical problem and the solution provided by the invention, as well as its main application.

A patent application can only include an invention, a group of inventions linked together to form a single inventive concept. If the patent application does not comply with the principle of unity of invention, it will be divided into separate applications, which will be the beneficiaries of the filing date of the initial application and the right of priority.

The applicant may, prior to publication, split his application into two or more separate applications, but none of them may extend the disclosure contained in the initial application. Each separate application will benefit from the filing date of the initial application and, as appropriate, from the right of priority invoked in it, but this may not imply an extension of the disclosure contained in the initial application.

The applicant may, until before its publishment and at any time during the procedure, modify or correct his request, but this may not entail the change of the subject of the invention or an extension of the disclosure contained in the initial application. If the amendment or correction is made after the substantive examination and affects one of the technical documents of the application, a supplementary examination may be ordered.

The Industrial Property Office will examine the application with the requirements of the forms in this law and will grant a period of up to sixty working days for the correction of any omission or deficiency, file it ex officio. The Industrial Property Office effective the warning by resolution.

At the expiration of eighteen months from the filing date of the patent application or from the filing date of the priority application, if the right of priority has been invoked, the Industrial Property Office shall provide the application made public and order its publication. The applicant may request that the application be made public before the deadline indicated, in which case the publication will be ordered according to the previous paragraph.

Every patent application is kept secret until publication. This confidentiality will also apply to the request that had been withdrawn or abandoned prior to publication. Once published, any person can consult the Industrial Property Office the file and obtain copies of all or part of the same the samples of the biological material that had been deposited.

Any interested party may submit to the Directorate of Industrial Property, before the substantive examination, substantiated comments, including information or documents used to determine the patentability of the invention which is the subject of the application. The applicant, once notified of the same, can present the discharges and comments of the documents that become in relation with the observations.

The submission of comments will not suspend the processing and the deadlines of the request. Whoever does them will not become part of the procedure.

The Industrial Property Office shall conduct the substantive examination of the application in order to determine whether the invention meets the novelty requirement and other patentability requirements established in this law for the granting of the patent. It will also verify whether the application satisfies the unit requirement of the invention. The substantive examination will be made after payment of the established fee and if, after three years of the patent application, the petitioner does not pay it, the application will be considered desisted.

The exam will be carried out by the Industrial Property Directorate, an institution that may require the participation of independent experts, public or national private entities or the means admitted in the framework of international or regional agreements of which Paraguay is a party.

Where applicable, the Industrial Property Office may request from the applicant the documents related to new or patentability examinations carried out by other industrial facilities or under the procedure provided for in any international treaty of which Paraguay is a party. The Industrial Property Office may recognize the results of such reviews as sufficient to provide compliance with the conditions of patentability.

In order to verify the fulfillment of the patentability requirements, the applicant shall provide to the Directorate of Industrial Property, together with the corresponding translation, the following documents of the foreign applications are applied in the same way that is examined:

• • 1. copy of the foreign application and its accompanying documents;
    2. copy of the results of examinations of novelty or of patentability carried out with respect to the foreign application; Y
    3. copy of the patent or other title of protection granted on the basis of the foreign application.

The applicant may submit additional comments and observations on any information or document pursuant to this article.

Once all the requirements of this law have been complied with, the Industrial Property Office shall issue a resolution granting the patent and issuing a certificate of concession to the holder with a copy of the patent document.

The grant of the patent will be published in accordance with the provisions of this law and its regulations.

The invention patent will have a non-extendible duration of twenty years, counted from the date of filing the application in the country.

To keep a patent or pending patent application in effect, annual fees must be paid. Payments will be made before the beginning of the corresponding annual period. The due date for the payment of each annual fee will be the anniversary of the filing date of the patent application. The first annual fee shall be paid before the beginning of the third year, counting from the filing date of the patent application. Several annual fees may be paid in advance.

The annual fee may be paid within a grace period of six months, counted from the beginning of the corresponding annual period, also paying jointly the established fee. During the grace period the patent or the patent application will remain in full force.

Failure to pay any of the annual fees pursuant to this Article will result in the lapse of the patent or patent application.

INDUSTRIAL MODELS AND DESIGN

Processes for the registration of an “Industrial Models and Design”

-Presentation of the Application:

Applications for the registration of Industrial Models and Design must be submitted to the Entry Table of the National Directorate of Intellectual Property (DINAPI).

