Last year, among other actions, the BPTO reduced the patent backlog and operationally prepared the institute for the registration of trademarks via the Madrid Protocol
After completing a year at the head of the BPTO, the new management, under the command of economist Cláudio Furtado, already accounts for some important gains. The results for 2019 may be modest compared to the large international offices, but they are nonetheless promising for the Brazilian Intellectual Property system. Last year, among other actions, the BPTO reduced the patent backlog, operationally prepared the institute for the registration of trademarks via the Madrid Protocol, and increased productivity in exams, especially for trademarks and patents.
From January to December, compared to the same period in 2018, there has been an increase in patent applications (2.8%), trademarks (19.9%), industrial designs (5.3%), computer programs (21.4%) and geographical indications (128.6%). Technology contract orders fell by 3.5%. The data appear in the January issue of the BPTO’s monthly bulletin. “This growth already reflects the bet of the economic agents in the improvement of the Brazilian economy”, analyzes ABPI’s president Luiz Edgard Montaury Pimenta.
The month of December 2019, compared to the previous month, also registered an increase in several IP items. This month, industrial property filing applications totaled 2,887 patents (17.6% increase), 567 industrial designs (12.7%), 309 computer programs (28.2%), 126 technology contracts (63, 6%) and five geographical indications (against just one in November). The 17,750 trademark applications in the month represented a 10.7% drop.
More patents and trademarks
In the last month of the year, there was also an increase in the main BPTO decisions. 1,476 patents were granted and 15,019 trademarks, 767 industrial designs and 374 computer programs were registered. The reduction was due to the records of computer programs (-40.6%), industrial designs (-33%), and the endorsements of technology contracts (-5.8%).
The January-December 2019 period also registered growth in patent concessions (24%) and trademark registrations (7.3%) compared to the same period of the previous year; while there was a reduction in the registrations of computer programs (-40.6%), industrial designs (-33%) and the endorsements of technology contracts (-5.8%). “The increase in productivity in exams on trademarks, patents, and industrial designs is a result of the policies implemented by the BPTO to reduce the patent backlog, and greater agility in the trademark registrations to welcome Brazil’s recent accession to the Madrid Protocol”, says ABPI’s president.
