Uruguay will become the 158th member of the PCT on 7 January 2025. As a result, any international (PCT) application filed on or after 7 January 2025 will automatically include a designation of Uruguay. This means that patent applicants can use the PCT system to seek protection for their inventions in Uruguay, for PCT applications filed on or after 7 January 2025.
Uruguay will not be bound by Chapter II of the PCT, and therefore the Uruguayan Patent Office will not conduct international preliminary examination. Uruguay is the only PCT member state with this reservation.
Effective 7 January 2025, Uruguay will also join the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure. The Budapest Treaty allows a single deposit of a microorganism with any international depository authority to satisfy the patent disclosure requirements of all contracting countries. Uruguay will recognise this treaty from 7 January 2025.
This article was written by Debra Tulloch
29 November 2024
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