Tag: intellectual property

BPTO provides software registration manual in English and Spanish

BPTO has made available the Computer Program User Manual in Portuguese, English and Spanish versions. This is the first service of the Institute to have a trilingual manual.

With the manuals, BPTO intends to facilitate access to the internationally-registered software registration service in Brazil, valid in all member countries of the Berne Convention.

Access the manuals

E-Software system

Since 2017, the computer program registration process has been done completely online and with automated decisions through the e-Software system. After the implementation of the system, the certificate of registration became available on the BPTO Portal within 7 (seven) business days.

In recognition of this action, e-Software is one of the three finalists of the HDI ” Citizen IT Initiative 2019 ” award. The final contest will be on October 17th during EXPOGOV 2019.

News from: BPTO

Brazil and Denmark sign three agreements to stimulate innovation

Promote partnerships between Brazilians and Danes for innovation activities, including the generation and commercialization of Industrial Property assets, such as patents. This is the main objective of the three agreements signed on Monday, October 7, in Copenhagen (Denmark), by the president of the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO), Claudio Furtado, with the director-general of the Danish Patent Office (DKPTO), Sune Stampe Sorensen, and with Danish Ambassador to Brazil, Nicolai Prytz.

According to the special secretary of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness (SEPEC) of the Ministry of Economy, Carlos Da Costa, through the partnership with Denmark, Brazil gives a decisive impulse to expand innovation and, therefore, the competitiveness of Brazilian companies.

BPTO president, Cláudio Furtado, stressed the importance of the agreements to improve the innovation system in Brazil, as well as their positive effects on the economy. “We started a new model to improve the business environment in the country, in addition to promoting the creation and commercialization of Brazilian Intellectual Property in the world market,” he said.

The ceremony was also attended by the Brazilian ambassador in Denmark, Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos. According to him, Brazil can be proud to have Denmark, one of the world leaders in innovation and intellectual property, as the first partner in a broad patent cooperation project.

New partnerships

The first agreement will encourage cooperation between companies from both countries in research, development, and innovation (RD&I). The mapping of potential participants is already being done in many regions of Brazil. One result of this work will be the creation of new patents and other Industrial Property assets in common, that is, involving two or more partners.

The second agreement will speed up the analysis of Brazilian patents in Denmark and vice versa so that these assets can be used effectively in both markets. This will be done through a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) type agreement, broader than the current one. In this PPH model, the result of patent examination done in one country can be leveraged in the other to speed up the process.

Finally, the third agreement involves the next stage of an Industrial Property asset: commercialization. It refers to the IP Marketplace, an online offering and trading platform for these assets, which was developed in Denmark and now has Brazilian adhesion. There are 6,000 registered trademark, patent and industrial design owners from 157 countries.

 

News from: BPTO

The University of Brasilia creates biofertilizer that increases productivity

The Chemistry Institute of the University of Brasilia (UnB), in partnership with Embrapa, has developed a nanotechnology capable of increasing plant productivity, increasing the nutritional value of food, reducing the use of pesticides and making crops less vulnerable to drought and plagues.

Krill A32, a luminescent carbon-based biofertilizer, is under patent application at the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO).

The name Krill refers to small crustaceans (1 to 2 cm) that serve as food for various marine species, including whales, and are critical for maintaining ecosystems in the oceans. Nanotechnology handles atoms and molecules sized at 1 and 1000 nanometers, verifiable only in special equipment.

As it enables fast plant growth, nano-compost can be used to recover degraded areas, forest management for wood and pulp production, and intensification of agricultural activity – without the need to increase planted areas and shrink forests.

Nano-compound, which is non-toxic, can be applied to plant roots and leaves. The most advanced tests are with foliage. The application with lettuce, cotton, garlic, rice, cocoa, corn, soybean, and tomato was studied. As the substance is luminescent, its absorption in foods can be traced.

