Avoiding lengthy litigation

Brazil IP FOCUS – Managing IP Magazine – May 2013 edition

Generally, when IP rights holders decide to file a law suit in Brazil, they are looking for a swift answer to the violation of their rights. It is widely known, however, that law suits in Brazil usually take a long time to reach a final outcome. This is especially true in infringement and nullity actions involving patent rights, due to the technical background knowledge demanded to fully understand the technology at issue (in most of these law suits an expert is nominated by the trial judge to assist in clarifying technical aspects of the case). That is why injunctive relief plays an important role in litigation cases, as it is an efficient measure to put a stop to the infringement of IP rights while a final decision is being rendered in the case.

According to the Brazilian civil procedural law, preliminary injunctive relief is the measure through which a judge can anticipate the material effects of part or all the requests made by the plaintiff (usually before a decision on the merits, but, as a general rule of law, injunctions can also be granted at any point of the law suit).