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PATENTS
TRADEMARKS
COPYRIGHT
TRAINING
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION
COMPUTER PROGRAMS
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERPATENTS
Protection applied to inventions, whose practical application has the objective of finding a solution to a technical problem. For example:
- a new process
- a new equipment
- an improvement in an existing process or piece of equipment
- objects whose use facilitates the performance of a task
Legislation
- LPI (Art. 6 a Art.93)
- Ato Normativo 127/97
- Ato Normativo 128/97
Principal services offered
- Surveying prior art
- Preparation of the specifications (report, claims, abstract, and figures)
- Filing of the patent application in Brazil and abroad
- Filing of the international application, via the PCT
- Filing of the domestic phase of the PCT international application
- Monitoring of the process
- Application for the examination
- Compliance with the requirements and replies
- Presentation of the support for the examination
- Presentation of appeals
- Presentation of the application for cancellation
- Presentation of the administrative nullity
- Payment of the annual fees
- Legal support
Required information - Patents
For surveying prior art or the preparation of the specifications
- what the invention refers to
- what is its application
- what problem is it designed to resolve
- what is the proposed solution
- how does the presented proposal work in practice
- how was the problem dealt with before the proposal, and its advantages and disadvantages
- what is the technical advantage of the presented proposal
- an example, if necessary
For the filing of the patent application
- details of the assignee
- details of the inventor
- if the assignee is not the inventor, evidence of the legal relationship between the assignee and the inventor
Documentation for the filing of the patent application
- power of attorney* (download model)
- document of assignment of rights (if necessary)* (download model)
- evidence of the filing in the country of origin (application with a priority claim)*
* can be presented after the filing, within the time limit established by law
Patent Process Procedure
Domestic Application
The application for a normally filed application remains confidential for a time limit of 18 (eighteen) months, counting from the date of filing, or from the date of its earliest priority, after which the application will be published for everybody to be made aware of its content. The time limit for the priority application is 1 (one) year counting from the date of filing in the country of origin.
The examination of the merit has to be applied for within 36 (thirty-six) months, counting from the date of filing (or the date of its earliest priority), under penalty of the application being definitively ordered abandoned. From the publication date until the final examination, any interested party can present information to the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to support the examination.
Three years after the filing of the application, and in subsequent years, the payment of fees becomes due for the maintenance of the application (annual fees), which must be paid within the first four months of the anniversary date of the filing. The failure to pay will result in the application being considered abandoned.
During the examination, the application may be subject to requirements that must be responded to, or contested, within 90 (ninety) days.
When the examination of the merit is concluded, the application is either granted or rejected. If it is granted, the assignee must pay the fee for the Issue of the Patent within 60 (sixty) days, independent of the notification. If it is rejected, the assignee can lodge an appeal against the Rejection within 60 (sixty) days. There is no appeal against the decision that grants a patent application.
However, any person with a legitimate interest that feels prejudiced by the patent can present an Administrative Application of Nullity, within a time limit of six months, counting from the date of the Granting of the patent.
The time limit of the validity of the Patent is 20 (twenty) years for Inventions, and 15 (fifteen) years for Utility Models, counting from the date of filing.
PCT – National Phase
According to the rules of the PCT, the filed international application has a time limit of 30 (thirty) months, counting from the date of priority, to enter the Domestic Phase in Brazil.
A assignee that is not resident in the country must be represented by an agent registered with the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
The specification report, claims, abstract, figures (if there are any), and details that identify the international application (for example, the title page from the WO International Publication) must be presented in the Portuguese language, together with the receipt for the payment of the filing fee.
It is also necessary to present a copy of the receipt of the international filing fee, and a Portuguese translation of any alterations made to the original application, as a consequence of the results of the International Search or the Preliminary Examination.
The application that enters the national phase will be recorded with a domestic numeration and published immediately, and then entering the routine procedure of a domestic application.
If the priority right of a previous filing was applied for, and the priority document has not been presented to the International Office, the claim for priority in Brazil will not be considered. If it has been presented to the International Office, the certificate of filing, declaration, or equivalent document, must be translated into Portuguese.
The Examination must be applied for within 36 (thirty-six) months, counting from the date of the international filing, or 60 (sixty) days, counting from the date of the entry into the National Phase, which occurs later.
The annual fees for the application are due counting from the beginning of the third year of the international filing, and the payment of the outstanding annual fees must be made within 3 (three) months, from the date of the entry into the Domestic Phase.
