BRAZIL
INITIATIVES OF THE BRAZILIAN PATENT OFFICE TO ACCELERATE PATENT APLICATION PROCESSES
The patent office in Brazil has been known to take quite some time to decide on a patent application, which can even reach 12 or 14 years. This long time is due in particular to the sustained increase in patent filings in this country and the lack of human resources.
Aiming at a reduction of such times, the Patent Office has launched a new initiative that includes a streamlined review of formal aspects during the admissibility examination of BR Phase Entries and not PCT applications within the period January 1st 2013 – December 31st 2016.
Also, the e-filing system already in use for some years, which has extended to all services with the Brazilian PTO, the shelving of applications with unpaid maintenance fees before the examiner takes the file for examination.