Patent registration in Uruguay. Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, low perception of corruption, and e-government. It is the lowest ranking South American nation in the Global Terrorism Index, and ranks second in the continent on economic freedom, income equality, per-capita income, and inflows of FDI. Uruguay is the third-best country on the continent in terms of Human Development Index, GDP growth, innovation, and infrastructure. Uruguay is regarded as one of the most socially progressive countries in Latin America. 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 Uruguay.
Patent in Uruguay
According to Uruguay law, a patent in this country is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Uruguay, an invention must satisfy the requirement of new, inventive, and industrially applicable.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the subjects that are unpatentable in Uruguay are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Uruguay
The necessary documents for patent registration in Uruguay include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s names, addresses, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
Some documents may be filed in other languages besides Spanish but a translation of those documents into Spanish along with a statement of verification that those documents are true should be submitted within 30 days from the date of filing. The time limit might be expanded in some cases.
The procedure for patent registration in Uruguay
To obtain a patent in Uruguay, the applicant needs to file a patent application to the IP Office of Uruguay.
The substantive examination doesn’t start automatically in Uruguay. The applicant needs to file a request for such examination within 120 days from the publication date of the application.
Within 60 days from the date of publication, third parties may send their observations/oppositions to the registration process.
An opposition can also be raised at the post-grant stage any time after the grant of the patent.
If there are no errors during the examinations, the patent will be granted and will have a 20 years validity period from the filing date.
Annuities must be paid yearly from the 1st year to the 20th year. The fees should be paid 2 months before the anniversary date of the filing date of the application. Late payment within 6 months after the due date is possible with a surcharge.
The patents granted by Uruguay only have protection within the Uruguayan state demarcation.
Uruguay is not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
You can find the list of Uruguay IP Firms here.