In defense of the Fight against Backlog Plan
A report produced by ABPI’s General Counsel, Paulo Parente Marques Mendes, describes the processing in the court of Collective Writ of Mandamus of AFINPI — the BPTO Employees Association — contesting the Fight against Backlog Plan undertaken by the BPTO — Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office. The process, in which ABPI acts as amicus curiae and defends the legality of the institute’s program, began on July 31, 2019, and currently awaits the decision of the 2nd instance, in the appeal, at the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region.
The report states that, on August 19, 2019, upon joining as amicus curiae, ABPI “fought for the total dismissal of the demand, bearing in mind that the aforementioned Resolutions and Execution Rules aim to reduce and end, once and for all, the large patent applications examination backlog in Brazil.” The document also highlights the decision rendered by the judgment of the 13th Federal Court “rejecting the preliminary injunction request for injunctive relief, a decision against which the petitioners filed an Interlocutory Appeal.” It should be noted that the aforementioned appeal was never judged since the loss of appeal interest was operated in a supervening way caused by the passing of a sentence in the original records. The partially upheld decision preserved the essence of the Fight against Backlog Plan.
The document also reports the appeal filed by AFINPI, requesting the granting of urgent relief, which is being processed by the Second Specialized Panel of the Federal Court of the 2nd Region, and the counterarguments presented by ABPI, fighting for the rejection of the appeal and the full maintenance of the sentence, “considering that the court a quo correctly applied the rules pertaining to the object of the claim, in line with the legislation, doctrine, and jurisprudence, appreciating all its elements, with emphasis on the unanimous understanding of those who appear as amicus curiae.”
“As such, the appeal is concluded to the Judge-Rapporteur André Fontes for an order to be issued determining its inclusion in the judgment agenda,” concludes the document.
The documents are published on ABPI’s website.
To access the report of the General Counsel, click here.
And click here to access the sentence delivered by Judge Márcia Maria Nunes de Barros, of the 13th Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro, on 11.15.2021.