The Chilean Congress recently approved the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and its associated regulations. Approval of this Treaty is in harmony with the commitments assumed by the state of Chile upon its subscription to the 2002 Association Agreement with the European Union and the 2003 Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
The PCT is expected to come into force during the first semester of 2009. Prior to the full force and effect of PCT provisions in our country, it is necessary to issue the respective implementation norms and to adopt the required administrative measures at the Chilean Patent Office before it can process applications under PCT.
As a result of the future requirements imposed by PCT treaty activation, along with the impending National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) implementation, the Patent Office has issued diverse instructions to examine and expedite patent applications, all of them in accordance with applicable industrial property law.
First, the numerous patent applications whose processing has taken an excessively long time will be the subject of final resolutions. Indeed, some of these have already been served. At the same time, and in order to speed up the patent concession procedure, the Patent Office reduced the number of experts´ reports (patentability reports), which will henceforth consist of an initial report, the corresponding applicant's reply, and a final report, without detriment to the applicant's right to file additional evidence or corrections on his or her behalf prior to the final decision. The term available to answer the initial report may only be extended in qualified cases. The preceding notwithstanding, applicants are always entitled to file an appeal with the Industrial Property Court whenever decisions are contrary to their interests.
To the benefit of applicants, they are now allowed to request meetings with examiners and experts, with the purpose of clearing up objections while jointly seeking solutions tending to patent grants.
Both the approval of the PCT and the instructions issued by the Patent Office demonstrate how important industrial property has become in Chile. This is in accordance with the efforts undertaken by the Administration and Congress, which are aimed at systematically improving the institutional and regulatory landscape for IP.
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| Marcos Morales |
Alessandri & Compañia
El Regidor 66, Piso 10, PO Box 136-34
Las Condes, Santiago
Chile
Tel: +562 787 6000
Fax: +562 787 6062
ip@alessandri.cl
www.alessandri.cl
