Legal Update: Amendment to the Patent Fast-Track Program | Res. 142/2026.

Through Resolution 142/2026, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has introduced a favorable amendment to the previous Resolution P-056/2016, which allows for the streamlining of patent application examination and granting based on examinations conducted by foreign offices. 

What is the main change?

The most significant development is the removal of the temporal restriction for requesting the application of this fast-track procedure. 

• Before: The applicant could only request the application of Res. 56/2016 if the substantive examination of the application had not yet commenced. 
• Now: The applicant may voluntarily request to take advantage of this resolution at any stage of the proceedings, provided that the final grant or rejecting decision has not yet been issued. 

Requirements (Res. 56/2016)

To benefit from this resolution, the substantive conditions established in the original regulation must be maintained: 

• Adequacy of Claims: The scope of the claims in Argentina must be less than or equal to that of the granted foreign patent. 
• Patentability Standards: The foreign patent office of origin must apply examination criteria similar to those of the Argentine Republic. 
• Patentable Subject Matter: The invention must not fall within the legal exclusions of Articles 6 and 7 of Law 24.481. 

Once the voluntary request is submitted, the National Patent Administration has a term of sixty (60) days to issue a ruling on the matter. 

Although it is not mandatory for the AR PTO to follow the decisions issued in other jurisdictions and examiners will anyway conduct examination, Resolution 142/2026 represents a key strategic tool, as it allows for the simplification and acceleration of files that are already in advanced stages of processing.