VZCZCXRO5299
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #2083 2721848
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291848Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6870
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 3007
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 5573
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 8201
RUCPDO/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS BRASILIA 002083 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR USPTO 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/MWARD 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD/SHUPKA 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
USTR FOR CRONIN/SULLIVAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON EIND EINV ETRD PGOV BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: NEW ONLINE PATENT AND TRADEMARK REGISTRATION 
PROCESS 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  The GoB's National Institute of Industrial Property 
(INPI) has adopted an electronic system designed to reduce 
bureaucracy in the country's patent and trademark registration 
process.  This new "e-marcas" system, launched on September 1, 
should enable patent and trademark requesters to process their 
applications online via internet, and permit INPI to complete the 
entire process electronically.  Brazilian patent and trademark 
seekers have historically experienced long delays.  Goals are to 
reduce the processing time by a year for trademarks and by five for 
patents, by 2007.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. Background:  Currently, Brazil lags far behind developed 
countries, particularly Japan and the U.S., in number of 
applications for copyrights and patents.  This has been attributed 
to a lack of "patent and trademark culture," particularly among the 
private sector.  70 percent of patent applications in Brazil are 
done by universities or public research institutions, and only 30 
percent by the private sector.  In developed countries, the 
proportion is the opposite, according to INPI. Part of the reason 
for a lack of impetus or culture for turning innovation into 
intellectual property is the time it currently takes to register a 
trademark or patent in Brazil.  According to news reports, it takes 
six years to register a trademark in Brazil, and, while the average 
is five years, a patent can take up to nine years.  Currently, only 
10 percent of the patents registered in Brazil are for domestic 
inventions. 
 
¶3. Director Claudio Barbosa of the Brazilian Association for 
Intellectual Property, ABPI, affirmed in a recent press article that 
the switch to a more rapid system "can provide the basis for 
investment decisions . . .it's not necessary that something be a 
Nobel prize winner to be registered; [even] simple innovations that 
were born on the floor of a factory need to be protected."  Barbosa 
further said that improving the system of registering trademarks and 
patents protects innovation, provides the legal security to increase 
research, and attracts investment.  However, Barbosa also cited cost 
as a barrier, saying that the registration of even a simple patent 
cannot take place for less than 3,000 Brazilian Reais (approximately 
US$1393.) 
 
¶4. According to INPI, in 2005, businesses that operate in Brazil 
applied for little more than 21,000 patents.  By stark comparison, 
in Japan, 420,000 requests were registered in 2004, and in the 
United States, 357,000. 
 
¶5. Comment:  The statistics cited reveal longstanding barriers in 
terms of timing, money, and ideology, to registering trademarks and 
patenting inventions in Brazil.  It is too soon to predict whether 
INPI's new "e-marcas" system will function smoothly, reduce 
processing time by as much or as soon as the GoB predicts, or foster 
a true culture of innovation and intellectual property protection. 
That said, it is a step in the right direction. 
 
SOBEL