News from: Agência Brasil

BPTO will have 100% digital services

BPTO launched on Wednesday (July 31, 2019) the IP Digital Plan, which aims to expand and facilitate the provision of services over the Internet. The initiative is the result of the partnership with the Special Secretariat of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness and the Digital Government Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, as well as the Special Secretariat of State Modernization.

The plan foresees 24 actions, which will facilitate citizen service by deploying new information and communication technology resources. Among the measures is the deployment of e-Chip, an online system for ordering integrated circuit topographies. This will make BPTO’s services 100% digital.

A task force instituted by BPTO works to deploy new digital products. Among them, the following stand out:

  • Tool for the user to schedule, via the internet, attendance or distance attendance;
  • Evaluation system after the use of each service, via web and SMS;
  • Chatbot, a program that uses artificial intelligence to simulate conversations and provide information to the user;
  • New INPI portal, designed from user behavior;
  • Application of press releases and news;
  • Single Sign-On (Br Access), by adhering to the Digital Government Secretariat tool, through which it is possible to use digital public services with a single user registration;
  • Digital means of payment, such as credit and debit card, from solution under development by the Digital Government Secretariat.

With the IP Digital Plan, BPTO plans to adopt a new model of interaction with society, which values greater access to information, open data and the provision of a secure virtual environment for service provision.

The Plan also converges with the tools of the federal government’s Digital Citizenship Platform, which aims to expand and simplify Brazilian citizens’ access to digital public services, including through mobile devices.

 

News from: BPTO

AGREEMENT: Exports will have $ 10 billion more

Much has been said about the free market agreement between Southern Common Market and the European Union and what are the impacts on the Brazilian economy. According to the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the deal could add nearly $ 10 billion in exports from Brazil to the EU. Negotiated for over 20 years, it represents the largest trade pact ever signed by both parties, with the creation of a market of 780 million consumers.

Brazil exported more than US $ 42 billion to the EU in 2018, approximately 18% of the total exported by the country. This means that reducing tax rates and legislation, the deal offers even greater business opportunities for domestic companies. However, the pact also underscores the need for change in the policies of national companies.

According to Rodrigo Zambon, the subregional director of TMF Group in Brazil, the deal will take some time to go into effect, giving companies the time to make adjustments. “The deal still needs to go through 28 countries, so the time to prepare your business without getting hurt is now,” he added. Check out the 5 main characteristics that must be adopted by Brazilian companies so that they can actively participate in the agreement.

FOODS

All imported food must comply with EU standards – the rules apply to all products sold in the EU, whether domestically produced or imported, so Brazilian companies need to ensure that they comply with all rules. For example: ensuring appropriate and transparent information about source, content, and labeling.

INSPECTION

Commitments on labor inspection, health, and safety at work – Companies wishing to make trade agreements in EU countries must ensure that fundamental labor rights, as defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), are fulfilled and respected.

ENVIRONMENT

Trade agreements should not come at the expense of the environment – under the agreement, companies must promote sustainable development and agree not to lower environmental standards to promote trade and attract investment. The agreement also incorporates the so-called “precautionary principle”. If there is any suspicion of deforestation or the use of pesticides not allowed in the EU, the economic bloc can veto the importation of the Brazilian product, even when the scientific analysis is not conclusive.

PATENTS

Strong intellectual property rights provisions – Brazil has committed to updating its intellectual property law based on international standards of legislation. Examples of this strategy are the copyright section and the trademark section, which companies will have to abide by.

STANDARDIZATION

Transparency and the use of international standards – Different technical regulations and rules/standards for products from other markets can be a major obstacle for exporters because they impose extra costs for adaptation. The agreement promotes transparency and the use of international standards to facilitate market access while protecting the levels of protection that each party considers appropriate.

For Zambon, beginning to understand and implement action plans will create a competitive advantage when the deal goes into effect. “Companies that start updating their policies will now have more time to adapt and probably less costs to implement than those leaving at the last minute,” he said.

