Argentina - Patents - New restrictions on filing divisional applications

On 7 July 2010, the Argentine Patent Office (INPI) issued Regulation No. 147/2010, which restricts the ability of applicants to file divisional applications once the substantive examination procedure has started. This regulation allows applicants to file divisional applications only until notice of the substantive examination has been served. No divisional applications will be allowed thereafter, unless they are made in response to a request from the Argentine Patent Office. Once the substantive examination procedure has begun, if the examiner finds that the application includes more than one invention, the applicant will be requested to divide the application within 30 days; should the applicant fail to do so, the application will be deemed to have been abandoned. In all cases, the basic application must be alive and pending.

This new regulation modifies the prior practice of the Argentine Patent Office, which allowed applicants to file divisional applications at any time during the prosecution of the application up to the issuance of a final decision in the basic application. Whilst this Regulation raises concerns, as it may unlawfully restrict patent rights (thus providing grounds for potential challenge), please bear it in mind during the prosecution of your patent applications in Argentina.

8th July 2010