The Brazilian Federal Government is modernizing the Brazilian Industrial Property System. In collaboration with national and foreign partners, the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services and the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) have implemented a series of measures to become more agile and efficient in the process of analysis and grant of patents by the Brazilian Patents and Trademarks Office (BPTO). In addition to investments in infrastructure, the government will create a simplified system for patents acceptance. The expectation is to attend about 204 thousand patent applications throughout the year 2018, significantly reducing the backlog of the institution.
In the last three years, the BPTO’s productivity has grown considerably, reaching record levels. In 2017, the institute closed the year with more decisions than applications reducing the backlog of patents (7.6%), trademarks (14.9%) and industrial designs (26%).
This January, the ABDI and the BPTO signed a Cooperation Agreement to reformulate the IT infrastructure and processes to accelerate examination. The agency’s investment was over US$ 10 million.
In addition, the Prosperity Fund of the British Government has also invested in the BPTO, ensuring convergence with international practices. In addition to these Initiatives, a greater number Patent Prosecution Highway (PPHs) – recently signed with the United States, European Union, China, Japan and Prosul (Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay). An agreement is also being negotiated with Denmark.
* translated and adapted from ABDI’s official webpage. You can check the original publication (in Portuguese) here