 

News from: Diário da Amazônia

BPTO starts publications about the Combat Patent Backlog Plan

The BPTO published in the Industrial Property Journal (RPI) on Tuesday (July 23, 2019) the first orders of the preliminary requirement (code 6.21) referring to the Combat Patent Backlog Plan. The procedure contemplates the patent applications in which BPTO incorporated the search report made by offices of other countries, according to the terms of Resolution No. 241/19.

The purpose of the published requirement is for the Applicant to express himself/herself on the documents cited and, if necessary, make adjustments to the application. Only after the response of the applicant, the BPTO’s Examiner will evaluate whether or not the patent should be granted, based on the Brazilian Industrial Property Law (9,279 / 1996). If the Applicant does not appear, the application will be definitively filed.

In order for users to be able to organize themselves to meet the requirements, the BPTO published statements in three editions of its official journal about this subject.

Preparation

The Board of Patents teams underwent intense preparation weeks before the Patent Backlog Plan was put into practice. New procedures were developed by the Quality Group and trainings were conducted with heads and examiners on the procedures to be implemented.

In early July, a general meeting was held to align information on planning, project implementation, and future capacity building, quality, and studies to address the current demand for order deposits. Examiners filled out at the regional units followed the distance meeting, so that they were also ready to support and inform users in the different states of Brazil.

 

News from: BPTO

BPTO will launch system access for opinions

The BPTO is finalizing a system that will allow the user to expedite the retrieval of the opinions generated during the examination of patent applications and published in the Industrial Property Magazine. The system, which provides the opinions for consultation and downloaded by machines, was presented by the Patent Office and the Information Technology General Coordination on July 15, 2019 for the Brazilian Association of Industrial Property Agents (ABAPI) and the Brazilian Association of Intellectual Property (ABPI), in order to resolve doubts and raise suggestions.

The initiative is within the framework of the Backlog Combat Plan, in order to facilitate access to the documentation produced by the examiners, be it the opinions of preliminary requirements, search reports or other opinions regarding the examination of the requests.

The system, which will commence operations in August, will retrieve documents relating to patent applications with the following official notices: 6.20 (pre-examination opinion), 6.21 (opinion with the search of documents made by IP offices in other countries) and 6.22 no search of other IP offices).

 

News from: BPTO

INPI and EPO extend their cooperation

The Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) agreed on July 17, 2019 to work on broadening their cooperation. EPO President António Campinos and BPTO President Claudio Vilar Furtado signed a Joint Declaration in this regard at a bilateral meeting held during an event between the EPO and the IP offices of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries held in Munich, in Germany. They also signed an agreement renewing BPTO’s access to the EPOQUE Net database, an EPO patent search tool with more than 1.3 billion references.

In the Joint Statement, the Officers agreed to work on a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a pilot project, to strengthen the capacity to search and examine patent applications in the BPTO.

After the ceremony, Campinos highlighted the importance of cooperation with BPTO: “I am pleased to sign this Joint Declaration today since traditionally Brazil has been an important cooperation partner for the EPO in Latin America. BPTO has a great deal of expertise in the patent granting process and, with today’s signature, we are paving the way for a closer relationship between offices, benefiting businesses in both regions. ”

Along the same lines, Furtado said: “BPTO welcomes the expansion of the partnership with the EPO. This is an essential step in the modernization of the Institute, the pillar of Brazilian development, to make it a world-class player in industrial property. ”

Cooperation between BPTO and EPO began in 2000, with a first technical cooperation project between offices. This was followed by a series of bilateral agreements extending cooperation to include BPTO access to EPOQUE Net (in 2005) and, in 2017, a joint Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program, which allows applicants to request priority treatment for their pending patent applications at BPTO and EPO.

About EPO

With 7,000 employees, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich and with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded to strengthen patent cooperation in Europe. Through the centralized patent granting procedure of the EPO, inventors can obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries covering a market of about 700 million people. The EPO is also one of the world’s leading patent information and search authorities.

