The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office will now issue trade mark certificates of registration in digital form only.
Based on Resolution No. 136/2014, published on 30 September 2014 in the Official Bulletin No. 2,282, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) will now only issue trade mark certificates of registration in a digital format, digitally signed. INPI Bulletin No. 2282
The measure aims to make the issuance of the certificates faster, more efficient and transparent, also reducing environmental impact. The digital certificates will be accessible at the BPTO’s website.
This new format of issuing certificates should have the further positive effect that a trade mark owner will not need to produce an original paper certificate when it comes to court proceedings for enforcement.
In this regard, it is also interesting to note that there is an ongoing process in Brazil of moving all the Brazilian court proceedings onto paperless, digital files (called in Brazil electronic proceedings). The main courts—including the Superior Court of Justice—are now adopting the electronic format for almost all new cases/appeals. The Federal Courts in Rio de Janeiro, for example, which are specialised in intellectual property disputes, have been using the electronic proceedings system for more than 3 years now.
Commentary
The move by the BPTO to issuing digital trademark certificate only is part of a larger process currently underway in Brazil to modernize and improve the Brazilian legal system, and the administration of it.
Sources: Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office’s INPI Bulletin No. 2282
This article was prepared by guest author, Mauricio Maleck Coutinho of Veirano Advogados’s Rio de Janeiro’s intellectual property team. Mauricio is currently on secondment in Norton Rose Fulbright’s London office.