Patent Office cancels early Patent Resolution Procedure (PRP).
We inform you that on February 6, 2026, the Uruguayan Patent Office decided to cancel the Early Patent Resolution Procedure (“PRP”) program.
On February 6, 2026, the Patent Office issued Resolution No. 02/026, by which it cancels the PRP procedure that had been established by Resolution No. 11/2021 as a way to expedite the examination of patent applications, through the use of substantive examination results issued by other patent offices.
Resolution No. 11/2021 had implemented an examination streamlining mechanism – PRP – based on the use of substantive examination results from other offices, with the aim of reducing processing times, improving efficiency, and providing greater legal certainty to users and third parties.
The Patent Office now points out that improvements in internal management have led to a significant reduction in processing times, and that Resolution No. 11/2021 provided for the power to annul the procedure.
Therefore, Resolution No. 02/026 resolves as of February 6, 2026 to cancel the PRP procedure for accelerating the examination of patent applications.
For those applications that had already been submitted under the PRP before the issuance of Resolution No. 02/026 will continue their processing in that way until their conclusion.
Therefore, it will no longer be possible to expedite the examination of patent applications in Uruguay under the PRP procedure.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we would like to inform you that Uruguay maintains the following programs to accelerate the examination of patent applications:
- PROSUR-PROSUL regional PPH (from December 1, 2022, for five years) with Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Colombia.
- PPH bilateral agreement with Sweden (PRV): in force from June 1, 2023, for three years.
- PPH bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom (UKIPO): in force from June 1, 2024, for three years.
Our FISCHER Patent Team is at your disposal to expand the scope of regulatory modification, review specific cases and/or adjust patent prosecution strategies in Uruguay.
