Industrial Designs

– Law No. 9.279 of May 14, 1996 (Industrial Property Law), official publication in the Official Gazette Section I of May 15, 1996 – Provisions of Articles 230, 231 and 239, in force as from May 15, 1996 and the remaining Articles, in force as from May 15, 1997.
– Patent Office Regulations in the form of Resolution No. PR 36/2023.
– Industrial Designs and Models filed before the enactment of Law No. 9.279 were renumbered and renamed as Industrial Designs.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since March 20, 1975.
– WTO's TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since August 14, 2016.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Geneva Act, since August 1, 2023.

Filing

Ownership: the author is assured the right to obtain the registration of an industrial design that grants to him property rights in the industrial design.

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

Novelty: an industrial design is considered to be new when not comprised by the state of art (comprises everything made accessible to the public before the date of filing of the application in Brazil or abroad). For the purposes only of novelty, prior filed unpublished Brazilian applications are incorporated in the state of the art.

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

Priority: as for “patents“.

Non-registrable industrial designs: what is contrary to morals and good customs or which offends 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 or the necessary common or ordinary shape of an object or, further, that which is determined essentially by technical or functional considerations. Works of a purely artistic nature are not considered to be industrial designs.

Series applications: accepted, provided the variations are destined for the same purpose and maintain between them the same preponderant distinctive characteristic, wherein each application is limited to a maximum of twenty variations. 

Electronic filing: available.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Application form signed by attorney;
2. Power of attorney including powers to receive judicial summons (no legalization required) must be filed within sixty days from date of application;
3. Specification in Portuguese (optional), consisting of a brief description of the drawings and an indication of the field of application of the claimed matter;
4. Claim (optional), consisting of the title of the design followed by the expression “characterized by having its appearance defined in accordance with the attached set of figures”;
5. Drawings: images of the claimed matter may be represented by means of figures or photographs, provided that, in both cases, they should permit a clear visualization of the product or object intended to be protected, so that it can be reproduced with basis on such images. Colored designs are permitted. Broken lines, masked or faded areas to disclaim parts of objects are permitted. Surface shadings are allowed on figures. For three-dimensional objects, the Brazilian Office requires the presentation of all orthogonal views (frontal, rear, top, bottom and both sides views) as well as at least one perspective view of the claimed product. Each variation (a maximum of twenty is permitted) should also be shown in all required views. In the case of two-dimensional patterns, such as fabrics, packages, panels, computer fonts and icons and the like, only a frontal view showing said pattern is required. The Law defines this category as the ornamental arrangement of lines and colors applied to a product;
6. Certified copy of the priority document (if any) should be filed within ninety days from the filing date, accompanied by a simple translation of the filing certificate or like document that contains suitable information to identify the document;
7. Name, nationality, profession, and complete address both of the applicant and of the author;
8. Where relevant, an assignment of priority rights (no legalization required) must be filed within ninety days.

Minimum requirements for obtaining a filing date: an application that does not formally meet the basic requirements, but which does contain sufficient data relating to the applicant, to the industrial design and to the author, may be delivered to the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) against a dated receipt which will establish the requirements to be met within a period of five days, in which case the original filing date will be validated.

For a change of name or address:
1. Certified copy of the document evidencing the change of name or address, legalized by Apostille;
2. Power of attorney in the new name/address (no legalization).

Examination, Protection

Examination and grant: once an application is filed and all requirements have been observed, it will be published automatically and the registration will simultaneously be granted. No examination on the requirements of novelty and originality is performed at this stage. Aside from a few cases, the Design Division of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) considers that parts of objects are not registrable, whenever these parts are not susceptible of being manufactured as an independent product. Consequently, the utilization of dashed lines to show parts which are not intended to be protected, usually adopted in other countries tends to be objected. Designs directed to (1) that which is contrary to morals and good customs or which offend 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; or (2) the necessary common or ordinary shape of an object or, further, that which is determined essentially by technical or functional considerations will be rejected, with the right to appeal within sixty days. 

Scope of protection: in so far as applicable, including prior user rights, protection is provided only by the design figures. The title of the claimed design or Locarno International Class do not affect the scope of protection.

Delivery of document: the certificate of registration is issued only in digital format.

Duration: registration will have a term of ten years counted from the filing date and will be renewable for three successive periods of five years each. If, however, renewal is not applied for prior to the end of the term of registration, the registrant may make such request within the subsequent 180 days, on payment of an additional fee.

Protection: in so far as applicable, same as for “Patents“, including prior user rights.

Examination on the merits: registrant of an industrial design may, at any time during the term of registration, request examination as to novelty and originality of the object of the registration, whereby INPI will issue an opinion on merit that will serve as the basis for the ex officio institution of nullity proceedings of the registration if it is concluded that at least one of the requirements of novelty and originality is absent.

Administrative nullification proceedings: may be instituted ex officio, or at request of any person having a legitimate interest within five years from the grant of registration. Registrant shall respond in the subsequent sixty days and INPI will issue an opinion after the above period, notifying the registrant and the applicant to respond in the next sixty days. Even if no response is filed, the matter shall be decided by the President of INPI, ending the administrative instance. A request or ex officio institution will suspend the effects of grant of a registration if presented or published within sixty days from grant.

Nullification actions: same as for “Patents“.

Quinquennial fee: payment of a quinquennial fee is due, as of the second quinquennium from the filing date, which fee should be paid during the fifth year of the term of registration, payment of the further quinquennial fees being paid upon renewal of the registration.