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SEARCHES
The following searches are made directly with Brazilian INPI (National Institute for Industrial Property), by means of on-line systems:
Trademark search
Search according to the product and service classification in force, concerning the activity field of interest, so to find out previous applications or registrations with identical or similar characteristics and their current position, as well as an added service to inform similarities between trademarks and commercial names;
Patent search
Xerox copies by product or applicant, so to build up literature or to take knowledge and determine the current state of the art.
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TRADEMARKS
Trademark registration application with Brazilian INPI (National Institute for Industrial Property) and follow-up of the official publications, so to keep informed about the various stages within the process until the final approval and subsequent delivery of the Registration Certificate, which is valid for 10 (ten) years from the date of granting. This deadline may be extended at the owner's request, followed by watching all communications during the Certificate's validity.
Trademark options:
- Nominative ......: A trademark consisting of only words, letters or numbers.
- Figurative .........: Solely represented by a design, image or any other graphic sign.
- Mixed .................: Comprises both elements, nominative and figurative, or represented in a specific style.
- Tridimensional: Plastic form of a product or packing which is distinctive by itself, apart from any technical effect.
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PATENTS
Elaboration of a Descriptive Report, Summary, Claims and Designs, which are submitted to the customer as a draft for analysis and approval before being presented to the Brazilian INPI (National Institute for Industrial Property) for filing, thus starting the process which is followed by watching and controlling all decisions, publications and annuity payments for its maintenance during its validity period.
Validity Period for Patents and Industrial Designs: (from the date of filing)
- Invention Patents ...........................: 20 (twenty) years. Return to home page
COPYRIGHT
Registration of Copyright with the National School of Arts, National Library and Music School (depending on the type of artistic, cultural or literary production), grants a special protection to the work in all activities, thus guaranteeing the rights of the author, forbidding possible infringers to unduly use his or her rights.
According to the Brazilian Copyright Law nš 9,610 dated February 12, 1998, the following works may be protected:
- Literary, artistic and scientific texts;
- Conferences, presentations, preaches and similar works;
- Dramas and music works;
- Choreographic and pantomimic works, which scenic presentation is written or fixed in any other way;
- Music compositions, with lyrics or not;
- Audiovisual works, with sounds or not, movies included;
- Photographic works and others produced by any similar process to photography;
- Designs, paintings, carvings, sculptures, lithographs and kinetic arts;
- Illustrations, geographic maps and similar works;
- Projects, sketches, and plastic works concerning geography, engineering, topography, architecture, landscape, scenery and science;
- Adaptations, translations and other information on original works, presented as a new intellectual creation;
- Software; (please visit specific page)
- Selections or compilations, anthologies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, databases and other works, which, for their selection, organization or presentation of their contents, present an intellectual creation.
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SOFTWARE
Since 1988, as a delegation from Brazilian CNDA (National Copyright Council), INPI (National Institute for Industrial Property) is entitled to register computer software and keep it under strict secret.
According to the specific Software Law nš 9,609 dated February 19, 1998 (Section 1), "Computer software is the expression of an organized collection of instructions in natural or coded language, kept in physical support of any nature, which use is required for the treatment of information in automatic machines, peripheral devices, instruments or equipment, based on digital or analog techniques, so to make them work in a given way for specific purposes."
Registration is a legal way to guarantee the exclusivity in production, use and commercialization of software to company owners in the national market, thus becoming an economic asset.
Validity deadline is for 50 (fifty) years, from the date of use of the software by its author, or presentation for use by third parties.
Documents required for registration application:
- Details about the author (individual) and owner (individual or corporation), if different;
- Descriptive report, functional specifications, flow charts and other data enough to identify and characterize the novelty of the software;
- Full listings of the original software in A4, double-sided and numbered sheets, in 2 (two) original copies, each one separated in groups of 7 (seven) sheets, to be included in a sealed package (*), to be delivered to Brazilian INPI.
(*) Such packing may be prepared at our offices or by the author himself, under our instructions, if so desired for safety reasons.
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INTERNATIONAL
Before searching for new business and opportunities, trademarks and product innovations must be protected, since they are assets of economic value for your company.
Trademarks and patentable innovations owned by national and international companies must be protected in all countries where the products are commercialized or their commercialization is intended.
This means that, without such a protection, there will be the risk that third parties start to produce and export products with the same trademarks or patents registered in the country of origin, making use of your rights.
It is therefore extremely important for the protection and legitimation, for the owners of such rights, to protect intellectual creations (patents and trademarks) in the countries to which they export or intend to export, registering trademark and patent applications not only in the country of origin, but also abroad, to safely promote the company business internationally.
We stress that, according to treaties, conventions, organizations and similar agreements between the countries, it is possible to extend one single application or registration to obtain protection in various member countries.
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LEGAL
Complete legal assistance covering technical, assistance and administrative area for the following cases:
- Lawsuits;
- Search and Arrest;
- Indictments;
- Judicial and Extrajudicial notices;
- Negotiations and filing of agreements for Technology Transference and similar;
- Remises on trademarks and patents;
- Licenses for use of trademarks;
- Licenses to explore patents;
- Franchising agreements;
- Cost-sharing.
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PRODUCTS
Products must be registered with the proper organisms and licensed for manufacturing, according to their nature as follows:
Registration at the Ministry of Health
For cosmetics and food, hygiene, cleaning, pharmaceutical, medical products and similar;
Registration at the Ministry of Agriculture
For beverages (alcoholic or not), grains at animal field and its establishments, approval of labels and packs;
INMETRO Certificate
When the product or packing requires conformity, performance, quality or resistance tests, or other evaluations and specifications, as well as barcode classification.
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CORPORATE NAME
Corporate name protection is a natural consequence of filing corporate articles of an individual or corporate company, as well as a specific amendment with this purpose, being restricted to the State of jurisdiction of the Trade Board which accepted the application.
Corporate name protection within the jurisdiction of another Trade Board is an automatic consequence of opening a branch registered therein or filing a specific request, instructed by a statement of the Trade Board of the State where the head offices of the interested company are located.
To extend the Corporate Name protection before Trade Boards in all States in the Brazilian territory without opening new branches, a Simplified Statement issued by the Trade Board of the company's head office may be filed (one original copy for each State where the protection will be requested), thus extending the Corporate Name to the respective Trade Boards in the States of interest.
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