Utility Model in Brazil

Utility Model Protection in Brazil

Brealant manages your Brazilian utility model application from search to grant, working with a local Brazilian attorney to file with INPI and protect practical improvements to your products, tools and devices for up to 15 years from filing.

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Essential Guide to Utility Models in Brazil

Protecting Your Innovation with Brealant's Expertise

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What a Utility Model Is in Brazil
Under Law No. 9,279/1996, a utility model (modelo de utilidade) protects an object of practical use with a new shape or arrangement that improves how it works or is made.
Why a Utility Model Matters
It covers incremental improvements that may not reach the inventive-step bar of an invention patent, with protection for up to 15 years from the filing date.
Who Can Apply
Inventors, their heirs or assignees, and employers can apply. Applicants based outside Brazil must appoint a qualified attorney domiciled in Brazil.

A Hassle-Free Utility Model Application Journey with Brealant

Contact
Discuss your product improvement and filing strategy with the Brealant team.
Search
We search the prior art to assess novelty and inventive act before you file.
Quote
Receive a service quote tailored to your utility model and filing needs.
Pay
Proceed with secure payment for the selected services.
File
Our Brazilian attorney files your specification and drawings with INPI, claiming priority where relevant.
Wait
We request examination within 36 months of filing and track the case while INPI reviews it.
Response
We help answer INPI's objections, then pay the grant fee so the certificate is issued.

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Clear, Simple Steps to Registrability

To be registered in Brazil, a utility model must be an object of practical use, or part of one, that is new worldwide, involves an inventive act (it does not follow in a common or ordinary way from the prior art), can be made industrially, and has a new shape or arrangement that improves its use or manufacture.

Safeguarding Your Innovation in Brazil — With Brealant by Your Side

A granted Brazilian utility model lets you stop others from making, using, selling or importing your improved object without consent for up to 15 years from filing. Since the 2021 Supreme Court ruling (ADI 5529), no minimum term runs from grant, so the term is fixed from filing.

Limitations

What Cannot Be Protected in Brazil

Brazilian law excludes certain subject matter from utility model protection, including

Processes & Methods
A utility model covers physical objects only; manufacturing processes and methods need an invention patent.
Abstract Ideas & Software
Discoveries, scientific theories, business methods, computer programs as such and purely aesthetic creations.
Medical & Surgical Methods
Surgical, therapeutic and diagnostic methods applied to the human or animal body.
Living & Natural Material
Living beings, or parts of them, and biological materials found in nature, even when isolated.
Known or Ordinary Changes
Objects already disclosed before filing, or changes that follow in an ordinary way from what is known.

INPI examines each application against these requirements before deciding whether to grant the utility model.

What a Utility Model Protects

A granted Brazilian utility model protects

The Improved Object
The new shape or arrangement of the object, as defined by the claims and drawings.
Exclusive Commercial Rights
Your right to stop others making, using, selling or importing it in Brazil.
Licensing Opportunities
The ability to license the utility model to others for royalties or other terms.
Enforcement Standing
Your standing to take action against anyone using the protected object without consent.

Working with an experienced team and a local Brazilian attorney helps make sure your claims cover the improvement that gives your product its value, from filing through to grant.

Timeline for Utility Model Application in Brazil

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The application process typically involves

Filing
The application is filed with INPI, setting the filing date; a Paris Convention priority date can be claimed.
Publication
The application is kept confidential for 18 months from filing or priority, then published, unless published earlier on request.
Examination
Examination must be requested within 36 months of filing, or the application is archived.
Grant
Once objections are resolved and the grant fee is paid, INPI grants the utility model and issues the certificate.

Pendency at INPI varies with the technical field and the examination queue and can run to several years. Because the 15-year term runs from filing, time spent waiting counts towards the term.

Understanding Utility Model Costs in Brazil — Simplified with Brealant

The cost of a utility model application depends on the complexity of the object

Official Filing Fees
INPI charges official fees for filing, requesting examination and granting, plus annuities from the start of the third year after filing, even while pending. Reduced fees apply to eligible applicants.
Professional fees
Brealant's fee covers the prior art search, preparing the specification and drawings with our Brazilian attorney, filing, the examination request and responses, all quoted in advance.

These costs are an investment in exclusive rights to the improvements that set your product apart.

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Continued Utility Model Protection in Brazil — Supported by Brealant

A Brazilian utility model stays in force only while annuities are paid. Each is due within the first three months of the annual period, with a six-month grace period on payment of a surcharge. Brealant tracks these deadlines and supports licensing and enforcement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between an invention patent and a utility model in Brazil?

An invention patent needs an inventive step and lasts up to 20 years from filing. A utility model protects a new shape or arrangement of an object that improves its function, needs an inventive act and lasts up to 15 years.

How long does a Brazilian utility model last?

15 years from the filing date, provided annuities are paid. The former minimum of 7 years from grant was struck down by the Supreme Court in ADI 5529 (2021) and later repealed.

What is an "inventive act"?

A utility model involves an inventive act when, to a person skilled in the field, it does not follow in a common or ordinary way from the prior art. The bar is lower than the inventive step required for an invention patent.

Can a utility model protect a process or a chemical composition?

No. In Brazil a utility model protects only an object of practical use, or part of one. Processes, methods and compositions need an invention patent.

Is examination automatic, or do I need to request it?

It must be requested within 36 months of filing, or the application is archived. It can be reinstated if requested within 60 days of archiving, on payment of a fee.

Can I convert an invention patent application into a utility model, or the reverse?

Yes. If the subject matter fits the other category better, the nature of the application can be changed during examination, either at the applicant's request or after INPI raises the point.

Can I claim priority from an earlier application filed abroad?

Yes. Under the Paris Convention you can claim priority if you file in Brazil within 12 months of the first filing. Brazil is also a PCT member, so a PCT application can enter the national phase.

Do foreign applicants need a local representative?

Yes. Anyone domiciled outside Brazil must appoint and keep a qualified attorney domiciled in Brazil, with powers to act before INPI and the courts. Brealant arranges this through its local attorney.

I have already shown my product publicly. Can I still file?

Possibly. Brazil has a 12-month grace period for disclosures made by the inventor, or by others using the inventor's information, before the filing or priority date.

When do annuities start, and what if one is missed?

Annuities start at the beginning of the third year from filing, even while the application is pending. A missed payment can be made within six months with a surcharge; after that, the right lapses unless restored within three months of notice.