Patent Laws in Paraguay

A new patent law was promulgated in Paraguay on November 29, 2000 and came into existence on January 29, 2001. The new law makes significant changes to the standards of novelty, licensing, duration, priority, infringement and patentable subject matter.

Today, Paraguay is a member of the Paris Convention and therefore convention priority may be claimed. The effective January 29, 2001 the term of a patent is 20 years from the date of the application giving rise to it. Patents granted under the previous law for a term of fifteen years.

A holder of a patent will have to pay annual rates in ascending order to keep the patent in force. If the holder of the patent does not pay the annual rates, the lack of payment will mechanically cancel the full right of the patent.