BRAZILIAN REFORMS
decision on a patent application, from eight-and-a- half years to four.
Patents
Turning now to patents, the INPI has taken decisive action to tackle the backlog of patent applications and related delays, hiring more examiners (there were 273 examiners in 2010 as opposed to just 112 in 2005). Te number of applications examined consequently jumped from 9,643 in 2005 to 15,904 in 2010.
Recently, the patent office announced its intention to hire a further 455 examiners by 2014, taking the total to 728. It also recently (March 2013) introduced a system for the electronic filing of patent applications, based on the system adopted by the European Patent Office. Te INPI expects that the substantial increase in the number of examiners and the launch of the online system will halve the average time for a final
On a more general note we can report that in a drive to foster swiſter resolution of IP disputes, the INPI, in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), established earlier this year a Dispute Mediation Centre. Te pilot project is set to hear 50 applications for mediation between July 15, 2013 and the end of December 2013, relating to trademark applications already underway before the INPI. Mediation services for patent disputes are to be introduced as a second phase.
In the light of the above we can see that the INPI has clearly signalled its firm commitment to tackling the backlog of patent and trademark applications and related delays and has acted accordingly. While there is still room for improvement, the positive effects of
these initiatives are clearly
perceptible. Te INPI has also taken a clear stance on important issues, effectively putting an end to considerable legal and practical uncertainty on certain key questions.
Furthermore, its introduction of wide-ranging and innovative projects for the development and improvement of the Brazilian system for the
grant and protection of IP rights are a significant step in the right direction.
Philippe Bhering is a partner at Bhering Advogados. He can be contacted at:
philippe.bhering@
bhering.adv.br
Philippe Bhering is a graduate of the Candido Mendes University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and holds a Master’s degree from the Ludwig- Maximilians Universitat in Munich, Germany. He is a member of the Brazilian Bar Association, the German Association for the Protection of IP (GRUR), INTA and Marques (the Association of European Trademark Owners).
With over 50 years of experience in Germany and on an international level, Uexküll & Stolberg is a firm of 19 patent attorneys admitted to practice before the European Patent Office (EPO), the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO), Germany’s Federal Patent Court and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), and two attorneys-at-law specialised in Trademark services. Founded in 1958, the firm today employs over 40 full-time staff at its offices in Hamburg and Munich.
The firm offers a full range of legal services in intellectual property matters including patent, utility model, trademark and industrial design prosecution before German and European Authorities. A particularly important aspect of the firm’s business is conducting patent opposition proceedings before these authorities and co-ordination of international patent litigation.
HAMBURG Beselerstr. 4 22607 Hamburg Germany Tel: +49 (0)40 899 654 - 0 Fax: +49 (0)40 899 654 - 88
MÜNCHEN
Maria-Theresia-Str. 13 81675 München Germany Tel: +49 (0)89 290 917 - 0 Fax: +49 (0)89 290 917 - 88
Postmaster@uex.de www.uex.de
www.worldipreview.com
World Intellectual Property Review September/October 2013
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