Prosecution Of A Trademark Application In Brazil
FILING
FORMAL EXAMINATION
PUBLICATION
OPPOSITION PERIOD
SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION
REGISTRATION FEES
GRANTING
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
FILING
The filing date of a Brazilian trademark is the one assigned when filing the application.
If priority is claimed, the filing date will remain the same but the priority date will be the one claimed.
FORMAL EXAMINATION
Within approximately 30 days from the filing date
The Brazilian Trademark Office will determine if the application meets the formal requirements and if it does, the trademark will be published.
PUBLICATION
Within approximately 30 days from the formal examination
When the Brazilian Trademark Office deems the application meets the formal requirements, the application will be published in the Official Gazette for opposition purposes. The Official Gazzette is published on a weekly basis.
OPPOSITION PERIOD
Publication + 60 days.
The opposition period starts as soon as the trademark is published and the period for a third party to file an opposition ends 60 days after publication.
If no opposition was filed and the 60-day opposition period has ended, the trademark will undergo a substantive examination.
SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION
The examination will be concluded within 18 months from the filing date.
During this phase, the Trademark Office will analyze the application on both absolute and relative grounds of refusal. This includes a search to determine potential legal obstacles.
If no obstacles are found, the application will be allowed for registration.
REGISTRATION FEES
60 + 30 days counted from the Allowance Decision.
After the Brazilian Trademark Office publishes the allowance decision, the applicant has 60 days to pay the final registration fees. A 30-day extension is possible, though an additional fee would apply.
If the fees are not paid, the application will be declared abandoned.
GRANTING
Once the registration fees have been paid, the Brazilian Trademark Office publishes the granting decision in the Official Gazzette.
The mark will be protected for a period of 10 years, starting as from the granting date.
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION
After the granting decision has been published in the Official Gazzette, a digital registration certificate is issued.
Useful Information
According to Brazilian Law a cancellation can be requested by third parties and if the trademark has not been used for 5 years, counting from the registration date, it will be cancelled.
It is relevant to also note that the use of the mark is not evaluated ex officio by the BRTMO, nor the owner must file periodically any prove of use. The evaluation of the use of a trademark is only done in the eventuality that a cancelation action is filed.