Article 1: This law regulates rights and obligations regarding industrial property matters.

Article 2: The protection of  industrial property rights, which takes into account the social, technological and economic development of the country, is effected by means of:

      I. Patents of invention and patents of utility model;

2. Industrial design registrations;
3. Trademark registrations;
4. Repression of false geographical indications; and
5. Repression of unfair competition.

Article 3: The provisions of this law also apply to:

1. Application for a patent or registration originating from abroad and filed in this country by anyone under  protection guaranteed by a treaty or convention effective in Brazil; and
2. To nationals or persons domiciled in a country that reciprocates identical or equivalent rights to Brazilians or residents in Brazil.

Article 4: The provisions of treaties or conventions effective in Brazil are applicable, in equal conditions, to natural and legal persons that are nationals or residents of  this country.

Article 6: The author of an invention or of a utility model will be entitled to obtain a patent whose property will be guaranteed to the author under the terms and conditions in this law.

§1 Unless proven otherwise, the applicant is presumed to have the right to obtain a patent.

§2 A patent may be applied for by the author, its heirs or successors, by an assignee or by whomever the law or a employment or service contract determines to be the owner.

§3 When an invention or utility model is created jointly by two or more individuals, the patent may be applied for by all or anyone of them, providing that all inventors are fully identified in the application to guarantee respective rights.

§4 The inventor will be named and qualified, but may request his authorship not to be disclosed.

Article 7: If two or more authors have independently divised the same invention or utility model, the right to obtain a patent will be assured to whoever proves the earliest filing regardless of the dates of invention or creation.

Sole paragraph: The withdrawal of an earlier filing which had no effect will give priority to the first later filing.

Article 8: To be patentable an invention must meet the requirements of novelty; inventive activity and industrial application.

Article 9: An objet of practical use, or part thereof, is patentable as a utility model, if its capability of industrial application features a new shape or arrangement and involves an inventive act resulting in a functional improvement in its use or manufacture.

Article 10: The following are not considered to be inventions or utility models:

1. Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
2. Purely abstract concepts;
3. Schemes, plans, principles or methods of a commercial, accounting, financial, educational, publishing, lottery or fiscal nature;
4. Literary, architectural, artistic and scientific works or any aesthetic creation.
5. Computer programs per se;
6. The presentation of information
7. .Rules of games;
8. .Operating or surgical techniques and therapeutic or diagnostic methods, for use on the human or animal body; and
9. Natural living beings, in whole or in part, and biological material, including the genome of germ plasma of any natural living being, when found in nature or isolated therefrom, and natural biological processes.

Article 11: Inventions and utility models are considered to be new when not included in the state of the art.

§1 The state of the art comprises everything made accessible to the public before the date of filing of a patent application, by written or oral description, by use or any other means, in Brazil or abroad, without the prejudice to the provisions of Articles 12, 16, and 17.

§2 For the purpose of determining novelty, the whole contents of an application filed in Brazil, but still unpublished, will be considered as state of the art,   from its filing date, or from the date of the earliest priority claimed, in case it be eventually published.

§3 The provisions of the preceding paragraph will  apply to an international patent application filed under a treaty or convention effective in Brazil, if the corresponding application is filed in this country.

Article 12: The disclosure of an invention or utility model which occurring during the twelve months preceding the patent application filing date or the earliest priority claimed will not be considered as part of the state of the art, provided that such disclosure is made by;

1. By the inventor;
2. By the National Institute of Industrial Property - INPI - (BRAZILIAN PTO), through official publication of a patent application filed without the consent of the inventor and based on information obtained from the inventor or as a result of its acts; or
3. By third parties, on the basis of information received directly or indirectly from the inventor or as the result of its acts.

Sole Paragraph: INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) may require the inventor to submit a declaration regarding such a  disclosure, accompanied or not by evidence under the conditions established by Law.

Article 13: An invention shall be deemed to involve inventive activity when, to soneone skilled in the art, it does not appear to commonly or trivially derive from the state of the art.

Article 14: The utility model shall deemed to involve an inventive act when, to someone skilled in the art, it does not appear to commonly or trivially derive from the state of the art.

Article 15: Inventions and utility models are deemed of industrial application if capable of being produced or used in any kind of industry.

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Article 16: Priority rights will be guaranteed to a patent application filed in a country holding an agreement with Brazil or in an international organization, as if it was a national filing,, within the time limits established in the agreement.  Such filing shall not be invalidated nor jeopardized by facts occurring within such time limits.

§1 Priority claims must be made at the time of filing, but may be supplemented within 60 (sixty) days by other priorities earlier than the date of filing in Brazil.

§2 A priority claim must be supported by a suitable document of origin, including number, date, title, specifications and, if the case, claims and drawings, accompanied by an informal translation of the filing certificate or equivalent document containing data identifying the application, the contents of which will be the entire responsibility of the applicant.

§3 If not submitted at the time of filing, such proof must be presented within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from filing.

§4 For international applications filed under a treaty or convention effective in Brazil, the translation provided for in §2 must be filed within the period of 60 (sixty) days from the date of entry into national phase.

§5 When the application filed in Brazil its entirely contained in the document of origin, an affidavit by the applicant in this respect will substitute the simple translation.

§6 When priority right is obtained by virtue of an assignment, the corresponding document must be submitted within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from filing or, in the case of entry into national phase, within 60 (sixty) days from the date of such entry.  Consular certification of this document is not required.

§7 Failure to file a priority proof within the time limits established in this article will result in loss of priority rights.

§8 In the case of an application filed with a priority claim, any request for early publication must be made with proof of priority on file.

Article 17: An application for a patent of invention or for a utility model originally filed in Brazil, without a priority claim and still unpublished, will extend the right of priority to a later application in respect of the same subject matter filed in Brazil by the same applicant or by his successors, for a time limit of 1 (one) year.

§1 Priority will only be accepted for subject matter disclosed in the earlier application and will not cover any new matter eventually introduced.

