Trademark registration is a very important activity for businesses wishing to do business in the Brazilian market, the rights to the trademark in Brazil will be granted to the individual or company using the mark for the first time in this territory.
Requirements when filing a trademark application in Brazil
The official language of the trademark registration procedure at the Intellectual Property Office in Brazil is Portuguese. The trademark application and accompanying documents must be prepared in Portuguese. If any accompanying document is drawn up in a language other than Portuguese, a translation of that document must be submitted at the time of application or within 60 days of application.
An application for “registration of a trademark” in Brazil must contain the following information: the mark to be registered, the request for registration of the mark in Brazil, information about the applicant(s), and a list of the goods and/or services to be registered; a signature, a priority document (if priority right is required), and trademark sample.
A certified copy of the Priority Document must be filed with the Brazilian patent office within 180 days of the filing date.
Power of attorney can be filed online when registering a trademark in Brazil.
Stage of examination, publication, and objection to a trademark application in Brazil
Upon completion of the formality process, the trademark applications will be published for objection. The time limit for filing an objection to a Brazilian trademark application is 60 days from the date of publication of the application. After this period expires, the application will be subject to a substantive examination. The Brazilian Intellectual Property Office also conducted a previous trademark search.
Term of validity and renewal of trademark
The deadline for paying the fee for granting a Certificate of Trademark Registration in Brazil is 60 days from the publication date of the decision to grant the Certificate. The degree fee can still be paid within the next 30 days after the due date (but there is a fee).
Trademarks in Brazil are valid for ten years from the date of registration and may be renewed for a period of ten consecutive years within 12 months prior to the expiration of the current trademark registration. An extension may be submitted six months after the expiry of this period.
The process of trademark registration in Brazil will take about 18 months from the time of application until successful registration under favorable conditions.
Use requirements
If the Brazilian trademark is not used within 5 years after the grant of the license, the trademark may be revoked.
Represented by a trademark attorney
For foreign applicants, a trademark search in Brazil should be performed through a law firm or a Brazilian trademark registration attorney.
You can find the list of Brazil IP firms here.