BPTO Trademark Manual will be updated continuously

BPTO Trademark Manual will be updated continuously

On August 21, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) announced that its Trademark Manual has been updated and that it will be updated continuously from that date. The change was made in order to speed up the implementation of improvements to procedures and guidance for users. Details of the changes incorporated into each version of the Manual will be made available on a continuous basis on the BPTO’s website, in the “Trademark Manual Updates” section. The office had already adopted this new procedure in the Industrial Designs Manual and informs that it will apply this new system later in the Geographical Indications Manual.

Among the updates made to the Trademark Manual, the section on civil names, patronymics and images of third parties includes clarifications on the cases in which express authorization is required to register a name, signature or image as a trademark. With regard to the application requested by the holder of the personality right, the document details that “the individual entrepreneur, including the individual micro-entrepreneur (MEI), will be considered the holder of the personality right, in addition to the natural person, and authorization for registration is unnecessary when the trademark is filed by them”. In the case of companies in which the holder of the personality right is one of the partners, the Manual states that the express authorization of this holder is mandatory in order to register their name, signature or image as a trademark on behalf of the applicant company. In this section, the new version of the Manual explains that “the single-member limited liability company (SLU), which replaced the individual limited liability company (EIRELI), is also obliged to present this authorization, even in cases where its owner is the holder of the personality right contained in the sign to be registered.”

Also, in the section of the Manual on petitions relating to power of attorney, information on the service of appointing and removing a power of attorney in a petition has been removed. Finally, textual adjustments have been made to the section on third-party trademarks.

The updates can be accessed via the link: Atualizações

Note: For quick release, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.