Practice Areas

Anti-piracy & Brand Protection

In addition to putting consumers at risk and causing significant damage to brand owners, the sale of counterfeit products is one of the main sources of funding for organized crime which highlights the urgent need to combat the problem head-on.

Our Antipiracy & Brand Protection (AP&BP) Team seeks to adopt repressive measures to remove or prevent the entry of counterfeit products in the marketplace. In so doing, we defend the interests of our clients and of greater society in our collective fight against this type of crime.

Through our intelligence unit, we focus on locating the leading manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers of counterfeit goods, in order to identify the source and mitigate the criminal practice through police, administrative or other legal measures.

We have joined forces with government authorities in this fight against piracy, and our team is actively engaged with main agencies, associations and commissions responsible for combating these crimes.

In addition to directly and effectively combatting counterfeiting on the ground, our team uses technology to monitor the internet and remove irregular content related to the commercialization of non-original products through marketplaces and social media. What makes us unique is that we actively work to identify offenders and hold them accountable even after removing the content.

Our experience has already resulted in a vast repertoire of favorable jurisprudence, both in identifying and locating users who sell counterfeit products online and in judicial measures for effectively removing irregular products from the market and holding accountable those responsible for engaging in these illegal acts.

We offer our clients customized strategies, prioritizing their unique needs in order to not only meet but to exceed their expectations.

Services related to the area
  • Personalized investigations
  • Strategic consulting
  • Brand protection program design
  • Fast and effective solutions
  • Removing counterfeit products from the market
  • Monitoring and organizing anti-piracy raids
  • Online monitoring and takedown of illicit content
  • Customized judicial strategy to identify the most significant counterfeit products vendors in online platforms and marketplaces.

Biodiversity

Brazil establishes rules for accessing genetic resources and related traditional knowledge, as well as sharing benefits from economic use through Federal Law number 13,123/2015 (Biodiversity Act), Decree number 8,772/2016 and CGEN (Genetic Heritage Management Council) Regulations.

Our multidisciplinary team provides legal and technical assistance from the start of a biodiversity project and/or associated traditional knowledge by advising on how best to structure the project. We also advise on registering and standardizing access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, while protecting any related intellectual creations.

Services related to the area
  • Providing legal and technical consulting on registering and standardizing access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge;
  • Advising on agreements regarding benefit sharing;
  • Undertaking patent deposits; and
  • Handling administrative and judicial litigation related to biotechnology and genetic resources.

Digital Anti-piracy & License Compliance

The challenge of protecting Intellectual Property has been ongoing for generations, requiring increasing expertise and experience within the context of warranting the rights of its owners.

With the ever-increasing popularity of the Internet, the consumption of products crossed the boundaries of the “physical world” and the majority of the transactions take place virtually. It is in this context – and in this environment – that occur most of the infringements of intellectual property rights.

In a reality where it is determined by studies to that effect that each Brazilian spends about ten hours per day on the Internet, it is necessary to both take monitoring action and create barriers that may allow combating such digital infringements.

Companies acting in the fields of software and the entertainment market have been investing in highly sophisticated technologies that allow monitoring the Internet and track the use of irregular licenses.

Such tracking technologies embedded in irregular products are already able to individualize and identify infringers and allow the adoption of the necessary measures to cease the infringement and recover the losses incurred in connection therewith.

Our Anti-Piracy and Compliance (AP&C) team works actively in combating infringements having occurred and to recover amounts lost as the consequence of illegal practices within various companies that commercialize software, games, in the audio-visual and music industries and among many others.

Up to the present we work with more than 10,000 cases of infringement, and have achieved a significant rate of success in extrajudicial [out of court] agreements.

In our AP&C department we have a multidisciplinary team comprising 25 specialists that investigate unlicensed use of protected assets of the client’s business, persuading the infringers to cease the illegal use thereof and regularize the situation. After that point, acting in partnership with our Judicial Litigation team, the cases that remain unsolved at the extrajudicial level are directed for adoption of the necessary legal action.

We design our action strategies in a customized manner, meeting the exclusive expectations and requirements of each client, in order to thereby warrant:

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Services related to the area
  • High rates of success in the cases that we handle;
  • Fast and efficient extrajudicial solutions;
  • Recovery of revenue at an efficient cost;
  • Automation of routines using adequate technology tools;
  • Legal strategies for the creation of favorable jurisprudence;
  • Absorption of a considerable caseload.

Digital Law

Our team is always ready to provide high-level legal advice that is customized to meet your business requirements.

We closely follow the developments in the specific legislation covering new technologies and digital environments, such as the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet in Brazil [Marco Civil da Internet] and the General Personal Data Protection Law [Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais]. We actively attend events, seminars, lectures and courses – as teachers, speakers or students – following up discussions and legislative processes related to the field.

We are prepared to monitor, analyze and apply domestic and international rules, assisting your business so that it always compliant with Internet, technology and personal data protection legislation.

We invite you to examine our wide variety of services, which range from daily operational issues to more complex matters:

Services related to the area
  • Drafting and reviewing Terms of Use, Privacy and Cookies Policies;
  • Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts involving personal data and transfer thereof;
  • Assistance in identifying and remedying undue access to personal data;
  • Drafting and reviewing Data Protection Impact Assessments;
  • Drafting and reviewing of corporate policies, such as Information Security Policies;
  • Providing legal assistance with LGPD compliance projects;
  • Training in digital education;
  • Development of control measures for preventing and detecting legal risks arising from inadequate use of information technology tools;
  • Drafting of corporate policies and agreements aimed at reducing liability and avoid IP infringements by employees;
  • Registration and management of domain names portfolio;
  • Registration and management of software and other electronic applications portfolios, as well as fighting unauthorized reproduction/copy or imitation thereof.

