Uruguay’s executive sent to Parliament a formal paper to participate in the PCT.
The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, in his vision to expand the range of markets that Uruguay currently has outside the region and beyond Mercosur, has issued a request for international insertion, in this case in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
Last December, Uruguay’s letter of accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (Cptpp), a relatively recent economic alliance, representing approximately 13.4% of the world economy, was presented.
To do so, the government is aware that it must comply with the ratification of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), signed in Washington (USA) in 1970 and in force since 1978, as one of the many requirements imposed by the 11 countries that are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Currently, 157 countries from the five continents have ratified the PCT.
For this purpose, the Uruguayan national Government sent to Parliament for its approval the formal paper approving the accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), signed in Washington on June 19, 1970, amended on September 28, 1979, modified on February 3, 1984 and October 3, 2001.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), whose main objective is to simplify and make more economical for the users of the patent system and the offices in charge of administering it, the procedure for filing an international patent application, to protect inventions in several countries.
If the bill is finally approved, Uruguay will have an essential and necessary step to negotiate any free trade agreement.
At the same time, patent prosecution will be much more agile and without formal requirements that may make it difficult for the latest technologies to enter the country.
The PCT as a system for “filing” international patent applications has several advantages that we will evaluate below:
- It allows the filing of a single patent application, before a single patent office, drafted in a single language, for international protection in several countries.
- It allows an easier procedure for the filing of an international patent application, since it has pre-established form requirements.
- It provides for the formal examination of the international application by a single patent office, the Receiving Office.
- Based on the international search report and the non-binding written opinion on novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, the applicant may assess the likelihood of obtaining patent protection.
- It provides for the centralized international publication of PCT applications, which is carried out by the International Bureau, generally 18 months after the priority date of the international application.
- Optionally, upon receipt of the international search report, the applicant may request a non-binding international preliminary examination with a written opinion. Such an examination gives the applicant the possibility to amend the application before entering the national phase.
- It motivates users to seek protection of their inventions at the international level, which encourages the scientific, technological, and economic development of the country.
If you have an interest in protecting an innovation internationally, please contact our experts at infomarketing@clarkemodet.com, we have plenty of experience in it and be glad to assist you.
