- North & South America
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trademark law
The current trademark regulations in Brazil are mainly based on the Intellectual Property Law, which came into effect on May 15, 1997. The Brazilian Industrial Property Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs, and the official language is Portuguese. Trademark exclusive rights need to be obtained through registration. Trademark registration is not mandatory, but in order to protect the trademark or renew it, it must be registered in accordance with the law. The Brazilian trademark registration adopts the principle of "application first".
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Registered types
Currently, Brazil adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition of product and service descriptions and does not accept applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Brazil include: text, name, graphics, letters, color, three-dimensional logo, etc.
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Unregisterable situation
1. Non traditional markers such as music clips, sounds, and colors cannot be registered in Brazil.
2. Prohibited by law from being registered as a trademark;
3. The design of the trademark design applied for registration must not include government, official, public, ethnic, national characteristic badges, military insignia, markings, decorations, flags, or other designs that are identical or similar, whether they are domestic, foreign, or international;
4. There are no separate letters, numbers, or dates in the design of the trademark application, unless they have sufficient distinctiveness;
5. The design of the applied trademark design must not contain any text, graphics, or combinations that violate moral and customary standards, widely accepted behavioral standards, personal aggression, or insult religious customs and respected and praised emotions and beliefs;
6. The design of the registered trademark design cannot include the names and abbreviations of public institutions and their agencies that do not require trademark registration;
7. The design of the trademark design applied for registration cannot contain official or officially certified names, marks, and prizes used in art, culture, sports, society, economy, technology, or politics, as well as designs that can easily cause confusion by imitating the above names, marks, and prizes, unless the relevant parties and organizations provide corresponding authorization and authorization certificates;
8. The design of the trademark design applied for registration shall not have designs that imitate or replicate the titles, bonds, currencies, or notes of the federal, state, city, county, or regional governments of Brazil or other countries;
9. The design of a registered trademark design cannot include the name and signature of an individual, well-known pen names and nicknames, family names or portraits of others, or the name of an individual or group artist, unless the consent or permission of the corresponding rights holder or their heirs is obtained. -
Duration
The Brazilian trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of registration; Renewal can be processed one year before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal period is 10 years.
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Revocation system
The invalidation or revocation application after trademark registration can generally be filed based on the following reasons:
1. Violating relevant laws and regulations;
2. Malicious registration;
3. If a trademark is not actually used in the country for five consecutive years after registration, anyone may apply for revocation; Except for force majeure.
Trademark revocation applications can be submitted to the Brazilian Industrial Property Office, which generally takes 2-3 years under current examination conditions. -
Trademark Assignment
The examination of trademark transfer by the Brazilian Intellectual Property Office is the same as that of the original applicant, without considering the registration status at the time of application, whether the application materials are complete or meet the requirements, only examining whether the applied trademark meets the registration conditions. The announcement period for trademark transfer is six months. If the applicant decides to transfer the trademark, they must submit an application three months before the expiration of the announcement period, otherwise they will not be approved.
1. Single country application: Directly file a trademark application with the Brazilian Industrial Property Office
2. Madrid International Registration Designated Brazil
Before submitting a trademark registration application, the first step is to conduct a trademark search. The purpose of trademark search is to determine whether the applied trademark is similar to an existing trademark in order to avoid conflicts. The Brazilian Trademark Office provides an online trademark database, through which applicants can search for trademarks.;
A trademark registration application requires filling out an application form, including basic information of the trademark, contact information of the applicant, etc. In addition, it is necessary to submit the trademark design and trademark classification information. Trademark classification is based on the differences in goods and services, and Brazil adopts the International Trademark Classification System.
The Trademark Office will conduct a preliminary examination of the application, mainly checking whether the application form is filled out completely and whether the trademark meets legal requirements. If the application materials are incomplete or the trademark does not meet the requirements, the Trademark Office will issue a notice requesting the applicant to make corrections.
The trademark application that has passed the preliminary examination will enter the substantive examination stage. The Trademark Office will conduct a more detailed examination of trademarks, including their registrability and similarity to existing trademarks. If the Trademark Office considers the trademark to meet the requirements, it will issue a registration certificate; If the trademark does not meet the requirements, a refusal notice will be issued.
If the trademark application passes the substantive examination, the Trademark Office will publish the trademark information in the official gazette. The announcement period is 60 days, during which anyone can raise objections. If there are no objections, the trademark will proceed to the next step.
If there are no objections during the announcement period, the Trademark Office will issue a registration certificate. The trademark registration certificate is the legal proof of trademark ownership and the foundation of trademark protection.
If the applicant does not reside in Brazil, they must entrust a specialized agent in their home country to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Specific categories and product/service offerings;
3. Name and address of the applicant (provide identification documents in the name of a natural person; for applications in the name of a company, a photo or scanned copy of the business license is required; for applications in the name of an individual, it is recommended to apply in the name of a legal person to avoid the issuance of examination opinions on the subject matter of the application by the Trademark Office of the applicant country)
4. If priority is declared, priority proof documents and corresponding translations must be provided;
5. Power of attorney.