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A survey conducted by the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) showed that the cure for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is near. This is the first study, on a global scale, to test overtreatment in individuals chronically infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The coordinator of the research is the infectologist Ricardo Sobhie Diaz. Together with his team, Diaz has been working on two fronts to cure the disease. One uses drugs and substances that kill the virus at the time of replication and eliminate the cells where HIV is asleep (latency); the other develops a vaccine that causes the immune system to react and eliminate infected cells that the drug is unable to reach.

The research was carried out with 30 volunteers with an undetectable viral load, under standard treatment, according to what is currently recommended: the combination of three types of antiretrovirals, better known as “cocktail”. The volunteers were divided into six subgroups, each receiving different combinations of medicines, in addition to the “cocktail” itself.

For members of the subgroup that had the best results so far, two more antiretrovirals were administered: Dolutegravir, the strongest drug currently available on the market; and Maraviroc, a substance that forces the virus, previously hidden, to appear.

News from: Exame

Brazil can already start testing with remdesivir, an antiviral medication, in the treatment of patients with COVID-19, according to a statement made by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) on Wednesday (25).

Approval in Europe

Remdesivir has also received approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which can now be prescribed for patients diagnosed with COVID-19, requiring mechanical breathing, and who are 12 years of age or older. It is up to the European Commission to finalize the authorization in a bureaucratic manner, which should happen within a week. Once approved, the indication of the drug will be in force in 27 countries and will be valid for one year.

As there is still no proof that the drug is really effective against COVID-19, the North American pharmaceutical manufacturer Gilead needs to inform the European Union of the results of the remdesivir tests, as well as their side effects, by December.

What is Remdesivir for?

Remdesivir is an antiviral developed to combat Ebola, but which has already shown positive results in the treatment of other types of coronavirus, responsible for SARS and MERS diseases. In the United States, the drug has already been approved for serious patients in COVID-19, shortly after authorization by the regulatory agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the FDA, the criterion used to approve the drug was a study by the American National Institute of Health (NIH), which conducted tests on 1,063 patients not only in the United States, but in Asia and Europe. The result showed that people treated with remdesivir recovered about four days before those who did not receive the drug. In early June, South Korea and India also began testing the drug.

News from: Canal Tech

The accession of Brazil to the Madrid Protocol, in October 2019, brought not only a new way of protecting trademarks for Brazilian businessmen abroad, but also significant changes for those professionals working in the area of trademarks as well as challenges. One of these challenges is the translation of the names of various ingredients from the cuisine, drinks, typical dishes, musical instruments, and artistic expressions into English or Spanish, languages adopted by Brazil for the use of the Madrid Protocol. Not infrequently, what is expressed in the source language in a single term needs to be translated into a sentence in order to be understood.

Typical Brazilian products and services are included in the WIPO classifier

A beautiful initiative by members of the Brazilian Patent Office’s (BPTO) Products and Services Classification Commission (CCPS), together with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), resulted in the formulation of a robust list of typically Brazilian products and services and their inclusion in the classification nomenclatures of this entity, in the so-called Madrid Goods and Services Manager (MGS), with the respective translation. There are 668 descriptions of the most varied fruits, dishes, drinks, and services typically Brazilian.

According to information on the BPTO’s own website, the elaboration of this list aims to prevent offices in other countries from granting protection as a trademark for designations that are actually descriptive of the product or service itself. This study took into account the fact that not only Brazilian legislation, but also that of the vast majority of countries prohibit registration as a trademark of descriptive and/or generic terms in relation to the products or services of interest.

In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the principle of the veracity of trademark preaches. By virtue of this principle, a trademark cannot be misleading, that is, it cannot mislead the consumer or in an improper association as to origin, composition, place of production, among other factors.

The compilation of these product and service descriptions and their inclusion in the Madrid Goods and Services Manager (MGS) with the English language equivalent can be considered an important milestone and a commendable effort, not only for the reasons already explained but also for corroborating aspects of our culture and tradition.

News from: ConJur

According to a publication in the Official Gazette this Wednesday (06/10/2020), BPTO and CAS, a non-profit division of the American Chemical Society, signed a technical cooperation agreement to expedite the examination of patents. The agreement establishes BPTO’s participation in a CAS Search Report pilot, with the aim of improving the patent workflow at the Institute.

The technology, which will be tested and optimized, is able to assess similarities with the state of the art from parameters of a patent application important for the examiner’s analysis. In addition, the system combines machine learning and data selected by humans, which improves the results offered.

News from: BPTO

The episode for the rights of exclusive use over the iPhone trademark in Brazil has begun a new chapter this week. After losing in different courts to Apple, IGB Eletrônica, formerly Gradiente, took the case to be tried by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

Both companies have been fighting in the courts since the beginning of the decade. The Brazilian company registered the term iPhone (with a capital I) in 2000 at the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO). It took the agency eight years to grant the registration. At that time, Apple had launched its own iPhone in 2007.

In 2012, Gradiente then launched a line of smartphones with its trademark. Equipped with the Android operating system, the devices have nothing to do with Apple’s phone. In 2014, the pre-sale of the iPhone C-600 model even made the IGB’s shares rise. Sales, however, sank.

IGB’s new action against Apple refers to an Extraordinary Appeal (ARE 1266095), which is the impugnation before the Federal Supreme Court against a judicial decision issued by a State or Federal court. In this case, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).

In 2018, Gradiente lost the battle in the STJ court to Apple. In the decision, it was determined that both companies could use the term.

The Judge-Rapporteur, Minister Luís Felipe Salomão, argued at the time that “the use of the ‘iPhone’ trademark by Apple does not show any circumstance that implies, even potentially, parasitic exploitation, diversion of customers or dilution of the trademark, with the induction of consumers in mistake”.

The minister also made it clear that “such exegesis does not prejudice the IGB, which, having previously registered the expression ‘G GRADIENTE IPHONE’, may continue to use it, but ruling out only the exclusivity of using the expression ‘iPhone’ in isolation ”.

Filed on April 24, 2020, the appeal cites IGB Eletrônica as part of the process, as an appellant; Apple, as a defendant; in addition to the BPTO. There is no prediction as to when the appeal will be tried at the Supreme Court.

News from: Exame