Argentina–US: a trade agreement that paves the way for significant IP reform

On 5 February 2026, Argentina and the United States signed an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment. In addition to trade measures, it includes commitments to modernise intellectual property protection in Argentina. Although the agreement still requires national approval, its roadmap considers accession to international IP treaties, a review of restrictive patentability criteria, and stronger enforcement against counterfeiting and piracy. 

 In the short term, Argentina will submit its accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to Congress by 30 April 2026 at the latest. As you may be aware, the PCT does not grant a 'world patent', but it allows applicants to file a single international application to seek protection in multiple countries, reducing costs and the need for national filings. 

By the end of 2027, the agreement stipulates that several additional treaties should be submitted to Congress, including: 

• the Madrid Protocol (1989), which facilitates the international protection of trade marks through a centralised application;
• the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement (1999), which operates in a similar way for industrial designs and allows up to 100 designs to be included in a single international application;
• the Budapest Treaty (1977), which is particularly useful in biotechnology as it enables the deposit of a microorganism to be recognised for patent purposes in all contracting states;
• the WIPO Patent Law Treaty (2000) and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade marks (2006), which aim to simplify administrative formalities in their respective fields;
• the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991), relevant for seeds and new plant varieties.
• the Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite (1974). 

In addition, the agreement includes provisions to repeal Argentine resolutions that have been considered restrictive in terms of patentability within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. It also aims to reduce patent prosecution times and study a regulatory data protection regime that aligns with Articles 20.45 and 20.48 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. 

If these commitments are fulfilled, Argentina could become a more predictable and manageable market from an international IP perspective. In particular, joining the Hague and Madrid systems would reduce the administrative burden related to trade marks and designs. Likewise, joining the PCT would make it easier to plan patent filings seeking protection in Argentina. For companies operating in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology or seeds, accession to UPOV 1991 may be the most sensitive issue. 

For the time being, this remains a political and legislative roadmap rather than a fully consolidated change. Therefore, the most practical advice is to prepare without assuming that everything is already in force. In other words, it is not yet time to treat the reform as complete, but now is the right time to start adapting strategies for a potentially more open Argentinian market that is more closely integrated into international IP systems.