As from September 1, 2019 the Uruguayan Patent Office has made available to patent applicants with applications filed prior to January 1, 2017, a Pilot Procedure for taking Advantage of Results (PAR). This procedure allows Uruguayan examiners to use the search and examination reports of a patent granted by a foreign national or regional patent office for the purposes of accelerating the examination process.
In order to be eligible for PAR the Uruguayan application must have been published and the examination must have been paid. The claims must be the same as those in the granted application. The applicant must submit a copy of the search and examination reports, the official decision of grant and claims as granted. If in a language other than Spanish these documents should be accompanied by a Spanish translation under the seal of a local sworn translator.
The Uruguayan Patent Office shall determine if the application meets the above mentioned requirements and, in the affirmative, shall examine novelty just with regard to local anticipations and will check patentability of the matter in question under the local legal provisions. It is expected that this procedure will dramatically reduce the time frame of the application procedure.
However the Uruguayan PTO reserves de right to refuse application of the PAR when there are legal, technical or other considerations that justify it.