 

News from: BPTO

Madrid Protocol: Learn how to apply

On July 2, 2019, Brazil filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the instrument of adhesion to the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty that simplifies and reduces costs for the registration of trademarks of Brazilian companies in other countries.

The treaty enters into force in Brazil on October 2, 2019. As of that date, the Brazilian applicant who intends to register a trademark in other countries via the Madrid Protocol will file an international application within the BPTO. It can be a multiclass application and with more than one applicant in co-ownership.

In turn, the foreign applicant who wishes to register a trademark in Brazil may also choose to use the Madrid Protocol.

The filing is electronic, by means of payment of the Union Collection Guide (GRU) and then filling in the English or Spanish form MM2 in E-trademarks, a system also used for the national filing.

 

News from: BPTO

Brazilian government announces a plan to accelerate the analysis of patent applications

The Ministry of Economy announced on Wednesday (July 3) measures to reduce the number of patent applications for analysis (backlog) by 80% by 2021 and reduce to approximately two years the BPTO’s average grant of patents term.

Economy Minister Paulo Guedes had participated in the launch of the Patents Backlog Combat Plan and said that the government is making important advances to stimulate the industry, increase the productivity and competitiveness of the Brazilian economy in the future. “We are in the knowledge economy, these intangible values such as patent law, trademark, property law are increasingly important,” he said.

According to the special secretary of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy, Carlos da Costa, today, the backlog reaches 160 thousand applications. “We have patents being assessed now that they were deposited 11 years ago. Imagine a technology today, in the digital age, where everything is very fast, and 11 years later the patent is no longer so relevant, “he said.

For Costa, with the agility in granting patents, Brazil should stimulate innovation and become more competitive and integrated globally. He explains that in addition to preserving the right of the investor, the patent guarantees the dissemination of new technologies and allows other researchers to develop other patents.

The main novelty will be the analysis of national or foreign patent applications, which have already been evaluated in another country (80% of those in the queue). As of this month, BPTO will incorporate to the examination of these requests the search of patents realized abroad. In the case of patents that have not yet been evaluated abroad, the search will be made by the BPTO examiner.

According to the secretary, it is not an automatic patent authorization, but the use of the analyzes made in other countries. “The patent review processes were too long and had a lot of rework – many of these patents had already been granted internationally and started from scratch here. Now, let’s start from certain patent bases already recognized or already registered, “explained Costa.

The Patents Backlog Combat Plan does not include applications that received third-party subsidies or those with priority examination requirements. The use of the priority examination modalities of patent applications in the BPTO already allows the granting of patents in reduced terms, in about eight months.

Priority examinations benefit groups such as the elderly, micro and small businesses, science and technology institutions, green technology developers and participants in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) – a project between national/regional patent offices in which a country takes advantage of the exam the partner to perform their analysis.

Madrid Protocol

During the event, Minister Paulo Guedes spoke about Brazil’s accession to the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty that facilitates and reduces the cost of registering Brazilian companies’ brands in other countries. “This will greatly stimulate the Brazilian industry, reciprocal recognition of brands, increase the competitiveness of Brazilian products abroad,” he said, noting also the possibility of more investments for the country with the recognition of foreign brands in Brazil.

Guedes also highlighted the cooperation of the Legislature to move Brazil’s accession to the protocol, which had been standing for 16 years in the Chamber of Deputies. The adhesion to the protocol was approved in the Congress in May of this year and signed by the president Jair Bolsonaro last week. The agreement, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was adopted on June 27, 1989, and has been in effect since 1996 in other nations.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the adhesion to the term was delivered today at WIPO. With this, the new system starts operating in October at BPTO. Brazilian companies will be able to simultaneously register their trademarks in 102 countries signatories of the agreement, presenting documentation only in Brazil, with the BPTO.

 

News from: Agência Brasil