DINAPI: Paraguay reorganises its IP administration

According to a note by Barbara Dollstadt (Berkemeyer Attorneys & Counselors, Asunción) in the current INTA Bulletin (vol.69, no.6), Paraguay has a new National Authority of Intellectual Property (DINAPI). DINAPI has been established by Decree No. 460/2013, which regulates Law No. 4798 of December 31, 2012. According to Law No. 4798, DINAPI is an autonomous institution, based in Asunción. Its National Director is vested with both general and special judicial and administrative powers, as well as the power to appoint and remove officers of DINAPI. The National Director thus takes responsibility for the administration of Paraguay’s system for issuing and protecting copyrights and related rights, trade marks, industrial designs and models, patents, utility models and geographical indications, as well as the promotion of technology transfer. Importantly

The Enforcement Directorate (Direccion General de Observancia, or DGO) will be responsible mainly for the promotion and protection of all forms of intellectual property rights. It must develop preventive and investigative actions to suppress the effects of crime, piracy and counterfeiting—at customs checkpoints, in business premises and in other locations—and initiate proceedings regarding alleged intellectual property infringements. These actions may be taken ex officio by the DGO or on application to the DGO by rights holders or their representatives.