Uruguay joins the Budapest Treaty

In August, Uruguay's parliament approved accession to the Budapest Treaty, which has been in force since 1977 and includes 87 countries such as Chile, Colombia and Peru. 

The main feature of the Treaty is that if a contracting state requires or allows the deposit of micro-organisms for patent procedures, it must accept a deposit made with any "international depositary authority". This applies whether the authority is located within or outside the territory of the State.

For a patent to be granted, the invention must be fully disclosed. This is usually done by means of a written description. However, a written disclosure is insufficient if the invention involves a micro-organism. Instead, a microorganism sample must be deposited with a specialised institution. This broad definition of "micro-organism" includes any biological material necessary for disclosure, especially for food and pharmaceutical inventions.

To simplify the process, the Budapest Treaty allows a single deposit of the micro-organism with any "international depositary authority" to satisfy the disclosure requirements of all contracting countries. This means that you don't have to make separate deposits in each country where you seek patent protection, as long as the regional patent office recognises the treaty.