ARGENTINA
AMENDMENTS IN THE ARGENTINEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK LAW
The Argentinean government issued Emergency Decree No. 27/2018, by means of which administrative patent and trademark procedures of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) are simplified and the prosecution periods are shortened
Regarding patent regulations, the main modification is the shortening of the term to request the substantive examination from 36 to 18 months, counted as of the filing date of the application. Furthermore, the priority document and its corresponding translation will be submitted only if the examiner asks for them during the substantive examination. Similarly, the power of attorney requirements were also modified, since the document will be submitted before the Patent Office only given the case in which said authority requests for it.
This wide-ranging decree aims to create a simpler legal framework to restrain Argentinean bureaucracy and speed up the proceedings made before the Argentinean Patent Office.