Bill No. 2,210/2022 Advances in the Senate and Expands the Debate on Brazil’s Patent System

We have been closely monitoring the progress of Bill No. 2,210/2022, which proposes significant amendments to the Brazilian Industrial Property Law, Law No. 9,279/1996. Although the bill was originally conceived to introduce updates to Brazil’s trademark system, it has since evolved to include important changes to the Brazilian patent framework, particularly following the presentation of substitute texts and amendments in the Federal Senate that have substantially expanded the scope of the proposal.

Authored by Congressman Julio Lopes, the bill originated in the House of Representatives with the purpose of  modernizing certain aspects of Brazil’s trademark system in light of the country’s accession to the Madrid Protocol. During its legislative process, however, the substitutive text presented by rapporteur Congressman Efraim Filho, expanded the proposal to include patent-related amendments, such as the creation of a provisional patent application mechanism and changes to Articles 19, 32, 35 and 217 of the Brazilian Industrial Property Law. These amendments are intended to bring Brazilian patent prosecution procedures closer to practices adopted in other jurisdictions and contribute to reducing the backlog of patent applications pending before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO).

In the Senate, the substitute text approved by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense, under the rapporteurship of Senator Jaques Wagner, focused the debate mainly on the proposed amendments to Articles 32 and 33 of the Brazilian Industrial Property Law. These provisions govern, respectively, the possibility of amending patent applications during prosecution and the deadline for requesting substantive examination before the BRPTO. Among the proposed changes is the creation of a “deferred” examination model, which would modify the current system under which applicants have up to 36 months to request substantive examination. The proposed amendments have prompted comments from representative IP organizations, such as the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI) and the Brazilian Association of Industrial Property Agents (ABAPI), both of which advocate greater flexibility for applicants to amend patent applications throughout the examination phase, in line with practices adopted in other jurisdictions.

Among the amendments submitted to the bill, Amendment No. 8, introduced by Senator Carlos Portinho in May 2026, has attracted particular attention. Unlike the other proposals, which are primarily focused on administrative aspects of patent prosecution, Amendment No. 8 seeks to include a new Paragraph 3 in Article 209 of the Industrial Property Law,  establishing mechanisms aimed at protecting Brazilian jurisdiction against requests submitted to foreign authorities with the purpose of preventing the filing of lawsuits in Brazil or interfering with the effectiveness of decisions rendered by Brazilian courts. This situation is associated with so-called anti-suit injunctions, judicial orders issued by foreign courts that seek to prevent a party from filing or continuing proceedings in another country and that are commonly used in international disputes involving standard-essential patents (SEPs). The measures contemplated by the amendment include the suspension of the responsible party’s business activities and the imposition of fines linked to penalties that may be imposed by the foreign authority.

More recently, Amendment No. 9 was submitted to the bill, introducing relevant adjustments to the proposed wording. In particular, it seeks to incorporate more objective criteria for characterizing abusive conduct, reinforce due process and judicial proportionality safeguards, and limit the extension of sanctions to third parties that did not directly participate in the conduct deemed abusive. This further demonstrates that the legislative debate surrounding the matter remains ongoing and continues to evolve.

The rationale underlying the proposal is based on the territoriality principle governing industrial property rights, according to which matters relating to the validity, infringement and exploitation of patents granted in Brazil should be assessed by the competent Brazilian authorities. In this context, Amendment No. 9 seeks to strengthen the tools available to Brazilian courts to preserve their jurisdiction in disputes involving industrial property rights, placing Brazil within the broader international debate on the limits ofanti-suit injunctions, a topic that has also been discussed in international forums, including the World Trade Organization.

Our team of specialists has prepared a timeline of the bill, with a summary of the amendments submitted to date. Click here to access it, in Portuguese.

Bill No. 2,210/2022 is currently under review by  the Senate Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and  Informatics, under the rapporteurship of Senator Dr. Hiran, and is awaiting an  opinion on the amendments submitted. Given the potential impact of the proposed  changes on both patent prosecution before the BRPTO, as well as on patent protection  strategies and cross-border intellectual property litigation, we will continue  to closely monitor the next developments in the bill’s legislative process.