• The work must be expressed in a tangible, material form (thus excluding abstract ideas), and must contain a minimum degree of originality and novelty.

• The IP Law extends protection to scientific, literary, artistic or educational works, regardless of the medium. As a result of the broad definition of protected works, copyright protection has been granted to:

writings (as varied in dictionaries, prayer books, almanacs and articles);
musical works and plays;

cinematographic, choreographic and pantomime works (as long as the same have been materialized in a tangible form)

drawings, paintings and sculptural works;

architectural, artistic or scientific works;

maps, plans and other printed matter;

plastic works, photographs, engravings and phonograms;

titles and characters as an integral part of a work;

works of applied art;

computer software and databases; and

derivative works, new versions, compilations, and translations, etc.

LEGISLATION:

• Law 11,723 of September 28, 1933, as amended (IP Law").

RIGHTS:

• IP Law grants rights to the author for life and to his/her heirs and assignees for seventy years after the author's death.

• For photographic works, the copyright period runs for twenty years from first publication.

• For cinematographic works, the term has been extended from thirty to fifty years from the date of first publication in order to comply with the Berne Convention.

• Foreign authors must have complied with the formalities required for protection in the country where the work was first published, (provided that he/she is a national of a country recognizing copyright), or have satisfied the conditions for protection under a copyright convention to which Argentina is a party.

• Registrations of foreign works are not mandatory in Argentina, however it is advisable to register them in order to simplify the enforcement of rights.

• The author has rights which are not transferable or revocable. The author, in our country, is the original owner of the rights in the work. He/she may assign the economic or patrimonial rights in his/her work to a third party; but the author has the right to preserve the work integrity or the right to paternity of the same.

• Computer related software: Software and databases are included within the scope of the IP Law.

MI®ANDA & ASO©IADOS Lavalle 1718 2º B (1008) Buenos Aires - Argentina Tel.: (5411) 4373-3480 Fax: (5411) 4372-1820 E-mail: mm@miranda-argentina.com