ALERT: Changes to Argentina’s Patent Regime. Reciprocal Trade and Investment Agreement between Argentina and the United States.
The signing of the Reciprocal Trade and Investment Agreement between Argentina and the United States introduces concrete commitments in the field of intellectual property that may substantially reshape Argentina’s patent landscape, particularly in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical sectors. This represents a significant step toward alignment with international standards, with practical implications for rights holders, innovative companies and patent protection strategies.
On February 5, 2026, the trade agreement between Argentina and the United States, which had been announced in November 2025, was signed. Following the signing of the agreement, Argentina has committed to specific obligations, some of them subject to defined deadlines, which will transform the Intellectual Property (IP) landscape, particularly for patents in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical sectors.
1. Ratification of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Argentina has committed to taking the long-awaited step toward the international patent system: The government must submit the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to Congress for consideration and a vote on ratification by April 30, 2026.
2. Argentina must also expeditiously take steps to align with international reciprocity standards.
a) The agreement mandates the elimination of regulations that previously limited the protection of biotech and pharmaceutical inventions. Argentina shall repeal Joint Resolution No. 118/2012, No. 546/2012, and No. 107/2012 and Resolution No. 283/2015 which imposed restrictive criteria on the patentability of inventions in these technical fields.
b) Efficiency and Patent Term Extensions: Argentina must significantly reduce patent pendency, with an emphasis on biotechnological and pharmaceutical inventions. Also, a report must be prepared to evaluate the legal feasibility of implementing patent term extensions to compensate for unreasonable patent granting delays.
3. Ratification of several important IP-related agreements
Argentina must also submit to Congress, for approval before the end of 2027, other relevant international treaties, such as the Budapest Treaty, the Patent Law Treaty, and other important treaties, including the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, and the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants in its revised version adopted in Geneva on March 19, 1991 (UPOV 91), among others.
The Intellectual Property chapter sends a clear signal of alignment with international standards and anticipates potential significant changes to the Argentine patent regime.
If implemented, these commitments could lead to greater predictability, improved prosecution timelines and stronger patent protection, with a direct impact on strategic patent portfolio management and innovation-related investment decisions.
Close monitoring of the regulatory and administrative implementation of these measures in the coming months will be key to assessing their practical scope and effects across different sectors.