Intellectual Property Updates in Brazil
In the past weeks, different developments occurred in the intellectual property field in Brazil. This e-alert addresses three recent updates that may impact our clients.
Federal Government opens public consultation on the National Intellectual Property Strategy (ENPI).
On 08/10/2020, the Inter-ministerial Group on Intellectual Property (GIPI), chaired by the Ministry of Economy, launched a public consultation to gather information for the elaboration of the ENPI. The ENPI aims to consolidate strategies for the development of a solid IP system in Brazil, and to “achieve an effective National Intellectual Property System, which encourages creativity, innovation and access to knowledge”.
ENPI’s current draft was written by a Technical Group formed in 2019. The Group has as participants several entities of the Federal Government, including the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development, National Health Surveillance Agency, Administrative Council for Economic Defense, National Institute of Industrial Property, among others.
The draft elected seven central areas: (i) IP for Competitiveness and Development; (ii) Dissemination, Training and Professional Qualification in IP; (iii) Governance and Institutional Strengthening; (iv) Modernization of Laws; (v) Legal Compliance and Legal Safety; (vi) Intelligence and Vision for the Future; (vii) Brazil in the Global IP System.
ENPI aims to guide Brazil’s policies in the area for the next 10 years, and intends to create action plans with a 2-years term for future government initiatives related to IP.
Interested parties have until August 30, 2020, to send their suggestions at https://www.gov.br/economia/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/participacao-social/consultas-publicas/2020/estrategia-nacional-de-propriedade-intelectual, where EPIN’s draft is also available.
BPTO creates two new expedited examination categories.
Continuing its efforts to reduce its backlog, the BPTO published on 11/08/2020 Ordinance No. 294/2020, creating two expedited examination new categories. Patent applications from the following categories may benefit from this fast-track: (i) “technology made available on the market“; and (ii) technology resulting from “public financing within the scope” of the BPTO.
The first category covers objects that have been licensed, offered for sale, imported or exported, taking the Brazilian market as a reference. The second category comprises applications in which the claimed subject matter has resulted from direct public financing with the express purpose of developing such technology. The new Ordinance will come into effect on September 1, 2020.
BPTO indicates the reasons behind the reduction of preliminary office actions.
The BPTO’s Patent Director, Liane Lage, has made a public statement to explain why the number of office actions prior to examination (Code 6.21) has decreased.
Mrs. Lage pointed out that: (i) “the dismissal of outsourced workers caused a decrease in the number of preliminary office actions, as they assisted the BPTO’s permanent staff with this task“; and (ii) the number of preliminary office actions differs depending on the type of technology involved, and although the BPTO fosters a collaborative work between departments, it is a challenge to transfer some types of applications from one department to another.
The public statement further informed that the BPTO currently has a backlog of 19,000 patent applications pending the beginning of the examination, mostly related to mechanics and telecom. Mrs. Lage mentioned the BPTO aims to make all 6.21 and 6.22 publications still in 2020, as shelving arising from the lack of response to these preliminary office action will help to reduce the BPTO’s backlog.
Our team is available for any clarification you may need.
