The Mexican Congress approved important changes to the Industrial Property Law, with the intent to modernize the trademark system by incorporating some of the figures regulated in the Law by other countries members of the Madrid System.
Among others, the most important amendments to the Industrial Property are the following:

The Brazilian PTO backlog situation is already known by its national and international users.

Regarding the patent scenario specifically, joint efforts have been carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Industry and other specialized Agencies, most importantly the Brazilian PTO itself, to try and expedite the grant of a patent in the country.

According to the numbers provided by the Brazilian PTO, in 2017 patent examiners have analyzed the largest number of patent and industrial design cases in the history of that Office. 

On April 27, 2018, the most important reform to the industrial property law in Mexico in the last 25 years will come into force, the most significant changes are particularly related with Industrial Designs and with the inclusion of Geographical Indication protection regarding trademarks.

Specifically, Utility Model and Industrial Design applications will now be published as soon as the formal examination is completed. Divisional patent applications will also be published. Under the current law, publication is not carried out for such type of applications, this amendment has the intention of providing certainty to all the users of the Industrial Property system about patent rights that could be infringed once granted.

In the coming months Argentina will experience important advances in the field of patents, trademarks and industrial models, all with the purpose of expediting and simplifying registration procedures.

This new change will complement, within the field of patents, the implementation and fine-tuning of the PPH throughout 2017; which allowed for the granting of patents in under three years. Proof of this is the invention that we filed in Argentina on 22 July 2014 and which was granted, after requesting the application of the PPH, on 31 March 2017.