1. SPEED OF PROSECUTION: FOR WHEN YOU NEED (OR DON’T NEED) PATENT RIGHTS
Argentina
Ignacio Sánchez Echagüe
October 2017

2. OVERVIEW Argentina in context Accelerated prosecution
Patentable subject matter

3. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT
All Latin American countries are TRIPS Members 3

4. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: MERCOSUR
Members: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela and Paraguay
Associated members: Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia
No common IP legislation 4

5. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: PROSUR
Association of South American PTOs
Members: Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador
Accelerate the study of patent applications
No IP legislation 5

6. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2003-20156

7. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2003-2015
Lack of respect for property rights
Unfriendly approach towards patents
2012: Guidelines for the examination of chemical/pharmaceutical inventions
2015: Guidelines for the examination of biotech inventions 7

8. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2003-2015
2012: Chemical/Pharmaceutical Guidelines
Enantiomers
Salts/Ether/Esters
Crystalline forms
Pro-drugs/Metabolites
Compositions/Dosage
Second medical uses/Uses
Selection inventions
Markush claims
Processes 8

9. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2015-TODAY9

10. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2015-TODAY10

11. ARGENTINA IN CONTEXT: 2015-TODAY
Market oriented economy
Alliances with western countries
Negotiating Free-Trade-Agreements
Recently: More favorable approach towards patents
PPHs

12. PPHs and related Regulations
The Argentine Patent Office has recently signed agreements to implement PPHs with:
USPTO
EPO
JPO
KPO
PROSUR

13. PPHs and related Regulations
The Argentine Patent Office issued Regulation 56/16, implementing a “Broad PPH”, that allows obtaining a granted patent within 60 days, provided that:
An equivalent application has been granted abroad by any Patent Office that performs substantive examinations and have similar criteria as those of the AR PTO.
The AR claims are conformed to those of the granted patent.

14. PPHs and related Regulations: Broad PPH
More than 800 petitions
More than 60% acceptance rate
Decisions within 60 working days
Used by different industries: mechanical, oil & gas, optics, electronics, pharmaceutical, chemical, agrochemical, biotech
Few formal requirements
Good for accelerating prosecution

15. Thank you!