Significant developments for design protection in Brazil (and more to come)
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Significant developments for design protection in Brazil (and more to come)

Sponsored by

daniel-400px.png
designer choosing flooring and furniture materials from samples for home interior design project

It is not uncommon to hear that design protection is often underestimated or even forgotten compared to other forms of IP, like trademarks, patents, and copyright. In Brazil, that seems to be the case when you compare the average of 6,000+ design applications filed annually, with the 245,000+ trademarks and 28,000+ patents filings.

However, recent changes and improvements to the examination standards related to design applications in Brazil may attract more attention to this type of protection.

Indeed, the Brazilian PTO, in March 2019, published much-needed and long-awaited guidelines related to the examination of designs. Simpler – but useful – changes include the acceptance of auxiliary figures, including amplified ("zoomed-in") views to facilitate the examiner's understanding of the object-subject of protection. More substantial modifications include changes to how priority requests are analysed – any additional embodiment in the Brazilian application will receive an office action, allowing the applicant to move it to a divisional application without claiming priority.

The Brazilian IP Law only allowed the protection of objects as a whole, with not much leeway to protect parts (partial design) of objects. This frequently led to office actions to amend the drawings. Now it is clear that the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) accepts designs covering parts of objects, as long as the claimed part represents an object as a whole.

While these have been significant improvements, the BPTO is not yet satisfied.

The examination timeline of design applications has been brought down to two months from filing when no office actions are issued, and there have been talks since February of further improvements to examination guidelines by the end of the year. In particular, more precise guidelines for design applications that include a trademark within the object and offering some flexibility when a trademark is necessary to present the aesthetic form of the object, are expected.

Keep the improvements coming!

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Ireland joining the UPC would offer plenty of opportunities to local attorneys but there are fears that upcoming referendum could get ‘lost in the noise’
Attorneys at four firms reveal the business opportunities that stem from patent licensing agreements in the life sciences sector
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Counsel at four firms explain their lateral hiring policies and how they retain existing lawyers
Lori Gordon, who has joined from Perkins Coie, says she hopes to turn Goodwin into a 'premier' destination for PTAB work
The LMG Life Sciences Awards is thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2024 EMEA Awards.
Partners at LeanWill Law Firm, a newly launched domestic firm in China, discuss IP opportunities and which clients they plan to target
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP lawyer about their life and career
A survey of more than 25,000 in-house lawyers reveals that embracing technology could help law firms win new business
John Mulgrew, vice president of IP at Lenovo, says the EU's proposed regulation will readdress imbalances in the bargaining power of SEP owners and implementers
Gift this article