Argentinian science already competes in the international patent system; non-adherence only creates administrative hurdles and additional costs,” the ruling coalition adds. It emphasizes that “The PCT does not weaken the INPI: it gives it tools. Full membership provides direct, cheaper, and simpler access,” according to a document seen by NA. “The CONICET and its university network represent 26.9% of Argentine-origin PCT applications, one of the highest proportions in Latin America. Full membership opens the possibility for the INPI to be designated in the future as an International Preliminary Examining Authority, as is already the case with the Brazilian INPI. Buenos Aires, April 13 (NA)–The Chamber of Deputies suspended the debate on the Patent Cooperation Treaty scheduled for tomorrow, whose approval is part of the Reciprocal Trade Agreement signed between Argentina and the United States, and the discussion is fraught with strong opposition from national laboratories that reject a central Chapter II of this agreement. Parliamentary sources from the ruling coalition told the Argentine News Agency that the suspension was due to a request from the Ministry of Deregulation of the State, and the full session of the committees on Foreign Affairs, General Legislation, and Industry has not yet set a new date for consideration of this agreement. Sources from the Ministry of Deregulation stated that their request for suspension is because the head of that ministry, Alejandro Cacace, is in the United States participating with legislators from Congress on Artificial Intelligence, invited by the Political Action Network. One of the main obstacles to the ratification of that agreement—which was only approved by the Senate in 1988—is the rejection of national drug laboratories, which have opposed measures by President Javier Milei to eliminate restrictions on intellectual property. Milei annulled Joint Resolutions 118/2012, 546/2012, and 107/2012 on patent guidelines issued by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, which benefited national laboratories. The chambers of laboratories CILFA and Cooperala stated that “approval will constitute the ceding of sovereignty in intellectual property policies and will annul the current Patentability Guidelines applied since 2012, among other negative consequences,” according to a document they sent to the Chamber of Deputies. The issue is that if Argentina signs on to this treaty, when a patent from a member country is registered, it will have a validity of 20 years, which can be of any kind, but it has the most impact on the drug industry, which moves millions of dollars. Official sources state that Argentina cannot reject Chapter II of that treaty because it would have had to make a “reservation” when it signed on to this treaty, which was not done, so now it has no way to request the updating of this agreement in chapter 2—the point of conflict—and it must be voted on as it is already written. National laboratories defend the resolutions taken in 2012 that allow for the copying of patents, as this allows them to sell cheaper medicines, while foreign laboratories demand that the millions of dollars they invest in drug research be recognized. This is the same fight that took place in the 90s when the Patent Law was discussed in Argentina, a fight in which national laboratories were the big winners. GOVERNMENT The Government states that “Mabxience, Bagó, Biogénesis Bagó, and Laboratorios Andromaco laboratories already use the PCT to protect their developments abroad. This means revenue, expertise, and institutional prestige. They do so from offices in other countries because Argentina is not part of it. Rejecting Chapter II closes that door”.
