Inapi extends industrial property deadlines due to catastrophe in Tocopilla

The National Institute of Industrial Property (Inapi) has granted ex officio an extension of the peremptory deadlines associated with industrial property administrative procedures for applicants who have established their domicile in the communes of the province of Tocopilla, Antofagasta region. The measure, adopted through exempt resolution No. 330, dated August 19, 2026, was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile on Saturday, August 22, 2026 (No. 44,531, Section I, pages 1 and 2, reference CVE 2859767).

The extension is in response to the declaration of a Constitutional State of Exception of Catastrophe due to public calamity in the province of Tocopilla, established by supreme decree No. 133, of 2026, from the Ministry of the Interior, published in the Official Gazette on August 18, 2026, for a period of thirty extendable days.

Scope of the extension

The measure benefits applicants, interested parties, and their representatives who have established their domicile in the communes that make up the province of Tocopilla and who face the expiration of peremptory deadlines while the catastrophe zone is in effect. The agency argues that an indeterminate number of people are facing a real impossibility of accessing the service’s electronic processing systems.

• Covered deadlines: those expiring between August 18 and September 17, 2026.
• Extension: an additional period equivalent to the maximum permitted by law, i.e., half of the original period.
• Legal basis: Article 26 of Law No. 19,880, of 2003, on the Bases of Administrative Procedures.

Contentious procedures

Regarding contentious procedures whose peremptory deadlines expire during the same period, the parties may allege hindrance in accordance with the general rules governing such procedures, as stated in the second article of the resolution.

The resolution, signed by the National Director of Inapi, Esteban Figueroa, is effective from its issuance on August 19, 2026, regardless of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Relevance for holders and companies

The measure seeks to safeguard the legal certainty of procedures carried out before Inapi, preventing the inability to access electronic processing during the emergency from causing the loss of industrial property rights, such as trademarks and patents. For companies and holders domiciled in the affected area, the extension of peremptory deadlines is key to avoiding the loss of validity of their registrations or the opportunity to file or respond to actions within the legal terms.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,531, Saturday, August 22, 2026, Section I (Laws, Regulations, Decrees, and General Order Resolutions), pp. 1-2 (official reference: CVE 2859767; exempt resolution No. 330, of August 19, 2026).