Argentina: INPI ORDERS RESUMPTION OF TERMS
The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) ordered, through Resolution No. 194/2020, the resumption of administrative terms that had been suspended since last March 12, as a consequence of the measures for Social, Preventive and Mandatory Isolation (ASPO), adopted by the Executive Branch, in the health emergency framework.
According to this new regulation, as of December 14, 2020, the terms that were in force before the suspension date, and those that should have started to run between March 12 and December 13, will resume.
Therefore, as of the entry into force of this new regulation, the following two possible scenarios should be considered:
- For trademark proceedings that already had a term in progress before March 12, 2020: the number of days remaining for the original deadline must be counted in each particular case. That number of days will be added to the restarting date (December 14, 2020) to calculate the final expiration of the legal term.
- For those applications where the term should have started between March 12 and December 13, the term must be calculated as of December 14, 2020.
For Patent proceedings, INPI issued Resolution No. 191/2020 that, in the same way, establishes that the terms that started before March 12, 2020, will resume on December 14, 2020. And for those patent proceedings where the term should have started to count between March 12 and December 13, an additional 30-day term will be granted, counted as from the notification in the Patent Bulletin.
