The United States decided to remove Argentina from the “Priority Watch List”, the most critical step in its annual report on intellectual property, to locate it in the “Watch List”, in what constitutes the first concrete recognition after more than a decade of permanence in the most questioned category. The country was also accumulating comments for three decades for commercial distortions linked to the lack of respect for copyrights and patents
.The measure came after the signing of the “Agreement on Trade and Reciprocal Investment (ARTI)” between Argentina and the United States in February 2026, an understanding that consolidates the strategic alignment of the Milei government with the international standards promoted by Washington. According to the document from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative , ARTI “will benefit American innovators and creators by improving intellectual property (IP) protection and prioritizing enforcement against IP theft.” Within this framework, Argentina made commitments to advance key international treaties and raise regulatory standards
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One of the most important structural changes highlighted by the report was Argentina's decision to repeal “excessively broad limitations” on patentable matters, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. These restrictions included guidelines that “automatically rejected applications for categories of pharmaceutical inventions that are eligible for patent in other jurisdictions and required that the processes for manufacturing active compounds disclosed in a specification be reproducible and applicable on an industrial scale.” This regulatory turn—formalized in March 2026—removes obstacles that for years discouraged innovation
and investment.The report also details a battery of measures taken to get off the priority list. Among them, the preparation of “reports on the viability of a data protection regime and on the causes of delays in the patent granting process”, as well as the strengthening of criminal prosecution through “dissuasive sanctions, including higher fines and prison sentences for falsification committed by organized
criminal networks”.At the institutional level, the agreement provides for providing ex officio authority to border agencies, creating a coordinating body in the area of intellectual property and modifying local legislation to ensure effective civil actions, including the possibility of applying precautionary measures against piracy. At the operational level, the commitment includes “increasing operations and seizures in notorious markets and distribution centers”, together with the development of a national strategy to combat counterfeiting
.The country also pledged to “collect and publish quarterly statistics on IP enforcement”, establish the liability of property owners where illegal products are marketed, and promote cooperation between Internet service providers (ISPs), rights holders and other interested parties. The objective is clear: to advance the “investigation and criminal prosecution of website operators based in Argentina dedicated to commercial piracy
