U.S. and Argentina Advance New Framework for IP Protection

By Estudio Chaloupka

In pursuit of a stronger, more balanced economic partnership, the United States and Argentina have agreed to a Framework to deepen bilateral trade and investment cooperation.  This Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment (Agreement) seeks to drive long-term growth, expand opportunity, and create a transparent and rules-based environment for commerce and innovation. 

Regarding Intellectual Property, the agreement higlights Argentina's action against a major, notorious, regional market for counterfeit goods and states that the country will continue to improve enforcement against counterfeit and pirated goods, including in the online environment. 

Argentina has also committed to address structural challenges cited in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s 2025 Special 301 report, including patentability criteria, patent backlog, and geographical indications, as well as to work towards aligning its intellectual property regime with international standards. 

The report says, among other things, that Argentina's deficiency in the legal framework for patents remains the unduly broad limitations on patent-eligible subject matter, including patent examination guidelines that automatically reject patent applications for categories of pharmaceutical inventions that are eligible for patentability in other jurisdictions, and requirements that processes for the manufacture of active compounds disclosed in a specification be reproducible and applicable on an industrial scale.

The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) currently operates with a reduced number of patent examiners, with limited resources posing challenges to recruitment and retention. During 2024, INPI reported that it reduced the patent application backlog, although stakeholders continue to highlight lengthy delays in processing patent applications, averaging seven to eight years. To further improve patent protection in Argentina, including for small and medium-sized enterprises, the United States urged Argentina to ratify the Patent Cooperation Treaty. 

Regarding geographical indications (GIs), the United States urges Argentina to ensure transparency and due process in the protection of GIs and to ensure that the grant of GI protection does not deprive interested parties of the ability to use common names, particularly as Argentina proceeds with the European Union-MERCOSUR Trade Agreement.