Brazilian PTO (INPI) publishes new Relationship and Transparency Policy

Through Ordinance/INPI/PR/N° 46, dated November 27, 2024, the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) published its new Relationship and Transparency Policy, aiming to regulate public-private interactions and promote transparency in INPI’s activities.

The Ordinance seeks to define User Rights in their interactions with INPI, particularly:

– Personal Data Protection: Ensuring that users’ personal data is protected in accordance with current legislation;

– Access to Information: Facilitating access to the information necessary to uphold fundamental rights, promoting proactive transparency;

– Service Monitoring: Allowing users to monitor public services requested from INPI, increasing trust and efficiency in service delivery.

Currently, the primary means of communication with INPI is the “Contact Us” platform, where messages can be sent to the Institute through the official website. The “Contact Us” platform handles initial complaints, provides specific clarifications, and addresses requests for information, especially regarding:

1- procedural guidance on services offered by INPI;

2- technical clarifications regarding the content of actions already carried out by INPI;

3- operational measures, including investigating purely formal errors and addressing requests or petitions that have been filed but not yet examined.

However, INPI makes it clear that the “Contact Us” platform is not intended for discussing the merits of a decision or opinion issued by Examiners. Nevertheless, the platform can be used to clarify doubts about INPI’s decisions or to point out errors or missing information in an opinion or decision. In such cases, it is common for INPI, through “Contact Us”, to republish or annul erroneous decisions, granting new deadlines and providing additional information to the Applicant.

Regarding meeting requests, which are generally held virtually, these must also be submitted through INPI’s website. However, INPI staff are responsible for evaluating the relevance and necessity of the meeting, and the request may be denied at INPI’s discretion with a justified explanation. Additionally, similar to communication via “Contact Us”, the purpose of these meetings is to address procedural doubts rather than discuss the merits of specific cases.

Despite this, requesting meetings can be a valuable strategy to present and/or hear the main controversial points of a process, such as the merit of an invention and its state of the art. In other words, although there is no direct negotiation between the Examiner and the Applicant to reach a consensus on patentability, the information received from the INPI Examiner can help the Applicant to prepare their response to be filed later.

Finally, Ordinance/INPI/PR/N° 46 provides for the possibility of INPI directly contacting users or their attorneys through official communication to address inconsistencies, correct formal errors, or clarify technical or procedural doubts.

This Ordinance came into effect on December 3, 2024, the date it was published in the RPI (Industrial Property Gazette), revoking Ordinance INPI/PR 512/2019.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact our team at mail@kasznarleonardos.com.