As the world becomes increasingly innovative and technology-driven, it becomes more critical for a country to have fast and efficient patent prosecution. In recent years, Brazil has faced challenges in balancing interests in the intellectual property field, especially in the patent sector. Since the beginning of the pandemic, patents have been the focus of controversies and diverging interests, as balancing the legal, social, administrative, economic, and political influences in the Brazilian patent system is arduous.
Regarding the current Brazilian scenario, it is essential to emphasize that the country has been going through several changes, considering the recent government transitions.
One of these changes directly impacted the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) because said Institute left the former Ministry of Economy and is now part of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, which consequently generated significant changes in its directors and presidency. The current interim president, Dr Júlio Cesar Moreira (former Patent Director), has worked at BPTO for years and is one of those responsible for the implementations promoting good progress in the patent application prosecution, such as the backlog tackle project. This project defines, for example, the creation of the preliminary official action, which we will discuss below in more detail. Read more