Argentina: Image rights in the new Civil and Commercial Code

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Argentina: Image rights in the new Civil and Commercial Code

As we have explained in previous briefings, the new Argentine Civil and Commercial Code contains several sections that refer, both directly and indirectly, to intellectual property matters.

For example, the new code addresses in section 53 the subject of right to the image, and it does so in terms similar to those of section 31 of law 11,723 (Intellectual Property Law).

The right to the image has double content:

  • A positive aspect: the holder's right to authorise the publication and reproduction of his or her image, and from a more general perspective, to obtain an image-related economic profit.

  • A negative aspect: the right to prohibit third parties from obtaining and publishing one's own image.

The above-mentioned Section 53 of the new code is broader than Section 31, because while the latter refers exclusively to the portrait (although both doctrine and case-law had widened their scope when interpreting it), the new section now includes any registration: visual, auditory or audiovisual.

It arises from Section 53 that the holder's consent is required not only for the reproduction or publication of the image or the voice, but also for the capturing thereof.

Another significant difference compared with the previous text is that as the new regulation does not foresee the expression "it may not be commercialised", any capturing effected without the holder's consent, whether or not it is placed in commerce, will be illegal.

zuccherino.jpg

Daniel R Zuccherino


Obligado & CiaParaguay 610, 17th FloorC1057AAH, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaTel: +54 11 4114 1100Fax: +54 11 4311 5675admin@obligado.com.arwww.obligado.com

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

With the US privacy landscape more fragmented and active than ever and federal legislation stalled, lawyers at Sheppard Mullin explain how states are taking bold steps to define their own regimes
Viji Krishnan of Corsearch unpicks the results of a survey that reveals almost 80% of trademark practitioners believe in a hybrid AI model for trademark clearance and searches
News of Via Licensing Alliance selling its HEVC/VCC pools and a $1.5 million win for Davis Polk were also among the top talking points
The winner of a high-profile bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery may gain a strategic advantage far greater than mere subscriber growth - IP licensing leverage
A vote to be held in 2026 could create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a $3.6bn giant with 3,100 lawyers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific
Varuni Paranavitane of Finnegan and IP counsel Lisa Ribes compare and contrast two recent AI copyright decisions from Germany and the UK
Exclusive in-house data uncovered by Managing IP reveals French firms underperform on providing value equivalent to billing costs and technology use
The new court has drastically changed the German legal market, and the Munich-based firm, with two recent partner hires, is among those responding
Consultation feedback on mediation and arbitration rules and hires for Marks & Clerk and Heuking were also among the major talking points
Nick Groombridge shares how an accidental turn into patent law informed his approach to building a practice based on flexibility and balancing client and practitioner needs
Gift this article