Brazil requires that patent applications be completed in The National Institute of Industrial Property is the Brazilian organization in charge of patents (INPI). This is the recognized federal autarchy of the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade, and Services and is in charge of protecting industrial property rights in Brazil.
Innovation is given temporary ownership through a patent. The patent’s owner has the right to forbid other parties from taking certain acts throughout the patent’s term, including manufacturing, commercializing, using, and more. A patent can shield an innovation against illegal use by other parties who were not involved in its creation or did not pay for it.
To be patentable, an invention must meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
An invention must come before creation. Although the Brazilian Patent Statute lists several things that are not inventions, there is no official definition of what an invention is.
Filing requirements in Brazil
Portuguese is the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil official language. The title, abstract, and claims should all be provided in Portuguese. The remaining translation can be filed after 60 days after the filing date.
The following information must be sent to the Brazilian Patent Office to acquire the filing date:
- patent claims, title and abstract in Portuguese;
- information regarding the applicant(s) and the inventor(s).
Within 60 days after the filing date in Brazil, a certified copy of the priority document must be filed. For filing, a digital copy is typically sufficient; nevertheless, the Office has the right to ask for the original.
The application can be submitted with just a digital copy of a Power of Attorney that has been signed. The filing in Brazil may present the POA within 60 days.
It is advised to file the Inventor’s Authorization if the applicant is not the inventor. Official legalization or notarization is unnecessary; it may be submitted after filing the application.
Novelty grace period
The novelty grace period is 12 months before the filing date in Brazil or the priority date (if any), and it applies to disclosures resulting from:
- the inventor;
- the publication of the application by the INPI;
- third parties who obtained the information from the inventor or as a consequence of their actions.
Term of validity of patents
Brazilian invention patents are valid for 20 years, beginning on the filing date. However, the Law also stipulates a minimum duration of 10 years beginning with the day the Letters-Patent was issued. Utility model patents have a 15-year term that begins on the filing date, but the Law stipulates a minimum period of 7 years that is measured as of the day the Letters-Patent document was issued.
Utility Model
In Brazil, inventions may also be protected as utility models, which are reviewed formally and substantively. Methods, systems, chemical compounds, and processes are not patentable. In Brazil, a utility model may be protected for 15 years after filing. For utility models, only one independent claim is permitted in Brazil, but there is no restriction on the number of dependent claims.
Also, contact for trademark registration in Brazil.