Patent registration in Argentina. Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina is a developing country that ranks very high in the Human Development Index, the second-highest in Latin America after Chile. It is a regional power, and retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Argentina.
Patent in Argentina
A patent in Argentina is an exclusive right granted over an invention.
To be patentable in Argentina, the invention must satisfy the 3 requirements: novelty, inventive activity, and industrial application.
When becoming an owner of a patent, the patentee will have the right to prevent any other parties to infringe upon the patented invention with acts such as unauthorized manufacture, use, offer for sale, sale, or import of the patented product or procedure.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Argentina
The necessary documents for patent registration in Argentina include the following:
- The request to grant a patent (The patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, and citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention (with one or more claims);
- Drawings (if applicable);
- Abstract of the invention;
- A legalized power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
Notes:
The original Priority Document is not required in Argentina. However, the sworn translation into Spanish of the document must be provided within 3 months from the filing date.
The digital copy of the Power of Attorney (POA) should be provided within 40 business days from the filing date.
The term for filing a patent application in Argentina claiming priority is 12 months from the date of priority. The restoration of this term in Argentina is not possible.
The official language of patent applications in Argentina is Spanish. This means that although the applicant may file the application in any other foreign language, its sworn translation into Spanish must be submitted within 10 working days from the date of filing.
The procedure of patent registration in Argentina
After receiving the patent application, the examiners at the IP Office of Argentina will conduct a formal and substantive examination to check if the application complies with the regulations of the law and it is patentable.
It should be noted that the substantive examination must be requested by the applicant or his/her representative within 18 months from the date of filing a patent application in Argentina.
Regarding the disclosure of an invention, in Argentina, even though an invention is disclosed publicly, the invention will not be considered as losing its novelty if the disclosure occurs within 1 year prior to the filing date of the patent application
This also applies to the case of displaying the invention at a national or international exhibition.
Validity term of a patent in Argentina
Once registered, a patent in Argentina will last for 20 years from the date of filing.
The patentee needs to pay the first annuities after the patent grant starting from the third year of the application date.
It takes an average of between 4-5 years from the filing date to the grant date of a patent, if there are no issues that occurred during the process.
You can see a list of Argentina IP Firms here.