Edition: 201 | Month: March | April | Year: 2026
Editor note’s
By Paulo Parente Marques Mendes and Carlos Eduardo Neves De Carvalho.
7
The Hollywood strike and the copyright crisis in the audiovisual industry
By Maria Eduarda Bandeira Vecchiati
The Hollywood strike exposed a profound authorship crisis in the audiovisual industry, revealing tensions between human creativity, artificial intelligence, and intellectual property rights. This paper examines the legal implications of the strike, emphasizing claims for residual compensation and the protection of authors’ moral rights amid creative automation. Through a critical perspective, it explores how the growing use of AI challenges traditional notions of authorship and originality, calling for a reassessment of copyright frameworks. The study reflects on the need to balance technological innovation with the preservation of human creators’ rights.
Keywords: Copyright Law. Intellectual Property. Artificial Intelligence. Moral Rights. Residual Compensation.
17
Trademark overlap and its impact on economic-financial value
By Istvan Karoly Kasznar
In Brazil, legal disputes between original owners of trademarks duly registered with the INPI and economic agents seeking to appropriate traditional brands through indirect means have increased. Strategies include claiming international use of the name, adding distinctive elements to the core trademark, and intensifying advertising to attract consumers, thereby creating market confusion. Trademark overlap is particularly harmful when it occurs within the same economic sector, reducing the asset value of the original brand and diverting customers, especially when the competing party holds greater economic power. This study highlights the need to respect existing legislation and the rights of pioneering agents, since tolerating trademark overlap generates losses for owners and consumers, undermines legal certainty, and produces negative economic and financial effects arising from harmful competition.
Keywords: Nominal overlapping of trademarks. Register Rights. Impacts. Repeated words and expressions in trademark registration. INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property. Trademark duplication. Redundancy.
24
Second-use patents in the brazilian pharmaceutical industry: analysis of the legal and economic implications for access to medicines and market competition
By Jeniffer Alves Barbosa and Pedro Alves Lavacchini Ramunno
This research critically analyzes the practice of second-use patenting in the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry, considering its legal, economic, and social implications, especially regarding access to medicines through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). The study begins with the premise that granting patents for new therapeutic indications of already known substances may result in an undue extension of commercial exclusivity, without meaningful contribution to innovation. Based on bibliographic review and comparative legislation, it examines how this issue is addressed in Brazil and other jurisdictions. Alternatives such as compulsory licensing, institutional cooperation between the Brazilian Patent Office (INPI) and the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), and the reinforcement of the social function of intellectual property are discussed. The study concludes that achieving a balance between innovation and access to health care requires a constitutionally guided interpretation of the patent system, focused on public interest.
Keywords: Second-use patents. Pharmaceutical industry. Intellectual property. Access to medicines.
35
The conflict between a pre-existing copyrighted work and a subsequent trademark registration bearing an identical and/or similar name
By Alberto Luis Camelier da Silva and Ana Carolina Sabóia Bertoletti
The present article examines the conflict between a pre-existing copyrighted work and the subsequent registration of a trademark, in light of Law No. 9,610/1998 and Law No. 9,279/1996, as well as relevant doctrine and case law. In such situations, the legal questions are as follows: Is the subsequent trademark registration enforceable against the holder of the pre-existing copyrighted work? Or rather, may the owner of the trademark later granted by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) challenge the original and prior copyrighted work, as well as its assignees or licensees? Which right should prevail? In general terms, if the copyrighted work predates the trademark registration, it should prevail over a mark that arises later in the legal sphere and that may give rise to conflict or confusion capable of misleading consumers into believing that they are dealing with a product or service licensed by the original copyright holder.
Keywords: Copyrighted Work. Pre-Existing Copyrighted Work. Subsequent Trademark. Copyright Law. Trademark Law.
47
The Evolution of Amendments in the Brazilian Patent System: Comparative Perspectives
By Tainara Medeiros Barbosa
The patent system plays a fundamental role in stimulating innovation, and the BPTO is the responsible for regulating it in Brazil. In recent years, there have been significant changes in Brazilian legislation and in the BPTO’s understanding of patent application amendments, especially regarding how and when the applicant can modify their claims during examination, and also during the appeal phase. This paper analyzes the regulations on amendments to the claim framework in different jurisdictions, with a focus on the European Patent Office (EPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), promoting a comparative analysis with Brazilian practice. The recent INPI guidelines are also discussed, including in the appeals phase, highlighting the impacts of these changes on the national system.
Keywords: Industrial property. Patents. Patent examination. Comparative patent law. Set of claims.
69
Controversial aspects of the importation of patented pharmaceutical active ingredients: the delimitation of the bolar exception by the courts in patent litigation
By Camila Avi Tormin and Artur Morandi El Faro
This article discusses the interpretation of the “Bolar exemption” in Brazil (IP Law, Art. 43, VII), which permits the unauthorized use of patented inventions strictly for regulatory approval purposes prior to patent expiration. The central focus is the jurisprudential controversy, particularly within the São Paulo State Court of Appeal (TJSP), regarding the scope of this exemption concerning the importation and stockpiling of products during the exclusivity period. While majority rulings tend to view the importation of finished goods for stockpiling as patent infringement, dissenting opinions and recent cases regarding raw materials suggest a potential shift favoring free competition and market access. The study concludes that the issue remains unsettled, requiring a careful balance between industrial property rights and the prevention of rights abuse.
Keywords: Patent. Bolar Exception. Medicines. Case Law. Courts.
75
Putative discharge of copyright royalties: the extraordinary legitimacy of ECAD (central office for collection and distribution) and the controversial interpretation by the STJ (superior court of justice (Brazil)) – collective management of literary and musical works (Part 2)
By Geraldo da Cunha Macedo
This paper proposes a critical reflection on one of the most controversial and impactful issues in contemporary copyright law: the extraordinary legitimacy granted to the Central Office for Collection and Distribution (ECAD) in the collective management of literary and musical works. Supported by Law No. 9,610/98 – the well-known Brazilian Copyright Law (LDA) – the national model has established a centralized system, assigning ECAD the role of collecting and distributing royalties for the public performance of such works on behalf of the associations it represents. The study investigates whether the exclusivity granted to ECAD by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) constitutes an extraordinary legitimacy or exceeds legal boundaries, analyzing its practical impacts and potential conflicts with authors’ rights. Amid digital transformation and the decentralization of models, this work analyzes the risks of concentration in collective management. It questions whether, under the appearance of legality, such a structure undermines constitutional principles such as equality, freedom of association, and access to justice, thus requiring a critical review of the current model.
Keywords: Copyright. Individual management. Collective management of literary and musical works. Legitimacy. ECAD.