By Rafael Lacaz Amaral

The growth of the Brazilian market and economy is paralleled by the increase in counterfeiting activities. The enforcement of IP rights involves planning, technology, intelligence, training and coordination, with support from a number of laws and treaties, as well as the relevant rules of the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and administrative statutory instruments.

The legal framework for anti-counterfeiting includes:

• the Industrial Property Law (9,279/96);

• the Copyright Law (9,610/98); and

• the Software Law (9,609/98).

In addition, Brazil is a signatory to the main international IP instruments, such as:

• the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (as reviewed in Stockholm in 1967);

• the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPs);

• the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artisti

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.