§2 The pending earlier application will be considered as shelved.

§3 A patent application resulting from the division of an earlier application cannot serve as basis for priority claim.

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Article 18: The following are not patentable:

1. Whatever is contrary to morals, good customs and public security, order and health;
2. Substances, matter, mixtures, elements or products of any kind, as well as the modification of their physical-chemical properties and the respective processes of obtaining or modification thereof, when resulting from the transformation of the atomic nucleus; and
3. Living beings, in whole or in part, except transgenic micro-organisms meeting the three patentability requirements - novelty, inventive activity and industrial application - as provided in Article 8 and which are not considered mere discoveries

Sole Paragraph: For the purposes of this law, transgenic micro-organisms are organisms, except the whole or part of plants or animals, that present, due to direct human intervention in their genetic composition, a characteristic that can not normally be attained by species under natural conditions.

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Article 19: A patent application should include:

1. Executed application form;
2. Specification;
3. Claims;
4. Drawings if any;
5. An abstract; and
6. Proof of payment of the filing fee.

Article 20: Once submitted, the application will undergo a formal preliminary examination and, if in due order, will be formally accepted and stamped (docketed), the date of submittal being considered as the filing date.

Article 21: An application that does not formally meet the requirements of Article 19, but which does contain data covering subject matter, the applicant and the inventor, may be delivered to the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) against a dated receipt which will establish the requirements to be met within a period of 30 (thirty) days, the failure to do so resulting in return or shelving of the documentation.

Sole Paragraph: Once the requirements have been met, filing of the application will be considered to have been made on the date it was received.

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Article 22: An application for a patent of invention must refer to a single invention or to a group of inventions so interrelated as to comprise one single inventive concept.

Article 23: An application for a utility model must refer to a single basic model,  which may include a plurality of distinct additional elements or structural or configurative variations, provided that technical-functional and corporeal unity of the object is preserved.

Article 24: The specification must describe the subject matter clearly and sufficiently so as to enable anyone skilled in the art to carry it out and to indicate, when applicable, the best mode of execution.

Sole Paragraph: In the case of biological material essential for the practical execution of the subject matter of the application, which cannot be described in the form of this Article and which has not been accessible to the public, the specification will be supplemented by a deposit of the material with an institution authorized by INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) or indicated by international agreement.

Article 25: The claims must be based on the specification, characterizing the particularities of the application, clearly and precisely defining the subject matter to be protected.

Article 26: A patent application may, prior to completion of its examination, be split, ex-officio or on applicant's request, into two or more applications, provided that the divisional application:

1. Makes specific reference to the original application; and
2. Does not exceed the subject matter disclosed in the original application.

Sole Paragraph: A request for division inconsistent with the provisions of this article shall be shelved.

Article 27: Divisional application will receive the filing date of the original application and the benefit of its priority, if any.

Article 28: Each divisional application will be subject to payment of the applicable fees.

Article 29: A patent application which is withdrawn or abandoned will be mandatorily published.

§1 A request for withdrawal must be filed within 16 (sixteen) months counted from the date of filing or of the earliest priority.

§2 Withdrawal of an earlier application, which has no effect,   will confer priority to the first later application.

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Article 30: A patent application will be kept secret for 18 (eighteen) months counted from its filing date or from the earliest priority, if any, after which it will be published, except for the event provided for under Article 75.

§1 Publication of the application can be anticipated upon applicant's request.

§2 The publication must include data identifying the patent application, a copy of the specification, claims, abstract and drawings being made available to the public by the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO).

§3 In the case provided for in the Sole Paragraph of Article 24, the biological material will be made available to the public at the time of the publication to which this article refers.

Article 31: Documents and information to assist examination may be filed by interested parties between the publication of the application and the completion of examination.

Sole Paragraph: Examination will not take place prior to 60 (sixty) days from publication of application.

Article 32: In order better to clarify or define a patent application, applicant may effect amendments up to the date a request for examination is made, provided such amendments be limited to the subject matter initially disclosed in the application.

Article 33: Examination of a patent application must be requested by the applicant or by any interested party, within 36 (thirty six) months counted from the date of filing, the failure of which will result in shelving of application.

Sole Paragraph: A patent application may be reinstated, upon applicant's request, within 60 (sixty) days from its shelving, on payment of a specific fee, the failure of which will result in final shelving of application.

Article 34: Within 60 (sixty) days of an examination request, the following must be submitted, the failure of which will result in shelving of application.

1. Objections, prior art searches and the results of examinations corresponding applications in other countries, when priority is claimed;
2. Documents necessary to regularize the proceedings and examination of the application; and
3. An informal translation of the document mentioned in §2 of Article 16, should it have been substituted by a declaration  as provided for in §5 of that same Article.

Article 35: By occasion of technical examination, a search report and technical report will be issued with regard to:

1. Patentiability of the application.
2. Adaptation of the application to the nature of protection claimed;
3. Reformulation of the application or the division thereof, or
4. Technical amendments required.

Article 36: When the Official report is for non-patentiability or for the inadequacy of the application for the nature of protection claimed or requires technical amendments, the applicant will be notified to reply within 90 (ninety) days.

§1 If no reply to a official action is filed, the application will be definitively abandoned.

§2 If a reply to a official action is filed, but such official action is not fully complied with, or its contents contested, examination will proceed, regardless of arguments submitted concerning patentability or adequacy.

Article 37: Once examination is concluded, a decision will be issued to allow or reject the application.

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Article 38: A Patent will be granted after the application is approved and a letters-patent will be issued upon proof of payment of the corresponding issue fee.

§1 Payment of issue fee and the respective proof thereof must be effected within 60 (sixty) days from allowance.

§2 The fee provided for hereunder may also be paid and such payment proved within 30 (thirty) days from expiration of the time limit provided for in the preceding paragraph, independently of notice by payment of a specific fee, the failure of which shall result in shelving of the application in final form.

§3 Patent will be considered granted as of the date of publication of its allowance.

