Joint Judiciary Ordinance Creates Permanent Industrial Property Committee and Strengthens Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts

Joint FOJURJ Ordinance No. 4/2026 was recently published, creating the Permanent Industrial Property Committee within the Judiciary Forum of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FOJURJ). The measure represents an important institutional development by establishing a permanent forum for dialogue and cooperation aimed at improving the Judiciary’s handling of disputes involving industrial property assets.

The Ordinance directly stems from FOJURJ Cooperation Agreement No. 9/2025, entered into by the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Justice (TJRJ), the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Circuit (TRF2), the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO), and representative organizations of the specialized legal community. The Agreement was based on the judicial cooperation rules set out in the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure and National Council of Justice (CNJ) Resolution No. 350/2020, and on the recognition that disputes involving industrial property assets are often highly technical and require closer coordination among the institutions responsible for adjudicating them.

Against this backdrop, the Cooperation Agreement provides for measures designed to improve judicial protection of industrial property rights, including the exchange of information and best practices among participating institutions, training programs for judges and court-appointed experts, studies on judicial activity, guidelines for the production of technical evidence, and stronger cooperation between Federal and State Courts on matters of common interest. One of its key developments was the creation of the Permanent Industrial Property Committee, now formally established by Joint FOJURJ Ordinance No. 4/2026.

The Ordinance sets out the Committee’s composition and operating rules. The Committee will act as a consultative and advisory body dedicated to discussing industrial property matters. Its initial composition includes judges and court officials from the TJRJ and the TRF2 with recognized experience in intellectual and industrial property disputes.

In practical terms, the institutionalization of the Permanent Committee may have significant effects on industrial property litigation. One of the main expected impacts is the improvement of expert evidence. In patent disputes, technical evidence is often decisive for assessing the validity of the patent, whether infringement has occurred, and the scope of protection afforded by the industrial property right. The development of guidelines, the sharing of best practices, and closer interaction among judges, court-appointed experts, and specialists are expected to make technical evidence more consistent, reliable, and predictable.

Another relevant point concerns issues of external prejudiciality. Under the Brazilian legal system, Federal Courts have jurisdiction over actions seeking the invalidation of patents and other rights granted by the BRPTO, while infringement actions generally fall within the jurisdiction of State Courts. This division of jurisdiction may lead to parallel proceedings concerning the same asset, raising questions as to whether one case should be stayed pending the outcome of the other. Although the Ordinance does not change the current procedural framework, the creation of a permanent cooperation environment between the TJRJ and the TRF2 is expected to foster greater coordination between the two court systems, contributing to a more consistent approach to these issues and reducing the risk of conflicting decisions.

More than creating a new advisory body, Joint FOJURJ Ordinance No. 4/2026 gives practical effect to the permanent governance model for industrial property litigation envisioned by FOJURJ Cooperation Agreement No. 9/2025. By institutionalizing a cooperation forum within the Judiciary, the measure reinforces judicial specialization, creates conditions to improve expert evidence, and promotes greater coordination between invalidity and infringement proceedings. It is therefore a relevant institutional development, with the potential to strengthen legal certainty, increase the predictability of decisions, and make judicial protection of industrial property rights more efficient.

Kasznar Leonardos continues to closely monitor initiatives aimed at improving Brazil’s industrial property system and remains available to assist domestic and international clients in strategic intellectual property disputes.