by Rodrigo Borges Carneiro
January 31, 2012
Share
The BPTO has reported a record number of trademark filings in Brazil in 2011. There were 152,735 new applications compared with 129,620 the previous year.
The increase in the number of new trademark applications reinforces the need to hire new examiners. In recent speeches, Jorge Avila, president of the BPTO, has said that he expects about 40 new examiners to be hired in the first six months of 2012.
The hiring of examiners and reducing the analysis time of trademark applications are also conditions for Brazil to join the Madrid Protocol, without it being to the detriment of domestic filers.
Still in the administrative field, the BPTO has released version 2.0 of the E-trademark system for the filing of applications and petitions through the Internet. New features for the system have been announced for 2012, among them the possibility of filing trademarks in a multiclass system. Dr. Vinícius Bogéa Câmera, director of trademarks at the BPTO, also announced the launch of a new system of trademark analysis based on the IPAS program, developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
We also highlight the discussions and reviews of the General World Cup Bill, which have increased with the proximity of the international games.
In the area of Intellectual Property, the draft law being considered in Congress provides a separate chapter providing for the recordal, by the PTO, of the highly reputed trademarks consisting of FIFA’s official symbols as well as well-known trademarks.
Also part of the project is a special procedure for applications for trademark registration submitted by FIFA aiming to accelerate the granting of registrations. The above measures are needed to combat so-called ambush marketing carried out by companies seeking to associate themselves unduly with the sporting events to the detriment of its official sponsors.
As you can see, 2012 promises advances in the trademark areas in Brazil and we will be keeping a close eye on the daily developments.