Article 39: The letters-patent will include the respective number, title and nature of protection, name of the inventor, observing the provisions of Article 6, §4, the qualification and domicile of the patentee, the term of validity, specification, claims and drawings, as well as to priority data.

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Article 40: A Patent of invention will have a term of 20 (twenty) years and a utility model patent a term of 15 (fifteen) years, counted from the filing date.

Sole Paragraph: Such time period will not be less than 10 (ten) years for patents of invention and 7 (seven) years from utility model patents, counted from grant, except when the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) is prevented from proceeding with the examination as to the merit of the application, due to a proven pending litigation or for reasons of "force majeure".

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Article 41: The scope of protection awarded by a patent is determined by the contents of the claims, interpreted in the light of the specifications and drawings.

Article 42: A patent entitle its owners the right to prevent third parties from manufacturing, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the following:

1. A product that is the subject matter of a patent,
2. A process, or product directly obtained by a patented process.

§1 The patentee is further warranted the right to prevent third parties from contributing to the practice of such acts referred to in this Article, by others.

§2 Rights in a process patent are violated, insofar as item II is concerned, when the holder or owner of a product fails to prove, through specific judicial means, that it was obtained by a manufacturing process different from that protected by a patent.

Article 43: The provisions of the previous article do not apply:

1. Acts practiced by unauthorized third parties privately and without commercial purposes, provided they do not result in damage to the economic interests of the patentee;
2. Acts practiced by unauthorized third parties for experimental purposes, regarding studies or to scientific or technological research;
3. The preparation of medicine according to a medical prescription for individual cases, executed by a qualified professional, as well as to a medicine thus prepared.
4. A product manufactured in accordance with a process patent or a product that has been placed on the internal market directly by the patentee or with his consent;
5. Third parties who, in the case of patents related to living matter, use, with no economic purposes, the patented product as the initial source of variation or propagation for obtaining of other products; and
6. Third parties who, in the case of patents related to living matter, use, market or sell a patented product that has been lawfully introduced onto the market by the patentee or its licensee, provided that the patented product is not being used for commercial reproduction or propagation of such living matter.

Article 44: A patentee is warranted the right to obtain compensation for the unauthorized exploitation of the subject matter of the patent, including exploitation that occurred between the application date of publication and that of grant of the patent.

§1 If the infringer obtains, by any means, knowledge of the contents of a pending application, prior to its publication, the period of unauthorized exploitation, for the purpose of compensation, will be counted from the date of commencement of such exploitation.

§2 When the subject matter of a patent application refers to biological material, deposited under the terms of the Sole Paragraph of Article 24, the right to compensation will be conferred only when the biological material has been made available to the public.

§3 The right to obtain compensation for unauthorized exploitation, including with regard to the period preceding grant of the patent, is limited to the scope of the subject matter of the patent, under the terms of Article 41.

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Article 45: A individual who is in good faith, prior to filing date or to the priority date of a patent application, exploits its object in this country, will be warranted the right to proceed such exploitation, in the previous manner and conditions, with no burden whatsoever.

§1 The right conferred under this Article can only be transferred by assignment or lease, together with the business or corporation, or part thereof that has directly involved in exploitation of the subject matter of the patent.

§2 The right to which this Article refers will not be warranted to a person who had knowledge of the subject of the subject matter of the patent upon its disclosure under Article 12, provided that the application was filed within 1(one) year from such disclosure.

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Article 46: A patent is null if granted contrary to the provisions of this law.

Article 47: Nullity may not apply to all of the claims, a condition for partial nullity being that the subsisting claims constitute subject matter that is patentable per se.

Article 48: Nullity of a patent will be effective from its corresponding application filing date.

Article 49: In the case of the provisions of Article 6 not having been observed, the inventor may alternatively claim, in a action, adjudication of the patent.

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Article 50: Nullity of a patent will be declared administratively when:

I. Any of the legal requisites have not been met;

II.The specification and the claims do not meet the provisions of Articles 24 and 25, respectively;

III.The scope of protection of the patent extends beyond the contents of the application as originally filed; or

IV. Any of the essential formalities indispensable for grant were omitted during prosecution.

Article 51: The nullity procedure may be initiated ex-officio or by the request of any person having legitimate interest, within 6 (six) months counted from patent  allowance.

Sole Paragraph: The nullity procedure will continue even beyond extinction of patent.

Article 52: The patentee will be notified to respond within a period of 60 (sixty) days.

Article 53: Independently of a reply having been filed, once the period determined in the preceding Article has elapsed, INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will issue an opinion, notifying the patentee and the applicant to reply within a  period of 60 (sixty) days.

Article 54: Once the period of time provided for in the preceding Article has elapsed, even if no replies have been submitted, the process will be decided by the President of the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO), terminating the administrative instance.

Article 55: The provisions of this Section apply, where appropriate, to certificates of addition.

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Article 56: Cancellation proceedings can be started at any time during the life of a patent by the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) or by any third party having legitimate interest.

§1 Cancellation  of a patent may be disputed at any time, as matter for defense.

§2 The judge may, as a preventive or incidental ruling , determine the suspension of the effects of a patent, provided that relevant procedural requirements are properly complied with.

Article 57: Cancellation actions will be entered in Federal Courts, and INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO), when not a plaintiff, will intervene in the suit.

§1 The period for the defendant to reply will be 60 (sixty) days.

§2 Once the decision on a cancellation procedure becomes final ( res judicata), INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will publish its conclusion for the benefit of third parties.

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Article 58: A patent application or patent, the contents of which are indivisible, may be assigned in whole or in part.

Article 59: INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will carry out  the following recordings:

1. Assignments, recording complete qualifications of the assignee;
2. Any limitation or burden applicable to the application or patent; and
3. Changes of name, headquarters or address of the applicant or patentee.

Article 60: Recordings will be effective in regard to third parties as from the date of their publication.

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Article 61: A patentee or applicant may execute a license contract for exploitation.

Sole Paragraph: The licensee may be entitled by patentee with all powers to act in defense of the patent.

