In January 2018, the Government of Argentina issued the Decree 27 of 2018, which simplified several administrative procedures. Among these, it eliminated the obligation to provide priority documents, as well as translation thereof, during the formal examination procedure.
Subsequently, on September 27, 2018, the Patent Office of Argentina (INPI in Spanish) issued Resolution No. 250/2018 establishing, among other things, provisions related to the filing of priority documents and Spanish translation thereof. For the implementation of this Resolution, on 9 October 2018, the Patent Office of Argentina (INPI in Spanish) issued Circular No. 4/2018.
Contrary to what was established by Decree 27 of 2018, Resolution No. 250/2018establishes that in the case of invention patents, it must be submitted within three months from the presentation of the application. Failure to provide said translation will result in the loss of the priority claim. However, it maintains the fact that it is not necessary to provide the priority document and, in some cases, the assignment document, unless they are required at the substantive examination stage.
Thus, in accordance with this Resolution, Circular No. 4/2018 establishes that for applications for invention patents filed between January 12, 2018 and October 1, 2018, all applicants will have a non-extendable three month period, counted from October 1, 2018, to file the certified translations of the priority documents. As Resolution No. 250 establishes, in case the Spanish translation is not provided within the indicated term, this will automatically trigger the loss of the priority claim.
Original sources in Spanish:
https://portaltramites.inpi.
https://portaltramites.inpi.
