Argentina (AR)

Read term notes
Current term: 20 Years
From: Date of Filing
Discontinuity Dates: Yes (29/09/1995)
Term Notes: It is said that only applications filed after 29/09/1995 will benefit from the new 20-year term, under Art. 36 of Law 24,481. The previous patent term was up to 15 years from Grant.
Extension Possible: No

Member of PCT: No
Region: None
Country Notes: At the meetings of the WIPO Governing Bodies (25/09/1995-03/10/1995), Argentina indicated that accession to the PCT was under consideration.

Current Law: Law 24,481 (modified by Law No. 24,572, Decree 260/96)
Effective From: 22/03/1996
Current Rules: Regulatory Decree 260/96
Effective From: 20/03/1996
Law Notes: In March 1995, Patent Law 24,481 replaced Patent Act No.111 of 11/10/1864. The previous patent term of 15 years from Grant was replaced by a patent term of 20 years from Filing. However, passing of the new law was followed by a significant amount of legislative activity, including regulatory decrees and corrective laws which exhibited varying degrees of compliance with GATT-TRIPS. Law No. 24,572 Decree No. 260/96 was then issued 20/03/1996 to regulate Patent Law 24,481 which was published 22/03/1996. Under the terms of the new law, pharmaceutical patents are allowed although a 5-year transition period means that pharmaceutical product patents will not be issued until 2001. Discussions have since been re-opened in Argentina regarding the extent of compliance with the ratified multilateral WTO/TRIPS Agreement.

07/04/2004 UPDATE: As of December 2003, amendments to the Patent Law include protection for products obtained by a patented process, additional requirements to obtain preliminary injunctions and, in infringement cases, the shifting of the burden of proof.


Database Coverage
Derwent WPI: No
INPADOC: Yes
From 08/02/1973 All Technologies (All Technologies)

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