Argentina creates Priority Patent Examination program

By Estudio Chaloupka

Through Resolution No. 112/2019 of April 29, 2019, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) created a Priority Patent Examination (PEP) program that will result in the acceleration and early access to substantive examination, not implying any change to substantial rules on the matter. The program will be applicable to those pending patent applications subject to compliance of certain conditions: that first deposit has been filed in Argentina, that the patent has been published and the third party objection period has expired, and that the corresponding substantial examination has not been performed, but the official fee has been paid for.

“Argentina is undergoing a process of transformation and modernization that aims to build an economy based on the integration of value chains at a regional and global level, with innovation as its central axis”, the INPI states in the resolution. “In this framework, the protection of inventions through the patent system has a relevant role in the competitiveness of companies, especially our SMEs, which invest in innovation and require the proper protection for such inventions”. 

With the conviction that the simplification of processes enhances competitiveness and has a strong impact on cost savings, the INPI is already adopting various measures on patent applications efficiency, starting with the amendment of certain procedures of Law No. 24.481, aimed for applicants to obtain patents in a more accelerated manner.