A global IP strategy for a scale-up is a sequence, not a single filing: protect the invention and the brand at home, use the priority year to test where the business is really going, and let the PCT’s 30-month national phase carry the expensive country decisions until you have data. For companies growing out of Latin America the sequencing matters more, because the starting base is small: in 2025, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania together accounted for just 1.4% of PCT filings. This guide is for founders, CFOs and in-house counsel planning the next three years of filings.
Key takeaways
- Priority is the backbone of the plan: 12 months for patents and utility models, 6 months for trademarks and designs under the Paris Convention.
- A PCT application keeps more than 150 countries open; national or regional phase entry is usually due at 30 or 31 months from priority.
- Most of the cost arrives at national phase, so the country list should be decided on business data, not by default.
- The PCT is not in force in Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela or Bolivia, and the Madrid System does not reach Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay or Paraguay: those markets need national filings on their own calendar.
- Confidentiality and ownership must be settled before the first filing; no later budget can fix a public disclosure.
Why does a global IP strategy matter for Latin American scale-ups?
WIPO’s PCT Yearly Review 2026, released in June 2026, counts 275,900 international patent applications in 2025, up 0.7%. Asian applicants filed 57% of them, Europe 21.6% and Northern America 20%. WIPO places Brazil and Mexico among the “large middle-income economies” outside the top 20, with totals between 160 and 620 applications each.
In practice this means a Latin American scale-up entering Europe, the United States or Asia will meet portfolios built by competitors that file abroad as routine. It also means budgets are tighter and every country added has to earn its place. The same review shows that PCT national phase entries fell 3.7% in 2024 to about 645,100: applicants worldwide are becoming more selective at the stage where costs multiply.
The clock that sets your IP budget
The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) lets you file one international application and defer country-by-country decisions. WIPO’s PCT Newsletter No. 6/2026 (June 2026) sets out the timeline for SMEs, counted from the priority date, meaning the filing date of the first application.
| Month | Legal step | Budget decision |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | First national or regional filing (patent, utility model, trademark or design) | Home filing only; confirm ownership and keep the invention confidential |
| 6 | End of priority for trademarks and designs | File the brand and designs in the first export markets |
| 12 | End of priority for patents; file the PCT application or direct national filings | Choose PCT for flexibility, plus direct filings in non-PCT countries |
| About 16 | International search report and written opinion | Read them as decision input: narrow, broaden or stop |
| 18 | International publication | The invention becomes public; adjust investor and partner materials |
| 22 | Usual deadline for a Chapter II demand (international preliminary examination) | Optional; useful if a positive report can speed up national examination |
| 30/31 | National or regional phase entry in most offices | The main spend: translations, national fees and local agents per country |
The priority periods come from Article 4 of the Paris Convention: 12 months for patents and utility models, 6 months for industrial designs and marks. Missing them does not always end protection, but it gives up the earlier date against anyone who files in between.
How to sequence markets: three rings
WIPO’s guidance is to select countries by business case: customers, competitors, manufacturing, partners, licensing, enforcement, translation and agent costs, regulatory timing and funding runway. We translate that into three rings.
- Core markets. Where you sell today or will within 24 months, and where you manufacture. These justify early trademark filings and, for patents, national phase entry.
- Competitor markets. Where rivals make or sell. A patent there can block copies at source, even if you do not sell there yourself.
- Option markets. Plausible but unproven. Keep them open through the PCT and decide at month 30 with real data.
The rings must then be mapped onto the treaties, because not every country in the corridor is reachable the same way. According to WIPO Lex, Argentina signed the PCT in 1970 but it has no entry into force, and Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia are not members; Uruguay joined with effect from 7 January 2025. On the trademark side, the Madrid Protocol covers Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, the European Union, Morocco, Egypt and OAPI (the African Intellectual Property Organization), among others, but not Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay or Paraguay.
| Market | Patents | Trademarks |
|---|---|---|
| European Union / Spain | PCT, then EPO or national phase | Madrid or direct EUIPO/OEPM filing |
| Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile | PCT | Madrid or national |
| Peru, Ecuador | PCT | National only |
| Argentina, Paraguay | Direct national filing within 12 months (Paris) | National only |
| Morocco, Egypt | PCT | Madrid or national |
What this means for your business
- Write a three-year filing calendar keyed to months 6, 12, 16 and 30, with a budget line for each.
- File trademarks early in core markets: they are cheaper than patents and harder to recover once someone else registers them.
- Flag non-PCT and non-Madrid markets at month 0, because they run on the 12-month and 6-month Paris deadlines.
- Use the search report at month 16 to prune claims and countries before national phase.
- Check whether a Patent Prosecution Highway agreement can speed examination where you most need a granted patent.
If you want this calendar built and run across several offices, our team for global IP strategy and cross-border portfolio planning can map the routes and coordinate the filings, together with our international patent filing team.
Where scale-ups get global IP strategy wrong
- Disclosing before filing. Pitch decks, demo days and conference talks can destroy novelty. WIPO’s advice is to keep technical information on a need-to-know basis and use NDAs until the first filing is in.
- Unclear ownership. Inventions made by founders, contractors or university partners must be assigned to the company before filing, or the chain of title will be questioned in due diligence.
- Entering every country by default. National phase is where translations, official fees and local agents multiply; prune the list at month 30.
- Forgetting the gaps. A PCT application does nothing in Argentina; a Madrid registration does nothing in Peru. Those filings must be calendared separately.
- Splitting advisers by country. Different firms in each market rarely share deadlines, which is how priority dates are lost.
Frequently asked questions
When should a scale-up file its first international patent application?
Within 12 months of the first filing, to keep its priority date. Most companies file the PCT application close to the end of that year, which gives them time to test the market while keeping more than 150 countries open. Filing earlier makes sense when investors or partners need to see the international application sooner.
Does a PCT application give protection in Argentina?
No. According to WIPO Lex, Argentina signed the PCT in 1970 but the treaty is not in force there, so a national application must be filed directly with the Argentine office, normally within the 12-month Paris priority period. Paraguay, Venezuela and Bolivia are also outside the PCT and need the same treatment.
How should a scale-up split its IP budget between trademarks and patents?
There is no fixed ratio. A practical rule is to file trademarks early in every core market, because they are relatively cheap and easy to lose to a third party, and to concentrate patent spending at national phase on the countries where you sell, manufacture or face competitors. The timeline should drive the budget, not the reverse.
Can IP Global Guard manage a global IP strategy for a Latin American scale-up?
Yes. We design the filing sequence, prepare and coordinate PCT, Madrid and national filings, acting before EUIPO, OEPM and WIPO directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, and we coordinate local correspondents across Latin America and Africa, with European patent attorneys for the EPO.
How IP Global Guard can help you plan the sequence
A good global IP strategy spends little early, keeps options open and concentrates money where the business is proven. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, builds that plan and runs it with one strategy, one point of contact and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Send us your first filing date, the markets on your three-year plan and your funding horizon. We will map the priority, PCT and Madrid deadlines into a costed calendar and coordinate every filing from there. Ask our team for a filing calendar.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace an assessment of your specific situation.
