Chile's National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) announced on 25 September a new phase of the Inventor Assistance Program (PAI), the initiative created by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the World Economic Forum and run nationally by INAPI: the office formally published new programme rules setting out the administrative guidelines and the formal application requirements for local innovators, and launched the official portal pai.inapi.cl. Since Chile joined the programme in 2022, PAI has offered inventors facing economic or technical difficulties entirely free legal and technical advice from volunteer specialists, covering the drafting of patent applications and accompaniment throughout prosecution before the national patent office. INAPI reports that the programme has so far selected 20 inventors, filed 10 patent applications and obtained 2 granted industrial property rights, with 25 volunteer specialists from law firms such as Carey, Villaseca Abogados and Andes IP as well as independent practitioners.
The new portal carries the downloadable current rules and the application guide: applicants create an account on WIPO's online PAI platform and submit personal details, proof of their economic situation and a description of the invention of no more than 3 pages; INAPI's technical secretariat checks the requirements, and the National Selection Board evaluates the applications and assigns a volunteer to each selected case; the call has been permanent, with no closing date, since 30 April 2025.
This is not a reform of patent examination standards but a substantive applicant-support scheme and a digital update of its procedure: the rules fix the administrative responsibilities, eligibility conditions and selection process, and the portal gathers information that was previously spread across notices and e-mails.
For companies following Latin American markets it reflects INAPI's push to encourage domestic patent filings and lower the barriers to applying, and it shows WIPO's Inventor Assistance Program moving in member countries from annual calls to a standing institution.
J&C notes that PAI is aimed at Chilean inventors and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that meet the income conditions, so foreign applicants cannot benefit directly, although companies with local research teams or partners in Chile may wish to keep an eye on the rules; it should also be borne in mind that applications drafted and accompanied by volunteer specialists are still examined under INAPI's usual standards, as the programme changes neither the examination criteria nor the time limits.
Source: inapi.cl | www.inapi.cl | pai.inapi.cl