Article 62: A license agreement must be recorded with INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) in order to be effective in regard to third parties.

§1 Such  recording will be effective in regard to third parties from the date of its publication.

§2 A license agreement need not be recorded with the  INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) for the purpose of validating a proof of use.

Article 63: Any improvement included in a licensed patent belongs to the person  who made it, the other contracting party being guaranteed the right of preference for licensing purposes.

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Article 64: A patentee may request INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) to place his patent under offer with a view to its exploitation.

§1 INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will promote publication of the offer..

§2 No exclusive voluntary license contract will be recorded by INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) without the offer being withdrawn by the patent owner.

§3 No patent subject to an exclusive voluntary license may be made the subject of an offer.

§4 The patent owner may withdraw the offer at any time prior to the express acceptance of its terms by an interested party, whereby the provisions of Article 66 will not apply.

Article 65: Should patentee and licensee come not to terms as regards remuneration of license, such remuneration can be arbitrated by the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) upon request of the parties.

§1 For the purpose of this article, INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will take into account the provisions of § 4 of Article 73.

§2 The remuneration may be reviewed after 1 (one) year of it being established.

Article 66: A patent under license offer will have its annuity fees reduced by one half during the period between the offer and grant of the first license of any type.

Article 67: The patentee may request cancellation of the license if the licensee does not initiate effective exploitation within 1 (one) year of the grant of the license; interrupts exploitation for a period longer than 1 (one) year or else, if conditions for exploitation are not obeyed.

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Article 68:A patentee will be subject to having its patent compulsorily licensed  if he exercises rights resulting therefrom in an abusive manner or by means of abuse of economic power proven under the terms of the law by an administrative or court decision.

§1 The following may also result in a compulsory license:

1. Non-exploitation of the subject matter or the patent in the territory of Brazil, by lack of manufacture or incomplete manufacture of the product or, furthermore, by lack of complete use of a patented process, except in the case of non-exploitation due to economic unfeasibility, when importation will be permitted; or
2. Commercialization that does not meet the market needs.

§2 The license can only be requested by a party with legitimate interest and that has the technical and economic capacity to carry out the efficient exploitation of the subject matter of the patent, which should be  predominantly destined for the internal market, save for exception provided for in item I of the previous paragraph.

§3 In the case that a compulsory license is granted due to abuse of economic power, a period of time, limited to that provided for in article 74, will be guaranteed to a licensee proposing to manufacture locally, to proceed with importation of the subject matter of the license, provided it has been placed on the market directly by the patentee or with his consent.

§4 In the case of importation for exploitation of a patent and in the case of importation provided for in the preceding paragraph, the importation by third parties of a product manufactured according to a process or product patent will equally be allowed, provided it has been placed on the market directly by the patentee or with his consent.

§5 A compulsory license, to which §1 refers, may only be requested after 3 (three) years form grant date.

Article 69: A compulsory license will not be granted if, at the date of its request, the patentee:

1. Justifies non-use for legitimate reasons;
2. Proves that serious and effective preparations for exploitation have been carried out; or
3. Justifies lack of manufacture or commercialization due to legal obstacles.

Article 70: A compulsory license will also be granted when the following hypotheses are shown to exist cumulatively:

1. A situation of dependency of one patent on another is characterized.
2. The subject matter of the dependent patent constitutes a substantial technical advance in relation to the earlier patent; and
3. The patentee does not come to an agreement with the patentee of the dependent patent for the exploitation of the earlier patent.

§1 For the purposes of this Article, a dependent patent is considered to be that which exploitation  depends necessarily on the use of the subject matter of its parent patent.

§2 For the purposes of this Article, a process patent may be considered as dependant on a patent for the respective product, as also a product patent may be dependent upon a process patent.

§3 The owner of a patent licensed under the terms of this Article will have the right to a compulsory cross license under the dependent patent.

Article 71: In cases of national emergency or public interest, declared in an act of the Federal Executive Authorities, insofar as the patentee or his licensee does not meet such demand, a temporary ex-officio non-exclusive compulsory license for the exploitation of the patent may be granted, without prejudice to the rights of the respective patentee..

Sole Paragraph: The act of grant of the license will establish its tem of validity and the possibility of extencion.

Article 72: Compulsory licenses will always be granted without exclusivity.  In this case, sub-licensing not being permitted.

Article 73: A request for a compulsory license must   indicate the conditions offered to the patentee.

§1 Once a request for license is filed, the patentee will be notified to respond within a period of 60 (sixty) days, at the end of which, in the absence of such response, the request will be deemed as accepted under the conditions offered.

§2 An applicant for a license who alleges abuse of patent rights or abuse of economic power must submit documented evidence.

§3 If a compulsory license is requested on the basis of lack of exploitation, it will be up to the patent owner to prove exploitation.

§4 If a contestation is filed, INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) may take the necessary steps, including the designation of a committee that may include experts independent from the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO), with a view to arbitrating the remuneration to be paid to the patentee.

§5 The organs and entities of the direct or indirect, federal, state and municipal public administration will provide INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) with such information as may be requested assisting in the arbitration of remuneration.

§6 In arbitrating remuneration, the circumstances of each case will necessarily  take into account the economic value of the license granted.

§7 Once the process is started, INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will reach a decision regarding the grant and the conditions of the compulsory license within a licensed period of 60 (sixty) days.

§8 Appeals against decisions granting a compulsory license will not suspend the effect of said decision.

Article 74: In the absence of legitimate reasons, the licensee must initiate exploitation of the subject matter of the patent within a period of 1 (one) year from the grant of the license, however,  interruption for equivalent time period is allowed.

§1 The patentee may request revocation of the license if the provisions of this Article are not met.

§2 The licensee will be vested with all powers to act in defense if the patent.

1. After grant of a compulsory license, the assignment thereof will only be permitted when effected together with  assignment, transfer or lease of the business or corporation exploiting the patent.

