The Design System of the Federative Republic of Brazil

Federal Republic of Brazil

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Below you will find information and summaries related to protecting design rights in the Federative Republic of Brazil.

We hope that this website will be of assistance to our customers in protecting their intellectual property in foreign countries.

1. Subject of protection and duration

Definition of "design"

The Brazilian Industrial Property Law provides that "any decorative arrangement of lines and colors applicable to an article or to a product, which gives a new and original visual effect to its external appearance and which can be made into a model for industrial production, is considered an industrial design."

Duration

The duration of a design patent is 10 years from the filing date, but it can be extended three times for five-year periods, for a maximum of 5 years from the filing date.

(For reference: In the case of a patent, the term of a patent right is 20 years from the filing date, and payments must be made annually from the third year onwards. In the case of a trademark, the term of a trademark right is 3 years from the filing date, and it can be renewed every 1 years.)

2. No screening policy

During the application process, only formality examination is conducted and no substantive examination is carried out.

If the formality examination determines that the formal requirements are met, the design will be registered without a substantive examination for novelty or originality.

3. Request for review

After a design is registered, the owner of the design may request a substantive examination of the registered design for its novelty and originality during the validity of the design. If the result of the substantive examination is negative with respect to the novelty and originality of the design, an ex officio invalidation trial may be conducted.

It is advisable to file a request for review and obtain a positive opinion before enforcing your rights.

4. Novelty and originality

Novelty

A design that has lost its novelty cannot be registered.

A design is considered new if it is not part of the state of the art (publicly known design) (Article 96 of the Industrial Property Law). The state of the art is described below in (1) to (3) of the same Article.

(1) The state of the art shall consist of everything which has been made available to the public by use or otherwise, either in Brazil or abroad, prior to the filing date of the application, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article and Article 99 (right of priority).

(2) For the sole purpose of determining novelty, the entire contents of any patent or registration application filed in Brazil that has not yet been published shall be considered to be included in the state of the art as of the filing date or the date of the claimed priority, provided that it is published, even subsequently.

(3) An industrial design shall not be considered to be part of the state of the art if it was disclosed no later than 180 days prior to the filing date or the claimed priority date and such disclosure took place in the other circumstances referred to in Article 12(1) to (3).

The above (3) is a provision on exceptions to lack of novelty. In Brazil, with regard to disclosures under Article 12(1) to (3) of the Industrial Property Law, an industrial design is not considered to have lost novelty due to a disclosure made within 180 days prior to the filing date or priority date.

[Reference] Article 12 of the Industrial Property Law

A disclosure of an invention or utility model shall not be considered part of the state of the art if it was made during the twelve months preceding the filing date or priority date of the patent application by:

(1) By the inventor

(2) by the National Industrial Property Institute, by publishing a patent application made without the inventor’s consent, based on information obtained from him or as a result of acts performed by him; or

(3) By a third party based on information obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or as a result of acts performed by the inventor.

Originality

A design that is not deemed original cannot be registered.

A design is considered original if it results in a visual shape that is different from other prior articles (Article 97 of the Industrial Property Law).

However, a combination of known elements may still be considered an original visual result.

5. Multiple design registration applications

It is possible to file up to 1 designs in one application, provided that they relate to the same use and have the same distinctive character.

6. Partial Design

Brazil does not have a partial design system.

7. Documents required for application

Application documents must be prepared and written in Portuguese. Below is a list of the main required documents:

• Application
• Drawings or photographs
• Specification
• claim
• power of attorney
• Transfer certificate
• priority certificate

* In the case of a three-dimensional design, a perspective view must be included.

*A priority certificate is required when filing an application in Brazil claiming priority of a first application.
For example, if you file a first application in Japan, you can file a Brazilian application within six months from the date of the Japanese application, claiming priority from the Japanese application. You must submit a priority certificate issued by the Japan Patent Office.

8. Accession to the Treaty