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The average time frame for the registration approval is 8 months, if no objections or oppositions arise.
No. A registered trademark is protected only in Brazil.
Yes. All applicants are required to submit a power of attorney.
Prior use of a mark for a minimum of 6 months can be cited as a ground for claiming a “right of precedence.”
Yes. Third parties may attack a registered trademark on the ground of non-use.
The following marks are accepted for registration:
- Words
- Devices
- Names
- Some three-dimensional shapes
- Get-up or trade dress
- Colours
- Collective marks
- Well-known marks
- Certification marks
- Service marks
There are three phases of a trademark application in Brazil:
- Publication – Filing particulars are published online: mark, applicant’s name, country, application date, good/service, representation, etc.
- Examination – The application is examined in respect to: classification, formalities, descriptiveness, clarity, deceptiveness, conflict with an earlier right
- Registration – The trademark is officially registered once opposition is settled
Applicants may not register the following marks:
- Marks that contradict principles or morality and public safety/order
- Generic words or terms
- Flags, names, or symbols of any state, nation, or international organization
- Marks that do not show distinctiveness
- Marks that are used primarily as a geographical name
- Marks with geographical indications
- Marks that are used as an advertising means
- Scientific, literary and artistic terms
Yes. The Nice Classification system is followed in Brazil.
Because Brazil is not a European Union member, the Community Trademark is not effective in this jurisdiction.
It is possible to claim priority application in Brazil when:
- The applicant’s home country is a signatory of the Paris Convention
- The application in the home country was filed 6 months earlier than the application date in Brazil
A registered trademark must be used 5 years from the date of registration or within 5 years prior to non-use attack. It must be used for a commercial purpose and must occur in the jurisdiction of Brazil.
A registered trademark in Brazil is valid for 10 years counting from the registration date.
The first renewal of a registered trademark will take place 10 years from the registration grant date.
Unregistered marks may be used legally provided the following conditions are met:
- The mark is not prohibited by the Brazilian laws
- The mark is not in conflict with any notorious mark
- The mark is not contrary to Brazilian customs and principles of morality
- The mark is not offensive to religious beliefs
- The mark is not misleading with regards to its origin or nature
Registration is necessary in order to obtain rights to a trademark. The “first to file” rule applies with an exception for notorious or well-known marks
Visit Brazil’s national office online at: http://www.inpi.gov.br/
Yes. Actual use or intent to use is required for the application.
Yes. The opposition is available on the following grounds:
- Proprietary right
- Mark is descriptive
- Mark is not distinctive
- Mark is misleading or deceptive
- Breach of copyright
- Rights of notorious marks
- Rights of trade names
- Rights under Article 6septies of the Paris Convention
- Rights in registered design
- Rights in a personal name
- Rights in a company name
- Unauthorized use of protected emblems or national insignia
Owner of an earlier right or any interested party can oppose a trademark registration.
Yes. A registered trademark may be cancelled on the following grounds:
- Descriptive mark
- Not distinctive mark
- Misleading mark
- Functional mark
- Mark includes a geographical indication
- Mark is against morality or public order
- Mark includes a protected emblem or badge
- Application was made in bad faith
- Use requirements under Section VIII.A are not met
Owners of a registered trademark obtain the following rights:
- Exclusive right to use the mark
- Right to oppose later conflicting applications
- Right to bring cancellation to later conflicting registrations
- Right to file an infringement case against third parties for using a confusingly similar mark
- Right to license third parties to use the mark
- Right to request for seizure of counterfeit goods
- Right to receive damages for infringement
The opposition period will start on the date the application is published on the Official Bulletin.
The opposition period will end on the 60th day of the publication on the Official Bulletin.
Brazil is a signatory of the Madrid Protocol.
No. Periodic statements of use are not required.
Subsequent renewals for a trademark are done every 10 years.
The first renewal of a registered trademark will take place 10 years from the registration grant date.
None. However, a power of attorney is needed if the renewal will be processed by a different attorney or not by an attorney-of-record.
After the renewal date has expired, owners are given 6 months to restore the mark.