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After the ratifications of 2/3 of WTO (World Trade Organization) members, article 31 bis was formally brought into the text of TRIPs Agreement. Such provision aims at allowing compulsory licenses for export in order to meet the needs of countries with insufficient or no capacity of manufacturing drugs. It is a direct result of Doha Declaration on TRIPs Agreement and Public Health of 2001, which aims at striking a balance between IP protection and access to health care.

The guide, which is already in its 7th edition, identifies and highlights, through qualitative research, the firms and leading trademark experts in 72 jurisdictions. 

A fter a very long wait, the Brazilian Patent Office finally published the Examination Guidelines for computer-implemented inventions, which went into effect on 6 December 2016, date on which they were published in the Brazilian Official Gazette. The guidelines underwent a process of public consultation and the final version introduced no relevant divergence from the draft document that had been distributed. A translation of the guidelines is enclosed.

The Brazilian Patent Office’s (BPO) “green patents” prioritized examination proceeding, which was initiated in April 2012 and has been yearly renovated for four consecutive years, has now been reissued on a permanent basis via Resolution No. 175 as per publication made in Brazilian Official Gazette No. 2396 of December 6, 2016.

Resolution No. 174 published by the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office on 6 December 2016 established new rules for Brazilian National Phases of PCT applications regarding assignment of priority rights and the assignment of the application.

Currently, there is a relevant discussion on what may be considered as public performance, particularly with relation to streaming activities. While there is a pending case before the Superior Court of Justice (Special Appeal REsp 1.559.264) where it is discussed whether streaming services may be classified as public performances, the lower Courts are already having their saying in this matter.

 It will come into force next Thursday (November 24, 2016) a new resolution issued by CADE (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica), the Brazilian antitrust authority, that redefines the rules for the submission of “associative contracts” for prior approval.

Further to the ongoing discussion regarding ANVISA

(Brazilian FDA)'s role in the examination of pharmaceutical

patent applications, this is to briefly inform you that the

Attorney General's Office just recently issued the legal opinion number 0006-2015-AGU/PGF/PFE/INPI/COOPI-LBC-1.0 affecting Brazilian PTO's (BPTO) procedure on applications forward to ANVISA for purposes of prior consent approval.

After many years of scholarly and political debate within the National Congress, the new Brazilian Civil Procedure Code was passed into law last year and came in force in March 2016, replacing its 1973 predecessor. It is expected that the new rules of civil procedure will reduce litigation in Brazil by favouring alternative dispute resolution methods as well as by allowing and incentivising cooperation between the parties of lawsuits. In particular, we shall address some possible impacts for intellectual property litigation

The office was once again placed in Band 1 , the highest
place in the ranking.

Anderson Ribeiro assumes the Regulatory Law area of the office, focusing on Life Science Team.

The Superintendency of the Brazilian antitrust authority (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica – CADE) has recommended the sanctioning of three major automobile manufacturers for infringing the economic order on grounds of an alleged abuse of intellectual

property rights.

The Brazilian trademark registration system is attributive of rights. A registration issued by the Brazilian Patent and

Trademark Office entitles the owner with rights to use the trademark throughout the Brazilian territory, on an exclusive basis.

Getting the Deal Through: Advertising & Marketing / 2016

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through: Advertising & Marketing 2016, (published in May 2016; contributing editor: Rick Kurnit, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC) For further information please visit www.gettingthedealthrough.com.

Article published on World Intellectual Property Review
Annual 2016.