The interested parties or their Agents must complete the forms issued by the Industrial Property Office in quadruplicate, with all the data required, sign them if requested by a natural person under the patronage of an Industrial Property Agent. Accompany these documents with a certified copy of the applicant’s identity card.

-Publication of the application:

Once the presentation fee has been paid, the Examination of Form and Background Examination, the interested party or its Agent may withdraw the publication order, which must be published in a newspaper of great circulation or in a specialized one, for the term of one day. The publication and the expenses entailed by this publication will be borne by the interested party.

-Option of third parties:

Once the Industrial Models and Designs have been published, 60 working days are expected from publication so that third parties can deduce opposition against the request, if they are affected in their rights.

Once the legal requirements have been met and the deadlines established in the Law of Industrial Models and Designs have been fulfilled, it allows the granting of the title corresponding to the applicant by the General Directorate of Industrial Property.

Requirements for obtaining the Registration of an Industrial Model and Designs

In order to register an Industrial Model or Design, it must necessarily comply with the following basic requirements:

• • • To be “new”: A Model or Design is considered new if no other identical one has been made public before the filing date of the registration request.
    • Being “original”: A Model or Design is considered original if a designer has created it independently and is not a copy or imitation of other models or previous designs.

COPYRIGHT

• • • Title of the work, physical copy of the complete book.
      In case the book has not yet been published, a ringed copy will suffice. In case the book is already edited, 4 copies of the same must be presented.
    • Place and date of creation and disclosure.
    • Data of the Author or Authors (Name and surname, nationality, document number, Address, Email, telephone).
    • Notarized power granted by the Author or Authors.

We inform you that the validity of the copyright registration is for the entire life of the author and extends up to 70 years after his death. The estimated time to carry out the registration process is approximately three months.

The procedure is the next:

1.- Deposit of works in the National Direction of the Copyright (The form of presentation of the works will depend on the type of work that intends to register).

2.- Complete and sign the Registration Application form, according to the type of work that is intended to register.

3.- Attach photocopy of identity card.

4.- At the entrance table you will be given an entry number that will correspond with the file number of the submitted application.

5.- The applicant will be granted a “Proof of registration” with the data of the work.

6.- A “Publication Order” will be issued with which the applicant will use a newspaper of great circulation to make the corresponding publications for the term of three consecutive days.

7.- After thirty working days of the date of the last publication and in case there have been no objections to the registration of the work within the aforementioned period, it will be granted the Registration Title of the National Direction of Copyright .

CUSTOMS REGISTRATION

In order to apply for registration with the National Customs Office, the trademark must be registered with the National Intellectual Property Office (DINAPI). Such registration must also be in force.

Copy of the certificate of registration with copy of the Power legalized by Apostille, granted by the applicant must be presented together with the application for registration.

DNA registration should be granted in about one month.

DOMAIN NAME

These are the requirements to request the registration of each domain name:

DNS server data:

• • • Primary and secondary server name and IP address of both servers.
    • Data of the organization responsible
    • Organization (Name of the holder of the domain name):
    • Industry:
    • Address:
    • Phone:
    • Fax:

Administrative Contact:

• • • First name:
    • Type Identification: Paraguayan Civil Identity Card No. or No. Passport
    • Administrative contact email:

Technical Contact:

• • • First name:
    • Organization:
    • Address:
    • Phone:
    • Fax:
    • Type Identification: Paraguayan Civil Identity Card No. or No. Passport
    • E-mail:

Billing contact details:

• • • SALOMONI & ASSOCIATES

It is important to note that the billing contact will be our Law Firm, since the NIC Paraguay requires three types of contact, one of which must be local:

• • dministrative Contact (company owner of the domain)
  • echnical Contact (company owner of the domain)
  • Billing Contact (Salomoni & Associates – to facilitate registration and renewal payments)

CORPORATION

Provision of professional services related to the constitution of a corporation by a foreign legal person and an individual (local or foreign)

The requirements are:

a) At least two shareholders are required. For the act of constitution, all shareholders must sign the corresponding deed. In case one or more of the shareholders are legal entities, we will need certified copies of the following documents:

• Articles of the Association and their corresponding amendments to each of the companies that will constitute the Company;
• Board of Directors Act establishing the new company;
• Identity card of legal representatives

b) Drafting of the draft minutes of the board by which the shareholder company approves the constitution of the company.

c) Drafting of the draft of the minutes of the Board of Directors by which the shareholder company grants special power so that a proxy on behalf of the Company, proceed to sign the public deed of incorporation of the Company. The power must be sent to our country duly legalized or apostilled.

d) Total subscription of the share capital and issuance of the shares by the integrated capital.

e) Integration of actions. There is no minimum amount of capital subscribed to integrate.

