ARGENTINA: Possibility of requesting partial revocation of trademark registrations

Possibility of requesting partial revocation of trademark registrations

As of June 12, 2023, it will be possible to request the partial revocation of trademark registrations due to lack of use, which will cause a significant change in the current practice, causing a great impact on trademark registration strategies.

In 2018, Law 27,444 introduced several changes to the Law on Trademarks and Trade Names. A noteworthy amendment was the incorporation of the possibility of requesting the partial revocation of trademark registrations, ex officio or upon request of third parties; however, a 5-year grace period was established to start filing these requests, a period that will end shortly.

The partial revocation of a trademark registration will apply to those products or services protected by the registration for which the trademark has not been used within a period of 5 years prior to the filing of the revocation request. The revocation will not apply if the trademark was used to identify related or similar products or services, even those included in other classes, or if it is part of a trade name related to the products or services protected by the registration. The revocation request may be filed against both new trademark registrations and renewals.

This new incorporation to the Law, represents a substantial amendment with respect to the current practice. Previously, the use of a mark to identify any product or service, even those included in other unrelated classes, would suffice to comply with the use requirement and avoid a revocation action. This allowed trademark holders to obtain the registration of defense trademarks in classes without any relation to the products or services for which the trademark was used. This practice hindered the registration of marks that could peacefully coexist in the market without causing any risk of confusion amongst consumers. The partial revocation of trademark registrations is a new and powerful tool that will avoid these obstacles.