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Article 75: A patent application originated in Brazil, the object of which is of interest to national defense will,  be processed in secrecy and will not be subject to publications provided for in this law.

§1 INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will  immediately forward the application to a qualified government agency for the purpose of issuing an opinion regarding secrecy within 60 (sixty) days.  Upon expiration of such time period without receiving an opinion from that agency, the application will be processed on an ordinary basis.

§2 Except when the express authorization is given by a qualified government agency, the filing of a patent application abroad, which subject matter is deemed of interest to national defense, as well as its disclosure, is prohibited.

§3 Exploitation and assignment of an application or patent of interest to national defense are subject to prior authorization by a qualified government agency, due compensation being guaranteed whenever this implies a restriction to the rights of the applicant or patentee.

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Article 76: Upon payment of a specific fee, the applicant or patent owner of a patent of invention may request a certificate of addition to protect an improvement or development introduced in the subject matter of the invention, even if lacking inventive activity, provided that it shares the same inventive concept.

§1 If publication of the original application has already taken place, the application for a certificate of addition will be published immediately.

§2 Examination of the application for a certificate of addition will comply with the provisions of Articles 30 to 37, without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

§3 An application for a certificate of addition will be rejected if its subject matter does not involve the same inventive concept.

§4 The applicant may, within the time period for appeal, upon payment of the corresponding fee, request the conversion of an application for a certificate of addition into a patent application that will benefit from the date of filing of the application for the certificate of addition.

Article 77: A certificate of addition is accessory to the patent, carries the same expiration date, being part thereof for all legal purposes.

Sole Paragraph: In a nullity process, the patentee may request that the subject matter contained in the certificate of addition be examined to verify the possibility of its preserving its validity without prejudice to the patent validity term.

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Article 78: A patent shall extinguish by:

1. Expiration of the term of protection
2. Waiver by the patentee, without prejudice to the rights of third parties;
3. Cancellation;
4. Non-payment of the annual fee, within the periods provided for in §2 of article 84 and in article 87; and
5. Non-observance of the provisions of article 217.

Sole Paragraph: Once a patent is extinct, its subject matter falls within the public domain.

Article 79: Waiver will only be permitted if it does not prejudice the rights of third parties.

Article 80: A patent will be cancelled ex-officio, or upon request of any party with a legitimate interest if, after 2 (two) years from the grant of the first compulsory license, such time period has not been sufficient to prevent or correct abuse or misuse, save for legitimate reasons.

§1 A patent will expire if its exploitation has not been initiated up to the date of cancellation request or of the ex-officio cancellation proceedings are institutedd by the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO).

§2 In cancellation proceedings started by request of a party having a legitimate interest, the  INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) may continue with such proceedings even if the request is withdrawn by the interested party.

Article 81: The patentee will be notified to respond to the cancellation request within a period of 60 (sixty) days, in which period of time the patent owner must submit proof of exploitation.

Article 82: A decision will be issued within 60 (sixty) days counted from lapse of time period mentioned in the preceding Article.

Article 83: A decision on a cancellation procedure will be effective as from the date of its request or from that of  publication of the commencement of an ex-officio procedure.

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Article 84: The applicant and patentee are subject to the payment of annual renewal fees, as from the beginning of the third year from filing date.

§1 Advance payment of annual fees will be regulated by the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO).

§2 The payment should be effected within the first 3 (three) months of each annual period, but may still be effected within the following 6 (six) months, independently of notification, by payment of an additional fee.

Article 85: The provisions of the preceding Article apply to international applications filed under a treaty effective in Brazil, the payment of annual fees due before the date of entry into national phase having to be made within a time period of 3 (three) months from that date.

Article 86: Failure to pay an annual fee, under the terms of articles 84 and 85, will result in shelving of application or extinction of the patent.

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Article 87:If the applicant or patentee so requests, a patent application and a patent may be restored within 3 (three) months counted from notice of shelving of the application or extinction of the patent, upon payment of a specific fee.

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Article 88: An invention or utility model will belong exclusively to the employer when it results from a service contract executed in Brazil and the object of which is research or the performance of inventive activity or when resulting from the nature of the services for which the employee was contracted.

§1 Save for express contractual provisions to the contrary, remuneration for the service to which this article refers will be limited to the salary agreed upon.

§2 Unless proven otherwise, an invention or utility model for which a patent is requested by an employee within 1 (one) year from termination of employment contract will be deemed as having been developed while the contract was in force.

Article 89: An employer, being the owner of the patent, may grant the employee, who is the author of the invention or improvement, a share in the profit resulting from exploitation of the patent, as a result o negotiation with an interested party or as provided for under company's internal regulations.

Sole Paragraph: The profit share referred to in this Article will not in any way be incorporated into the salary of the employee.

Article 90: An invention or utility model developed by an employee will belong exclusevily to the employee provided  that is unrelated to the employment contract and when it does not result from the use of resources, means, data, materials, installations or equipment of the employer.

Article 91: Ownership of an invention or utility model will be shared, in equal proportion, when resulting from personal contribution of the employee and resources, data, means, materials, installations or equipment of the employer, without prejudice to express contractual provisions to the contrary.

§1 When more than one employee is involved, the share applicable to them will be divided equally among all of them, unless otherwise agreed upon.

§2 The employer will be entitled to an exclusive license for exploitation and the employee will be guaranteed fair remuneration.

§3 In the absence of an agreement, exploitation of the subject matter of the patent must be started by the employer within 1 (one) year counted from the date of grant, under penalty of ownership in the patent being transferred to the exclusively to the employee, save for such lack of exploitation occurring for legitimate reasons.

§4 In case of assignment, any of the co-owners may exercise the right of preference under identical conditions.

Article 92: The provisions of this chapter, whenever applicable, shall apply to the relationship between an independent worker or a trainee and the contracting company and between contracting and contracted companies

Article 93: The provisions of this Chapter, whenever applicable, shall apply to entities of the direct or indirect and foundational, federal, state or municipal, public administration.

