August 2001.-
DECREE LAW NR. 14201 implementing the new Paraguayan patent law.

Patent protection is granted only to computer software, which is incorporated to a hardware, in a way that could not function by itself. Separate revindication is not possible.

The Executive Power can prohibit or suspend the exploitation of the granted patent, when the object of such patent, damages the health or the life of persons, animals or plants. The same reasoning goes for a patent that causes serious damages to the environment.

All the information and documentation related to a patent application must be in Spanish, or a pertinent translation must be furnished.

The Industrial Property office is entitled to recognize institutions for the purpose of the pertinent deposit of biological material, as long as four conditions are met.
The formal examination must be performed within forty-five working days following the application filing date.

Rush publication is possible, but always after a successful formal examination.
Observations by third parties is possible. The applicant once notified, has sixty working days to present its view.

Conversion of an application for a patent of invention to an application for a patent of utility model or vice-versa, can only be done before the publication.
The grace period of all annuity payments, which should have been done between January 29-2001, and August 29-2001, begins to run on August 30-2001 for six months.

Assignments of patents must be published for one day. No patent or patent application can be assigned if there are annuity payments owed.
Exploitation of a patent performed by a party, which has been granted a voluntary license, registered before the Industrial Property Office, will be considered as performed by the patentee.

The exploitation of a patent performed by a party, which has been granted a compulsory license, will not be considered as performed by the patentee.
Insufficient exploitation of a patent takes place when the owner of a patent does not proceed to the fabrication and/or distribution, commercialization of the product, or use of the protected process, in a way which serves to supply the needs of the national market.

Any deadline of current days, which expires in a non-working day is automatically extended to the following working day.
For judicial infringement actions related to process patents, a presumption is established that an identical product exploited without the consent of the patent owner, has been obtained by the patented process. This presumption allows proof to the contrary.

Patent applications and patent revalidations filed before the entry into force of the new law, will follow the procedure stipulated in the previous patent law, except as far as annuity payments.

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