Approval by the National Chamber of Deputies of Argentina’s Accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
On August 27, 2026, the National Chamber of Deputies approved the bill ratifying the accession of Argentina to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and its respective Regulations, signed in Washington (United States) on June 19, 1970, amended on September 28, 1979, and modified on February 3, 1984 and October 3, 2001. The bill received 147 affirmative votes, 93 negative votes, and no abstentions. The bill had received partial approval from the Senate in 1998 and remained in force pursuant to Law No. 13,640 on the lapse of matters not considered by Congress regarding international treaties.
The PCT is an international agreement administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the purpose of which is to unify and simplify the initial procedures for seeking protection of an invention in multiple jurisdictions. Among other things, the Treaty allows the filing of a single international application to initiate the patent prosecution process in the 158 contracting States; and extends the priority period from 12 to 30 months to enter the national phase in each country; however, it does not grant patents by itself, as the final decision on the grant remains in the hands of each national office.
Upon its approval, the Chamber of Deputies introduced a modification to the original report by establishing accession with a reservation to Chapter II of the PCT, which means the bill must return to the Senate for final review and enactment. Chapter II regulates the international preliminary examination, which is an optional mechanism through which a technical evaluation of the application is conducted before it advances to the national phase.
The incorporation of the PCT would be beneficial for our country as it would facilitate and encourage innovation by providing a simpler mechanism for the protection of inventions.
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