During the Annual Meeting of the Argentine Association of IP Agents held in Buenos Aires on August 25-26, 2016, Dr. Dámaso Pardo (newly appointed President of the Argentine PTO (INPI) since June 2016) mentioned, "Argentina is going to join the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Madrid Protocol in the near future." This sentence is the first time an INPI President has made such claims.
No specific terms have been set to date, but Dr. Pardo said that Argentina's President Macri is very interested in ending Argentina's isolation regarding international matters.
Furthermore, Dr. Pardo described his plan, which focuses on three main ideas:
- Improve efficiency and modernization of the INPI;
- Have the INPI become better integrated with the rest of the world and
- Promotion and influence within the INPI.
In addition, thereto, Dr. Pardo announced the implementation of a new software provided by the OMPI and, apart from working on the digitalization of IP, he also wants to work on the training of examiners.
He hopes that through the implementation and success of these ideas the INPI will improve its services and after joining the PCT, could then be considered to become an International Searching Authority (ISA) in Latin America.
We will keep you informed of the further developments as they arise.
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