There was one very clear finding from the polls: speed is considered the most challenging aspect of IP litigation in the country.
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On the ball: could Brazil's footballers teach their courts some lessons about pace and timing? |
69% of those who voted agreed, while just 19% said consistency of judgments was the number one issue, and just 13% said cost. None at all chose quality of judgments (the other option available).
Judging from the discussion between the panellists that followed, it seems that speed of trials is a particularly big problem in Brazil because of the concentration of litigation in the Rio de Janeiro courts and the possibility of multiple (vexatious) appeals and staying actions.
This is not a new complaint. In a roundtable discussion we published last month, UK IP attaché Sheila Alves said that the slow pace of litigation in Brazil was among the top complaints she hears, along with the lack of specialized judges (and it may be, of course, that those two issues are connected).
It should be said of course that you would probably get similar complaints about speed regarding IP litigation throughout Latin America and indeed in many other jurisdictions, including the EPO and parts of the United States.
But this is something the Brazilian authorities should not ignore. Lawyers report increasing interest from overseas investors in the country, and a growing number of disputes coming before the courts. With the country hosting the football World Cup next year, and the Olympics taking place in Rio in 2016, action needs to be considered now to ensure that justice is not delayed.
Listen to the recorded webinar on IP litigation in Brazil on managingip.com.
