Criminal Copyright Protection in Argentina

In Argentina, copyright law is also generically referred to as “Intellectual Property,” which in both cases also comprises Patent and Trademark Law. The primary subject matter of protection in copyright law is the “work product” (“la obra”). The “work product” is a product of the human intellect, it is the expression of the idea or a manifestation of talent. Even if thousands of copies of the same work product are published, the “work product” is always the same. In Argentina, as well as in most other countries worldwide (especially Latin America and Asia), violations to copyrights have increased substantially. It is very common to see illegal markets not only in the City of Bueno Aires, but also in the most important cities of the world, where counterfeits of internationally recognized copyrights abound. In Argentina, the most affected industrial sectors are (i) record label, as a result of the so-called “musical piracy”, (ii) software producers, who are the victims of illegal reproduction and software plagiarism, and (ii) the textile industry, whose textile designs are copied and subsequently sold by “street vendors” (“vendedores ambulantes”).