A new INPI Rule was issued, PORTARIA/INPI/PR/N. 52, effective from 01/01/2024. This new guideline will apply to all applications and patents in progress, including.
Annuities now can be advanced 3 months before the opening of the payment period, that is, before the patent anniversary (counting from PCT international filing date or from Brazilian Filing date), which in practice the payment period will open 6 months before the former annual fee payment deadline.
Another important change is that if an annuity is not paid either in its ordinary period or in its extraordinary period, it can be paid later together with the restoration fee, but now there is no need to wait for the INPI to publish the lack of payment. If the applicant does not make the spontaneous payment of the missing annual fee along with the restoration fee, then the INPI will publish the lack of payment so that the patent can be regularized within 3 months, as always was.
Finally, another big change is that the new Rule establishes the possibility of paying all annuities due for the patent. In other words, the interested party is entitled to pay all annual fees, as long as it is a patent granted and that it covers the entire remaining period of validity. In this case, it will be a payment on the same day for each remaining annuity of the patent granted until the end of the patent validity.
If you have pending patents in Brazil that need to pay annual fees, or granted patents that you want to pay all annual fees, please send us a message. Depending on the quantity, we have service packages, and it is also possible to make such payments through our company using a credit card. We look forward to hearing from you.