The Brazilian Patent Statute (Federal Law #9,279/96) establishes that foreign applicants must appoint and maintain a representative in Brazil for each patent application filed with the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO). Only through a patent agent—be it a person or a legal entity—can a foreign application file and prosecute an application.
In November 2020, the BRPTO rejected without further administrative appeal a patent application filed by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) on January 8, 2009, after the applicant failed to respond to an office action and later to appeal the decision rejecting the application. MSD then filed a lawsuit against the BRPTO seeking a court order to restore the patent application, claiming the BRPTO had unduly changed the name of the representative of the patent application on its website, making the original representative believe they were no longer responsible for the case. Because of that error, MSD was never informed of the BRPTO’s office action. Read more