The procedures to be performed are detailed below:

a) Execution of the procedures for registration of the corresponding powers in the Public Registry of Commerce.

b) Execution of the procedures for obtaining the certificates of validity of powers.

c) Registration of the Articles of Association before the Notary Public.

d) Application for approval of the Articles of Association to the Law Office of the Treasury and registration in the Register of Legal Entities and Associations and in the Public Registry of Commerce.

e) Publication in the Official Gazette and in a circulation journal of the extract of the constitution.

f) Communication and registration in the different public departments, namely:

• Registration and Control Department
• Single Taxpayer Registration

In the event that the company contracts – immediately – to employees in a dependency relationship, the employer’s registration will correspond to:

• Social Security Institute (IPS)
• Ministry of Justice and Labor

g) Execution of related procedures to obtain the approval to carry the corporate books by computer means.

h) Performing related procedures to obtain approval to keep accounting books and taxes by computerized means.

i) Rubrication of mandatory corporate books (minutes of assembly, minutes of directory, registration of shares, deposit of shares and attendance to assembly).

j) Rubrication of accountants and mandatory taxes (Daily, Inventory and Major, IVA purchases, VAT sales, among others).

k) Execution of related procedures to obtain the approval of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security to carry the books and worksheets by computerized means.

l) Rubrication of compulsory labor books and forms.

m) Drafting of the minutes of the Board of Directors to approve the distribution of shares.

n) Diagram and printing of the shares (nominative) in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code in force.

The total duration of the procedures until the final registration of the Company in all departments is approximately 9 (nine) weeks.

Additional Information

It should be noted that are NOT INCLUDED the completion of procedures nor, therefore, the fees and administrative expenses related to:

a) Obtainment of the Municipal Patent without municipal authorization, whose procedures, fees and expenses depend on the company’s domicile, assets owned, size of offices, among others.

b) Fees and administrative expenses of the Customs Broker for registration of the Company before the General Directorate of Customs and in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (Registry of Importers), in case the commercial turn of the Company correspond to the said item.

c) Trademark Registration

d) Fees and administrative expenses related to obtaining the filing in our country of the foreign shareholders who will occupy the position of Directors in the Company.

e) Fees and administrative expenses related to obtaining licenses to operate the telecommunications service.

The aforementioned list is purely exemplary so that the performance of any other service that is not directly related to the CONSTITUTION OF THE COMPANY will be invoiced separately.

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

Up to 25 partners may constitute the limited liability company

The requirements are:

1. Determination of the Denomination
2. Social object
3. Share capital: At least 50% of the capital stock made up of money must be integrated, deposited in the local bank (B.N.F.) until obtaining the inscription in the two sections of the register (legal entity and trade)

In the case that the capital is integrated with species (furniture – real estate, vehicles, inventories of goods) must be constituted and integrated in the act of constitution of society.

1. Partners: (PARTNERS-MANAGERS) Percentage of the shares that constitute
2. Representation of the Company: Decision-making and who will have the use of the signature (the representative may be other than the one who has the social signature) The Social Firm may be in charge of the managing partners or a third party, for which should be given a power. The Firm can have several partners or several proxies, for which they must choose to sign: separate, joint or indistinct
3. Duration of the Company
4. Registered Office

RESIDENCY

Non visa-exempt foreign nationals entering Paraguay for business visits must obtain a business visa from a Paraguayan consular post abroad. Business visas are generally granted with a 90-day authorized stay and allow multiple entries. Business visitors may extend their visas in Paraguay only once for a further 90 days. Visitor stays are limited to 180 days in any 12-month period.

Foreigners who intend to work in Paraguay must apply for work authorization in Paraguay. There are three types of work/residence permits in Paraguay: Provisional, Temporary and Permanent Residence. Provisional Residence Permits are valid for up to six months and can be renewed for an additional six months. Temporary Residence Permits are valid for one year; a new application with recently issued documents will have to be filed each year, for up to six years. As such, the Temporary Residence Permit is rarely recommended for long-term assignments. The Permanent Residence Permit is the preferred option for long-term assignments and allows the foreign national to remain in Paraguay indefinitely.