Article 94: The author is assured the right to obtain a registration of an industrial design that guarantees him its property, under the terms established by this law.

Sole Paragraph: Whenever applicable, the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 shall apply to industrial design registrations.

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Article 95: An industrial design is considered to be any ornamental plastic form of an object or any ornamental combination of lines and colors that may be applied to a product, providing new and original visual result in its external configuration, and that may serve as a type of industrial manufacture.

Article 96: An industrial design is deemed to be new when not comprised by the state of the art.

§1 The state of the art comprises everything made accessible to the public before prior to filing of the application, in Brazil or elsewhere, by use or any other means, without prejudice to the provisions of §3 of this Article and of Article 99.

§2 For the sole purpose of determining novelty, the whole contents of an application for a patent or a registration filed in Brazil, still unpublished, will be considered as included in the state of the art from its filing date, or from the priority claimed, provided it be eventually published.

§3 An industrial design of which disclosure occurred, within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from application filing date or that of the priority claimed will not be considered as included in the state of the, provided such disclosure is made in accordance with the situations prescribed in items I to III of article 12.

Article 97: An industrial design is considered original when it results in a visual configuration distinctive in relation to other prior objects.

Sole Paragraph: The original visual result may be the result from combination of known elements.

Article 98: Works of a purely artistic nature are not considered as industrial designs.

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Article 99:Whenever applicable, the provisions of article 16, except for the time limit provided for in §3 of that Article, which will be 90 (ninety) days, apply to applications for registration.

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SECTION  III - NON REGISTRABLE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Article 100: An industrial design is not registrable for:

1. Whatever is contrary to morals and good customs or offensive to the honor or image of people or is contrary to the liberty of conscience, belief, religious cults or ideas and feelings worthy of respect and veneration.
2. The necessary common or ordinary shape as an object or, further, that which is determined essentially by technical or functional considerations.

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Article 101: An application for registration, in accordance with conditions established by INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO), should include:

1. Executed application form;
2. Specifications, if applicable;
3. Claims, if applicable;
4. Drawings or photographs;
5. The field of application of the object; and
6. Proof of payment of the filing fee.

Sole Paragraph: All documents pertaining to the application must be drafted and filed in the Portuguese language.

Article 102: Once submitted, the application will be undergo a formal preliminary examination and, if in order, will be docketed, the filing date being considered to be the date of its submittal.

Article 103: An application that does not formally meet the requirements of Article 101, but which does contain sufficient data relating to the applicant, to the industrial design and to the author, may be delivered to INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) against a dated receipt which will establish the requirements to be met within a period of 5 (five) days, under penalty of such application being declared as non-existing.

Sole Paragraph: Once the requirements have been met, filing will be considered to have been made on submittal date.

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Article 104: An application for an industrial design registration must refer to a single object, a plurality of variations being permitted, provided that these are meant for the same purpose and preserve the main distinctive character, each application being limited to a maximum of 20 (twenty) variations.

Sole Paragraph:  The drawing must clearly and sufficiently represent the object and its variations, if any, so as to allow its reproduction by anyone skilled in the art.

Article 105: When secrecy is requested under the terms of article 106, §1, the application may be withdrawn up to 90 (ninety) days counted from its filing date.

Sole Paragraph: Withdrawal of an earlier application which has no effect, will confer priority on the first later application.

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Article 106: Once an application for an industrial design registration has been filed and the provisions of Articles 100 (one hundred), 101 (one hundred and one) and 104 (one hundred and four) have been met, it will be published automatically and the registration will be simultaneously granted, and the respective certificate issued.

§1 On applicant's request at the time of filing, the application may be kept secret for a period of 180 (one hundred and eighty) days counted from the filing date, after which it will be prosecuted on an ordinary basis.

§2 If the applicant avails himself of the provisions of Article 99, processing of the application will await submittal of the priority document.

§3 If the provisions of Articles 101 (one hundred and one) and 104 (one hundred and four) are not met, an Office Action will be issued which a response should be filed within 60 (sixty) days under penalty of the application being filed away in final form.

§4 If the provisions of Article 100 (one hundred) are not met, the application for registration will be rejected.

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Article 107: The certificate must include the number and title, the name of the author, observing the provisions of §4 of Article 6, the name, nationality and domicile of the registrant, the term of validity, drawings, data relating to any priority and, if applicable, the specification and claims.

Article 108: The registration will have a term of 10 (ten) years counted from filing date and will be renewable for three consecutive periods of 5 (five) years each.

§1 A renewal application must be filed during the last year of the registration validity term accompanied by proof of payment of the respective fee.

§2 If a renewal application is not filed prior to expiration of the registration validity term,  registrant may do so within the following 180 (one hundred and eighty) days, upon payment of an additional fee.

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Article 109: The property in an industrial design is acquired by a validity granted registration.

Sole Paragraph: Whenever applicable, the provisions of Article 42 and of items I, II and IV of article 43, shall apply.

Article 110: Any individual who, in good faith,  prior to filing or of the priority date of an application for registration, has exploited the contents of such application in this country, will be guaranteed the right to proceed with such exploitation in its previous manner and conditions, without any burden whatsoever.

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Article 111: The owner of an industrial design may request an examination of the object of the registration, at any time during its validity term, as to its aspects of novelty and originality.

Sole Paragraph: INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will merit a report which, once determining that at least one of the requirements under Articles 95 to 98 has failed to be met, will serve as basis for the instituting of ex-officio nullity proceedings of the registration.

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Article 112: A registration is null if granted not in conformity with to the provisions of this law.

§1 Nullity of a registration will be effective as from the date of filing of the application.

§2 In case of non-compliance with provisions of Article 94, the author may alternatively claim adjudication of the registration.

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Article 113: Nullity of a registration will be administratively declared when it has been granted violation of the provisions in Articles 94 to 98.

§1 Nullity proceedings may be instituted ex-officio or at the request of any person having a legitimate interest within 5 (five) years form grant of the registration, without prejudice to the hypothesis provided for in the Sole Paragraph of article 111.

