Overview
- The Chamber of Deputies canceled a Tuesday committee meeting on Argentina’s entry into the Patent Cooperation Treaty after about 20 lawmakers and several officials traveled to the United States for a Red de Acción Política event.
- Officials say they will reschedule the hearing next week to seek committee sign‑off and aim for a floor vote around Wednesday, April 22, to keep the April 30 pledge in play.
- National drugmakers want Congress to approve the treaty with a reservation that excludes Chapter II’s optional international preliminary examination, while the deregulation ministry rejects any change that would send the text back to the Senate.
- The PCT lets an inventor file one international patent application through Argentina’s patent office and keep priority for up to 30 months, a shift the government says would lower costs and cut paperwork for universities, startups and local labs.
- The setback follows the March 18 repeal of Argentina’s restrictive 2012 drug‑patent guidelines for future cases and comes as the administration prepares seed‑law changes tied to UPOV 1991 and other IP treaties slated by 2027.