Foreign citizens residing in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and India must provide an invitation letter from the Paraguayan entity upon submission of their business visa applications. Depending on their nationality, visa-exempt citizens benefit from a 30 or 90-day visa exemption. Certain nationals, while not generally visa exempt, benefit from an exemption if they are traveling on a diplomatic, service or official passport.

Initially, the applicant must request the following documents in his/her country of origin:

1. a) Identification document (copy of passport) (not required to be legalized);
2. b) Criminal and/or Judicial Records Certificate (the Certificate must be issued at least 30 days before initiating the residency procedure);
3. c) Birth certificate;
4. d) Civil state certificate (if married or divorced).

The above documents shall be in Spanish language or translated in Spanish in our country by a public translator certified by the Paraguayan Supreme Court of Justice.

1) Once these documents are obtained, the applicant must legalize them in a Paraguayan Embassy nearest to his/her end or by Apostille.

2) Afterwards, the documents should be remitted via courier to our attention in order to advance with the proceedings.

3) Upon receipt of the documentation and obtained prior approval from the Immigration Office we will require the applicant personally to carry out in our country – with our support and assessment – the following procedures in order to obtain the mandatory national documents:

a) Certificate from INTERPOL.

b) Certificate report from the National Police Information Department.

c) Certificate of Life and Residence from the National Police.

d) The applicant must rent a house or apartment and provide a copy of the contract.

f) Take a medical and psychological examination and have it legalized by the Ministry of Health.

g) Make a sworn statement before a Paraguayan Notary Public.

h) Grant a special Power of Attorney to a private immigration agent.

i) Open an account at the National Bank in the amount of USD 5.100 which may be withdrawn once the residence card is obtained.

j) File the application for permanent residency with the Department of Immigration.

The approximate time for the obtention of all of the above mentioned documents including the filing of the application for permanent residency is three working days.

We advise the applicant to make a hotel reservation to be in Paraguay for at least one week in order to have enough time to obtain all the required documents and file the permanent residency application.

Thereafter, the applicant may either stay in Paraguay until the permanent residency is granted or travel outside the country as many times as the applicant wishes.

The residence card when granted is issued to the applicant personally and thereafter the permanent resident is given 90 days to obtain the National Identity Card which is issued in approximately 15 days counted from the date of the application. The residence card is granted in 90 to 120 days from the date the applicant submits all the required documents to the Immigration Office. Thus, it is mandatory the presence of the applicant at the Immigration Office to submit the application.

CITIZENSHIP

You must first obtain the PR card and reside in Paraguay during three years being absent for a maximum of three months per year, in order to apply for the Paraguayan citizenship.

You will also find below the full list of requirements set by the Government to obtain citizenship:

• To be at least 18 years old.
• To submit a curriculum vitae.
• Postal type photo and portrait photography (15 cm x 10 cm).
• Original passport or other document with which the person entered the country. Authenticated photocopy and legalized translation.
• Birth certificate duly legalized (authenticated copy).
• Certificate of Good Conduct of the country of origin (authenticated copy).
• Immigrant card.
• Certificate of Entitlement with the country entrance date (once obtained the permanent settlement, 3 (three) years must passed in order to request the letter of naturalization, in accordance with art. 148 numeral 2 of the Paraguayan Constitution and agreeing with art. 41.
• Health Certificate.
• Life and Residence Certificate
• Police Clearance Certificate
• Police Certificate for foreigners
• Criminal Record.
• ID Card (authenticated copy).
• Work Certificate, with the letterhead of the company, Tax ID or commercial patent. If the applicant is a company, a copy of the company’s by-laws is required.
• If the applicant possesses accountable assets, an Affidavit must be submitted.
• Application under attorney’s sponsorship.
• Pay legal fees.
• Sign an Affidavit issued by the Supreme Court of Justice

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Our Immigration Law Nº 978/96, in its Article 25, Section 2), establishes that the Main Directors or the corporation employees must be Paraguayans or have Paraguayan residency. Thus, the condition to provide any type of services within the territory is to have the national residence – if working for a corporation or independently.

Considering that the Temporary Residence lasts for a year and involves the same procedures, documents and costs as the Permanent Residence, we strongly recommend obtaining the Permanent Residence Card.