You reap what you sow: Brazil participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway

You reap what you sow: Brazil participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway

Patricia Covarrubia   November 11, 2020   No comments:

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program is a fast-track examination of a patent application; an applicant request this accelerated process in the national phase which originated on a foreign office and national patent examiners can use the opinion and preliminary examination from the foreign office. The program aims to promote sharing the work among patent offices but the decision of granting patents still remains under the national office. The program run among offices where they agree to share this practice (for more information see WIPO). Brazil does not form part of the Global PPH as its counterparts Chile, Colombia, and Peru; but since 2016, the office has had several bilateral PCT-PPH agreements: European Patent Office (EPO), PROSUR (pilot), Danish Patent and Trademark Office; United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, United States Patent and Trademark Office and Japan Patent Office.

Speedy 'Patent' Gonzales 

Four years on and the office is noticing an increase in a patent application using the fast-track. This November the Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial INPI published the figures noting that ‘from 268 applications in 2019 to 340 by October 2020. Giving an explanation on this fact it recalled that the PPH just started to accept patent processes in any technological field. Back in 2016, the PPH was applicable to the ‘oil, gas, and petrochemical industry’ only. Moreover, just 200 applications were to be accepted while nowadays the number has increased to 400 applications.

INPI also praised that the average time for assessing priority processing requirements has decreased from an average time of 220 days (2018) to 104 days (2020). This is due to ‘simplifying the process flow and using new information technology tools ‘.

According to the Global Innovation Index published by WIPO, in 2020, Brazil ranked 62^nd among 131 economies (innovation inputs 59; innovation outputs 64); ranking 4^th among Latin America and the Caribbean economies.

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ENGLAND FINDS ITS WAY IN BRAZIL: CLOSER TIES

ENGLAND FINDS ITS WAY IN BRAZIL: CLOSER TIES

José Carlos Vaz e Dias   November 23, 2010   No comments:

It seems that the English has found again its way into the Brazilian market. After assisting Rio de Janeiro to be a host city for the Olympic Games in 2016, against strong competitors like Chicago and Madrid, and the recent successful Paul McCartney Tour in the city of São Paulo, the representatives of the United Kingdom Industrial Property Office (UKIPO) arrived in the city of Rio de Janeiro for a good mission: participate in the “INPI UKIPO Collaborative Agreements Workshop” on November 17 and 18.

Such Workshop aimed to present and discuss the Lambert Toolkit , which was developed in the United Kingdom to foster and facilitate university and business technological collaborations. This tool follows five basic models of research collaboration agreements that cover common scenarios in collaborative negotiations. It was presented to the Brazilians as an instrument to speed up negotiations and resume satisfactorily agreements involving universities, public research centers and companies.

This Toolkit was very much welcomed in view of the existing scenario pro innovation in Brazil, mainly set out by the Innovation Law (Law 10,973/2004). Nowadays, most of the restrictions to joint collaboration (universities and companies) were phased out and the property on an invention developed under such agreements does not belong necessarily to the university. Further to that, financing, subsidies and grants are secured to those who produce innovation.

The Workshop was very well attended by local companies such as PETROBRAS, EMBRAPA and the renowned University of Campinas, the University of São Paulo, the Federal University of Santa Catarina, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, among others.

The leaders of the Workshop were composed of 2 representatives of INPI (Mrs. Lia de Medeiros and Mr. Júlio Castelo Branco), 1 representative of the UKIPO (Mrs. Nancy Pignataro) and the attorneys Christine Reid (Northwood Reid Partners), Charlotte Crowhurst (Potter Clarkson LLP), Evelyn Montellano (Meyer Brown) and José Carlos Vaz e Dias (Di Blasi, Parente, Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados).

After the success of the Workshop, the intention of INPI and UKIPO is to organize 2 road shows to evidence that Brazil has more than coffee, bananas and football. The UK seems to be very interested in the local innovations. Therefore, a road show will take place in London next year for those Brazilian companies and universities keen on showing their technical developments and seeking partnership. Afterwards, the show will be in Rio de Janeiro for the English.

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