By Elisabeth Kasznar Fekete

Kasznar Leonardos Advogados' litigation team, specialized

in Intellectual Property matters, discussed the concrete

implementation of the new Code of Civil Procedure

(effective as of March 18, 2016) in a workshop held in the

São Paulo offices, on March 4 and 5, marking the closing

of a profound cycle of studies on the subject.

The Trademark Reporter© Vol. 104 – The Law Journal of the International Trademark Association (site da INTA)

Trade secrets are protected as a category of intellectual property rights. In Brazil, their protection resides in the legislation set forth against unfair competition (considered a crime under Brazil’s Industrial Property Law of 1996), in the TRIPS Agreement (the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and in other legal provisions such as the ‘inviolability of privacy’ clause of the Federal Constitution.

Trade secrets are thus protected by the statutory rules on fair competition, established in Articles 195(XI) and 195(XII) of the Industrial Property Law with civil and criminal effects, and by Article 842(g) of the Labour Law, according to which the breach of a trade secret by an employee is considered a valid reason for dismissal.

This paper gives an overview on legal, economic and cultural characteristics that are inherent to the Brazilian business scenario and how they affect the negotiation of know how licensing agreements. The Brazilian regulatory framework and the point of view of Brazilian companies can bring out significant issues not expected by their counterparts of other countries or regions. Experience demonstrates that understanding the concepts, reasons and dynamics of emerging economies from their perspective may help U.S. legal professionals to observe relevant factors and get insights to overcome obstacles in the practice of contractual law in a multinational or multicultural environment, in particular when negotiating know how licensing contracts.
 

The growth of the Brazilian market and economy is paralleled by the increase in counterfeiting activities. The enforcement of IP rights involves planning, technology, intelligence, training and coordination, with support from a number of laws and treaties, as well as the relevant rules of the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and administrative statutory instruments.

The legal framework for anti-counterfeiting includes:

• the Industrial Property Law (9,279/96);

• the Copyright Law (9,610/98); and

• the Software Law (9,609/98).

In addition, Brazil is a signatory to the main international IP instruments, such as:

• the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (as reviewed in Stockholm in 1967);

• the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPs);

• the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artisti

Legal framework

The growth of the Brazilian market and economy is parallelled by the increase of counterfeiting activities. The enforcement of IP rights involves planning, technology, intelligence, training and coordination, with support from a number of laws and treaties, as well as the relevant rules of the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and administrative statutory instruments. The legal framework for anticounterfeiting includes:

• the Industrial Property Law (Law 9,279/96);

• the Copyright Law (Law 9,610/98); and

• the Software Law (Law 9,609/98).

In addition, Brazil is a signatory to the main international IP instruments, such as:

• the Paris Convention for the Protection

of Industrial Property (as reviewed in Stockholm in 1967);

• the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs);

• the Berne Convention f

Bedeutung und Vielschichtigkeit der brasilianischen gesetzlichen Vorschriften uber Arbeitnehmererfindungen werden in den einschlägigen Veröffentlichungen stets hervorgehoben. Der besondere Rang dieses Rechtsgebiets ist angesichts der gegenwärtigen industriellen Konjunktur, in der sie Meisen der wesentlichen Erfindungen aufgrund systematischer Forschungen in Industrie und Wissenschaft gemacht werden, nicht zu bestreinte.