§2 A cancellation request or ex-officio institution will suspend the effects of grant of  registration if submitted or published within 60 (sixty) granting date.

Article 114: The registree will be notified to respond within 60 (sixty) days counted from the date of such publication.

Article 115: INPI will issue a report upon expiration of the time period specified in the preceding Article, opinion after the period specified in the previous Article, whether a  response have been filed or not, notifying both the registree and plaintiff to respond with in 60 (sixty) days.

Article 116: Upon expiration of the time period specified in the preceding Article, even if no responses have been filed, the procedure will be decided by the president of the INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO), bringing the administrative instance to a close.

Article 117: Nullity proceedings will be continued even beyond the extinction of the registration.

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Article 118: Whenever applicable, the provisions of Articles 56 and 57 shall apply to nullity of an industrial design registration..

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Article 119: A registration will extinguish by:

1. Expiration of the term of validity.
2. Waiver of registree without prejudice to the rights of third parties;
3. Non-payment of the fee, provided for in Articles 108 and 120; or
4. Non-observance of the provisions of Article 217.

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Article 120: The registration owner is subject to payment of quinquennial fee as of the second quinquennium from the filing date.

§1 Payment of the second quinquennium will be made during the 5^th (fifth) year of the term of the registration.

§2 Payment of the subsequent quinquennium fees will be made with the renewal application referred to in Article 108.

§3 Payment of quinquennium fees may still be made within the 6 (six) months following the time period established in the preceding paragraph, upon payment of an additional fee.

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CHAPTER  X - FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 121: Whenever applicable, the provisions of Articles 58 to 63 shall apply to subject matter dealt with the present TITLE, the rights of the employee or supplier of services being governed by provisions of articles 88 and 93.

Article 122: Any visually perceptive distinctive sign, when not prohibited by law, is registrable as trademark.

Article 123: For the purposes of this law, the following definitions apply:

1. Product or service trademark: that used to distinguish a product or service from another identical, similar or related of different origin;
2. Certification trademark: that used to attest that a product or service conforms with certain technical standards or specifications, notably in regard to quality, nature, material used and the methodology employed; and
3. Collective trademark: that used to identify products or services originating from participants of a given entity.

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Article 124:The following are not registrable as trademarks:

1. Crests, armorial ensigns, medals, flags, emblems, official public symbols and monuments, whether national, foreign or international, or else, their respective designations, figures or imitations;
2. An isolated letter, number or date, except when sufficiently distinctive;
3. Expressions, figures, design or any other sign contrary to morals and good customs or which offends the honor or image of individuals or attacks the liberty of conscience, beliefs, religious cults or ideas and sentiments worthy of respect and veneration;
4. Designations or acronyms of a public entity or establishment, when registration is not applied for by such a public entity or establishment.
5. Reproductions or imitations of a characteristic or distinctive portion of a title of establishment or a business name of third parties, likely to cause confusion or association with such distinctive signs;
6. Signs of a generic, necessary, common, vulgar or merely descriptive nature, related to the product or service to be distinguished, or else, commonly used to designate a feature of the product or service as regards its nature, nationality, weight, value, quality, and moment of manufacturing or of proving a service, except when presented in a sufficiently distinctive manner,
7. Signs or expressions used merely as a means of propaganda,
8. Colors and their denominations, except when arranged or combined in an unusual and distinctive manner;
9. Geographic indications, imitations thereof likely to cause confusion or signs that might falsely imply a geographic indication:
10. Signs that suggest a false indication with respect to origin, provenience, nature, quality or use of the utility of the product or service to which the trademark is directed;
11. Reproductions or imitations of official seals, normally adopted to warrant a standard of any type or nature;
12. Reproductions or imitations of sign registered as collective or a certification trademark by a third party, without prejudice to the provisions of article 154;
13. Names, prizes or symbols of sport, artistic, cultural, social, political, economic or technical official or officially recognized events, as well as imitations likely to cause confusion, except when authorized by the competent authority or entity promoting the event;
14. Reproductions or imitations of titles, bonds, coins and bank notes of the Union, the States, the Federal District, the Territories, the Municipalities or of any country;
15. Civil name or respective signature, family or patronymic names and images of third parties, except with the consent of the owner, his heirs or his successors;
16. Well-known pseudonyms or nicknames and individual or collective artistic names, except with the consent of the owner, his heirs or his/her successors;
17. Literary , artistic or scientific works, as well as tittles protected by copyright which are likely to cause confusion or association, except with the consent of the author or owner;
18. Technical terms used in industry, science or art that is related to the product or service to be distinguished.
19. Reproductions or imitations , in whole or in part, even with additions, of a trademark registered by a third party to distinguish or certify a product or service that is identical, similar or related, which is likely to cause confusion or association with the trademark of a third party;
20. Duplicity of trademarks of the owner for the same product or service, except when, in the case of trademarks of the same nature, these are presented in a sufficiently distinctive manner;
21. Necessary, common or usual shapes of a product or of a package, or, furthermore, shapes that cannot be disassociated from a technical effect.
22. Objects that are protected by industrial design registrations of third parties; and
23. Signs that imitate or reproduce, in whole or in part, a trademark of which the applicant, by virtue of its activity,  could obviously not fail to have knowledge, and the owner of which is established or domiciled in the national territory or in a country in which Brazil maintains an agreement or warrants reciprocity of treatment, if the trademark is intended to distinguish a product or service that is identical, similar or related, which are likely to cause confusion or association with such third party trademark.

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Article 125: Trademarks registered in Brazil and considered to be famous will be guaranteed special protection, in all fields of activity.

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Article 126: A trademarks well-known in its field of activity under Article 6 bis (1) of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property will enjoy special protection, whether it has been previously filed or registered in Brazil.

§1 The protection referred to in this Article also applies to service trademarks.

§2 INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) may reject ex-officio an application for a trademark that reproduces or imitates a well-known trademark in whole or in part.

