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What the National Institute of Industrial Property is, which procedures are handled there, and how to use its portal, explained plainly by a firm that works with the INPI every day.
WHAT IT IS
The INPI (Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial, Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Property) is the Argentine government agency where industrial property rights are registered and administered: trademarks, invention patents, utility models, and industrial designs and models. Every registration of these rights in Argentina goes through the INPI: if you want your trademark or your invention to be exclusively yours, that is where the procedure takes place.
PROCEDURES
The four main registrations and what each one protects. In every case we can handle it for you from start to finish.
Protects the name, logo, or slogan that identifies your business, for 10 years, renewable. It is the INPI’s most frequent procedure. Complete guide: register your trademark →
Protect new inventions with industrial application, for 20 years. More info: invention patents →
Protect functional improvements to known objects, for 10 years. More info: utility models →
Protect the shape and look of products. More info: industrial designs →
The INPI publishes the Trademark Gazette and lets you check the status of each file online. We show you how to search for a registered trademark (in Spanish) →
THE PORTAL
The INPI operates through an online filing portal. The usual circuit is: register on the portal, choose the procedure (trademark, patent, design, etc.), fill in the form with the applicant’s details and those of the sign or invention, attach the required documentation, pay the official fees, and track the file online until it is resolved. The system’s screens are updated periodically, so it is wise to validate the current step-by-step process with an industrial property agent before filing.
Two honest warnings: fees vary by procedure and number of classes (the official fee schedule is updated periodically — never rely on amounts from outdated pages), and the system assumes you know which class, which type of application, and which documentation your case requires. That is where most mistakes are made, and where a professional adds the most value.
SHOULD I DO IT MYSELF?
You can: the INPI’s procedures are open to the public. But a mistake in the class, an incomplete prior-rights search, or an unanswered office action will cost you the fees you paid and months of priority. Our job is exactly that: making sure the procedure goes right the first time. The first consultation is free of charge.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. The INPI administers industrial property (trademarks, patents, designs). Real estate goes to the Real Property Registry, and artistic works or software go to the copyright registry, which is a separate agency.
It depends on the procedure: a trademark registration usually takes between 12 and 24 months; patents and utility models can take several years depending on examination and oppositions. Renewals and assignments, on the other hand, are usually resolved in weeks if the documentation is in order.
Yes, the portal is online and the registration is valid throughout the country. We serve clients from all over Argentina and abroad remotely.
An office action is issued and must be answered within the deadline. If it is not answered, the application may lapse. It is one of the points where most applications are lost for lack of follow-up.
Head of the department: Jorge Salavagione, industrial property agent with decades of experience in proceedings before the INPI. Meet the team →
Tell us what you need and we will reply the same day with the steps and a quote.
Av. T. Malbrán 4011 P2
Cerro de las Rosas, Córdoba
Mon–Fri 8:30–13:30 / 14:30–17:30
