BRAZIL: Getting Closer to Madrid

Recent announcements from the Brazilian National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) and an approval on April 9, 2013 by the Brazilian Federal Government’s Foreign Commerce Chamber (CAMEX) are strong indicators that Brazil will soon be joining the Madrid Protocol.

The changes announced by INPI include:

• The intention to reduce the trademark examination period to 18 months by January 2014 and to nine months by January 2015.

   

• Increasing the number of examiners from 53 to more than 150 by hiring 17 additional examiners in 2013 and seeking federal government approval to hire 90 more.

   

• Launching a new internal software database that (1) will allow for multiclass applications and multiple applicants; (2) allows the user with a password to see documents filed (other than oppositions or nullity actions not yet published); and (3) is Web based.

Although CAMEX first recommended accession to Madrid in November 2006, INPI Trademark Director Vinicius Bogeá Câmara indicated in a recent speech that this time Brazil has the support of its industrial sector necessary to make joining the Madrid System a reality.

(Source: INTA Bulletin at www.inta.org)