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Article 127: Priority rights will be guaranteed with the same effect as of a national filing, to a trademark application filed in a country holding an agreement with Brazil or in a international organization, within the time limits established in the agreement, such filing being not invalidated nor jeopardized by the facts occurring whithin such time limits.

§1 The priority claim must be made at the time of filing, but may be supplemented within 60 (sixty) days by other priorities earlier than the date of filing in Brazil.

§2 A priority claim must be supported by means of a suitable document of origin, containing the number, date and a copy of the basic application or of the registration, accompanied by a informal translation, the contents of which are applicant's sole responsibility.

§3 If not submitted at the time of filing, such priority document must be presented within 4 (four) months from filing, under penalty of loosing its priority rights.

§4 When a priority is obtained by the virtue of the assignment, the corresponding document must be filed together with the priority certificate.

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Article 128: Individuals, private or public legal entities may apply for the registration of a trademark.

§1 Private legal entities may apply for the registration of a trademark only when this relates to the activity effectively and lawfully performed by   the applicant directly or through an undertaking directly or indirectly controlled by applicant, such a condition to be staterd in the application and subject to penalties of the law.

§2 The registration of a collective trademark may only be applied for by a legal entity while representing a group, although it may carry out an activity different from that of its participants.

§3 The registration of a certification trademark can only be applied for by a person having no direct commercial or industrial interest in the product or service to be certified.

§4 A priority claim does not exempt the application from the provisions of this Title.

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Article 129: Ownership of a trademark is acquired by a registration validly granted under provisions of this law, the owner being warranted its exclusive use throughout national territory, without prejudice to those provisions of Articles 147 and 148 regarding collective and certification trademarks.

§1 Any individual who, in good faith,  at the date of priority or that of application was using an identical or similar trademark for at least 6 (six) months in the country, to distinguish or certify a product or service identical, similar or related, will have preferential right to registration.

§2 The preferential right can only be transferred by assignment or lease, together with the business or corporation, or part thereof, directly involved in the use of the trademark

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Article 130: The owner or the applicant of a trademark registration is further warranted the right to:

1. Assign the registration or application;
2. License its use;
3. Protect its material integrity or reputation;

Article 131: The protection awarded by this law covers the use of the trademark on papers, printed matter, advertisements and documents related to the owner's activity.

Article 132: The owner of a trademark may not:

1. Prevent merchants or distributors from using distinctive signs together with the product trademark for its promotion and commercialization.
2. Prevent manufacturers of accessories from using the trademark to indicate  the product use, provided that these abide by practices of fair competition;
3. Prevent the free circulation of products placed on the internal market by himself or by an authorized third party, without prejudice to the provisions of §3 and §4 of Article 68; and
4. Prevent the reference to the trademark in speeches, scientific or literary works or in any other type of publication, provided that it is made  without any commercial purposes and without prejudice to its distinctive character.

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Article 133: The registration of a trademark is valid for 10 (ten) year counted from its granting date, and renewable for equal and subsequent periods.

§1 An application for renewal must be made within the last year of its validity term together with proof of payment of the respected fee.

§2 If the renewal application has not been filed by the end of the registration validity term, the owner may still file such application within the following 6 (six) months upon payment of an additional fee.

§3 Renewal will not be granted if the provisions of Article 128 are not met.

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Article 134: Applications for registration and registrations may be assigned, provided that the assignee fulfils those legal requirements to be met by the applicant of a registration.

Article 135: An assignment must include all registrations or application, in the name of the assignor, for identical similar trademarks regarding a product or service identical, similar or related, under penalty of cancellation of the registrations or shelving of the applications not included in the assignment.

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Article 136: INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) will record the following:

1. Assignments, including full qualification of the assignee;
2. Any limitation or burden on the application or registration; and
3. Changes of name, headquarters or address of the applicant or registrant.

Article 137: Recordings will be effective in relation to third parties as from date of their publication.

Article 138: Appeals may be filed from a decision that:

1. Denies a recording of assignment; and
2. Cancels a registration or shelves the application under the terms of Article 135.

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Article 139: The owner or applicant of an application of a registration may enter into a license contract for use of the trademark, with no prejudice to its right to practice effective control over the specifications, nature and quality of the respective products or services.

Sole Paragraph: The owner may entitle licensee with full powers to act in defense of the trademark, without prejudice to his own rights.

Article 140: License contracts must be recorded at INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO) in order to be effective in regard to third parties.

§1 Recordings will be effective in regard to third parties as from the date of their publication.

§2 For proof of use purposes, license agreements need not be recorded at INPI (BRAZILIAN PTO).

Article 141: An appeal may be filed against a decision rejecting the recordal of a license agreement.

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Article 142: The registration of a trademark will become extinct:

1. On expiry of validity term.
2. On waiver, which may be total or partial with respect to the products or services covered by the mark;
3. By cancellation; or
4. For failure to comply with provisions of Article 217

Article 143: A registration will be cancelled, on the request of any person with a legitimate interest, if, on the date of request, after 5 (five) years from its grant:

1. Use of the trademark in Brazil has not been initiated; or
2. Use of the trademark has been interrupted for more than 5 (five) consecutive years, or if, within such time period, the trademark has been used in a modified form that implies alteration of its original distinctive character, as appears on registration certificate.

§1 The registration will not be cancelled if the owner justifies the lack of use of the trademark for legitimate reasons.

§2 The owner will be notified to reply within  60 (sixty) days, and will be responsible for the proof of use of the trademark or justify its lack of use for legitimate reasons.

Article 144: Use of the trademark must include those products or services indicated in the registration certificate, under penalty of partial cancellation of the registration in regard to those products or services not similar or related to those for which use of the trademark has been proved.

Article 145: No acknowledgment will be given to requests for cancellation if use of the trademark has been proved or if its lack of use has been justified in an similar former procedure within 5 (five) preceding years.

Article 146: An appeal may be filed from a decision with either declares or rejects a trademark cancellation.

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