On December 11 2025, Argentina’s Official Gazette published Resolution No. 583, issued by the country’s patent and trademark office (PTO), which establishes a set of changes aimed at streamlining trademark registrations in the country.
The resolution provides that the registrability examination of new trademark applications will be limited to assessing only absolute prohibitions – mainly those based on a sign’s lack of distinctive character – and matters related to public order.
The following prohibitions on registration are therefore left subject to being raised by third parties:
Similarity with existing trademarks;
Misleading marks due to the nature, properties, merit, quality, manufacturing techniques, function, origin, or other characteristics of the products or services to be distinguished;
The name, pseudonym, or portrait of a person, without that person’s consent or that of their heirs up to the fourth degree inclusive, unless it is “spontaneously known” by the examiner; and
Designations of activities, including names and commercial names descriptive of an activity, when used to distinguish products.
The registration procedure is also modified, reducing time and complexity. Starting on March 1 2026, the examination on formalities and registrability will be conducted immediately upon filing of the application and before its publication. If there are no objections (or they are overcome), the application will be published for one day, and if no oppositions are filed within 30 days, the trademark will be granted.
In the resolution, the Argentine PTO states that since holding a trademark is a right of a private nature, it is the holder of that right “who must decide whether or not to exercise their defence against potential infringements” through oppositions, nullity actions, and/or cancellation for non-use.
These changes seek to harmonise Argentina’s local practice with that currently in force in the main comparative trademark systems – especially in the EU – bringing agility, clarity, and efficiency, in line with the fast-paced reality imposed by the business world.
The resolution positions the Argentine PTO as a key player in supporting the country’s economic development, while also challenging it to ensure that the legal quality of examinations is not compromised.
