The Brazilian PTO implements PPH Program with the DKPTO

The BPTO published on August 21, 2018, the Rule #223/2018 implementing the PPH Pilot program with the DKPTO, that intends to speed up the examination of pending Brazilian applications with an application from the same nature allowed by the DKPTO.

The Program will accept applications belonging to patent families whose earliest application has been filed at the BPTO or the DKPTO or, in case of a PCT application, the BPTO or DKPTO was the receiving office.

The program will accept applications from the technical field of “Engineering, illumination, heating, guns and explosion”. The application must be classified under the IPC code F#, with the exception of drug-related applications (A61K) which are not allowed in this program.

To be accepted on the BPTO-DKPTO PPH Pilot Program, the application must:

i) Have been filed for more than 18 months or published by the WIPO (when applicable);
ii) Have the corresponding technical exam duly paid; (in case of divided patent applications, they must request priority procedure to all of them);

The participation of the application in the BPTO-DKIPO PPH Pilot Program shall be requested by any or all the applicants.

The BPTO-DKPTO PPH Pilot Program starts on September 01, 2018 and will receive applications up to August 31, 2020. Each applicant can only file one patent application per month, except during the last month of the project, when there will be no limit of the number of applications per applicant. The project is limited to 100 applications accepted into the BPTO-UKIPO PPH program per year (limit of 200 accepted applications during the entire program).

Amongst other documents requested by Rule #223/2018, the applicant must submit with the application, documents proving that the application meets the requirements and a table including the correspondences between the BR application claims and the DK allowed claims and a copy of non-patentary prior art documents.

The BPTO will evaluate the applications according to its request date, and applications that do not meet the requirements will either be given the opportunity to correct any irregularity, case in which the BPTO will issue an office action which must be replied to within 60 days, or be denied participation in the PPH Pilot Program, case in which it will return to the regular line of examination.

The original Portuguese version of Rule #223/2018 is available here.

Hyundai registers new “Veloster” patents in Brazil

The South Korean manufacturer Hyundai registered the new generation of the three-door Veloster hatch in Brazil through the Brazilian Patents and Trademarks Office (BPTO).

Unlike the Veloster sold by CAOA a few years ago, the new Veloster bets on mechanical and visual sportsmanship. The model abandoned the 1.6 in favor of a new 2.0 four-cylinder aspirated 149 hp and 18.5 kgfm of torque. The faster versions use a 1.6 turbo of 204 hp and 26.9 kgfm of torque. There is also the Veloster N with 2.0 turbo engine of 280 hp and 35.9 kgfm of torque.
The new model maintains the traditional three-door configuration but has adopted a more aggressive and sporty style. The front has a fairly wide front grille that combines with the sharp headlights. The wheel housings have gained strong creases while the rear features lanterns that invade the trunk lid and extend down the spine.
It is possible that the new Hyundai Veloster will be presented at the São Paulo Motor Show.

The magazine “Valor Inovação” includes patents in its annual ranking

The magazine Valor Inovação Brasil included in its fourth edition a new criterion in its evaluation methodology: The inclusion of patents published by the Brazilian PTO in the year of 2017. Such inclusion extended the analysis capacity, making some companies stand out in the ranking, according to specialists.

This is the case, among others, of CNH Industrial – which advanced from 54th to 13th position; Vale, from the 42nd to the 17th position; Microsoft, from the 79th to the 18th; and Petrobras, which moved from 11th place last year to 3rd place. The methodology is specific to the Brazilian market and allows to separate truly innovative companies from those that are following technological trends.

Of the 216 companies registered, 82% have revenues above R$ 1 billion (approximately US$ 270 million). The sample was divided into 21 sectors – three more than in 2017. From the area of Oil and Gas the companies of Mining, Metallurgy and Steel Industry left, forming a new group. The Banking segment, separated from financial services, also gained its own section, as well as Transport and Logistics. Another change was the sector Industries, Chemical and Petrochemical, is now called Chemistry, Petrochemical, Packaging, Paper and Cellulose.

The original publication (in Portuguese) can be found here

General bill for protection of personal data is approved in the Brazilian Senate

The Brazilian Senate approved on July 10, 2018, Bill No. 53, which rules the protection of personal data and defines the circumstances in which these data can be collected and treated by both companies and the Public Authorities.

With this measure, Brazil joins several countries in the world, which already have legislation on the subject. The text disciplines the way information is collected and handled, especially in digital media such as personal registration data or even texts and photos published on social networks.

The PLC 53 considers personal data the information related to a person who is “identified” or “identifiable”. That is, the bill also regulates the cases where the data alone, does not reveal to whom it would be related to (an address, for example) but that, processed along with other data, could indicate who the person is (address combined with age, for example).

A special category, called “sensitive” data, has been created, covering race records, political opinions, beliefs, health status and genetic characteristics. The use of this data is more restricted since it carries risks of discrimination and other damages to the person. There are also differentiated parameters for processing information from children, such as requiring parental consent and prohibiting the provision of records to participation in applications (such as social networks and electronic games).

The bill covers treatment operations carried out in Brazil or from data collection done in the country. The standard also applies to companies or entities that offer goods and services or treat information of people who live in Brazil. International data transfer (as in the example above) is also permitted when the country of destination has a level of protection compatible with the Brazilian law or when the company responsible for the treatment proves that they guarantee the same conditions required by the instruments such as contracts or corporate standards.

Treatment for personal, journalistic and artistic purposes was not included in the obligations. Information processing is also not covered in national security, public safety, and law enforcement activities. The text indicates that these topics should be dealt with a specific law. The Public Power also gained the possibility of processing data without the consent of the people, in certain situations, as in the execution of public policies. For this, the website must inform in which hypothesis the processing of data is realized, its purpose and what are the adopted procedures.

You can find the official publication (in Portuguese) here