Fashion Law

The expression Fashion Law is widely used to describe certain legal matters related to the fashion industry, which require a broad understanding of the specifics and dynamics of its creative and commercial processes.

With over a century of recognized intellectual property experience, our firm has a Fashion Law team which possesses a broad understanding of the fashion market, as well as its brands and creations. We represent clients in the textile, footwear, jewelry and clothing sectors, among others.

We remain up-to-date on developments and innovations within the fashion market, both in Brazil and worldwide. We also act as strategic partners during all stages of client’s operations, from fashion design to launching and marketing of the final product.

Services related to the area
  • Negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts and agreements, such as product design and development agreement, NDAs, Intellectual Property licensing or assignment image release and authorization forms, joint ventures, , “collabs”, sponsorships and franchises;
  • Protecting and enforcing copyrights,marks, patents and industrial designs;
  • Legal disputes involving plagiarism, infringement of intellectual property rights, unfair competition and counterfeiting; and
  • Preparing and enforcing a tailor-made anti-counterfeit program.

Geographical Indications

The search for new items on the market, increased competition, and the need to distinguish products and services for their quality have made the origin of raw materials and persons an asset to be protected. As an example, how can we tell that a delicious coffee really comes from Brazil’s prized Cerrado Mineiro region? Or whether store-bought cheese was indeed produced in the country’s Canastra mountains?

In addressing these questions, Brazilian trademark legislation also protects Geographical Indications (GIs), which identify a product or service having unique characteristics, either based on its geographic origin or the place associated therewith.

Arising naturally from geography or from human factors, these characteristics give the product or service its recognition and reputation for quality.

Production area boundaries and restricted use limited to those producers from within the region maintain local standards and traditions, while blocking external producers or service providers from illegally utilizing the place name to describe their products or services. As a result, both the expectation and the value of quality remain protected.

Two types of GIs exist in Brazil: Appelation of Origin, which describes characteristics (including human and natural factors) that influence products or services from a certain geographic area, and Indication of Origin, which protects the geographic name made famous by a product or service.

In Brazil, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) grants Geographical Indications.

Services related to the area
  • Advise on registering and protecting Geographical Indications, including dispute resolution inside and outside of court;
  • Analyze and prepare requests to the INPI for recognizing Geographical Indications.

Industrial Designs

The visual appeal of a product and its aesthetic differentiation from other products is an increasingly more decisive factor in the consumer purchase decision process, making the design a competitive resource for businesspeople.

An industrial design aims to protect the ornamental three dimensional shape of an object or an ornamental arrangement of lines and colours applied to a product, and the aesthetic result afforded to the object must be new and original.

An Industrial Design Registration is the name of the title, granted by the State, which affords its owner exclusivity to commercially exploit the creation for a certain period of time and affords its owner the benefit of preventing third parties from exploiting the creation without consent.

Services related to the area
  • Consultancy;
  • Anteriority searches in Brazil and abroad;
  • Preparation, filing and monitoring of applications for registration in Brazil and abroad;
  • Administrative litigation;
  • Drafting legal opinions.

Judicial Litigation

The contentious aspect of the relationships is linked to everything that is subject to be contested, or that might be involved in a dispute or constitute the object of a conflict of interests.

With more than one century of specialization, our Litigation team is a reference in the field, acting in cases with various levels of complexity. Our professionals stand out in terms of their knowledge of the specific legislation and their high level of experience, in addition to being able to provide easily understandable explanations concerning technologies and technical matters in court, using all available legal tools to seek efficient results.

We prepare and implement strategies according the requirements and particularities of each client, using a strategic point of view comprising the client’s business and acting in a multidisciplinary manner in partnership with all the remaining technical departments of our firm.

Although we are prepared to prosecute legal proceedings in all jurisdictions, we prioritize solutions derived from negotiation and mediation to achieve a more efficient and strategic result.

The scope of our actions further includes the preparation of written opinions, contracts, agreements, extrajudicial notifications, announcements to the market, legal opinions and pre-litigation opinions, in addition to analyses of applicability of the Brazilian Law or interpretation of our laws in all types of requirements related to intellectual property and other fields related thereto.

Services related to the area
  • Procedural strategies;
  • Filing and follow-up of patent and trademark nullity proceedings and actions of infringement of intellectual property assets;
  • Filing suits for Writs of Mandamus and other legal remedies;
  • Filing for provisional remedies and early production of evidence;
  • Subsidiary contribution in the production of technical evidence;
  • Follow-up of production of technical expert evidence and procedural remedies;
  • Filing of defense arguments, appeals and challenges.

Latin Hub

Our Latin Hub, the I’B The IP Hub, was created to ensure that clients enjoy a personalized experience and support for their IP assets in Brazil, as well as throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The I’B benefits from the expertise of the Kasznar Leonardos team of specialists, who have extensive practice in all areas of intellectual property, combined with a long-standing experience working with international clients. Additionally, we offer competitive rates and significantly reduce the administrative burden of intellectual property work in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.

Our goal is to ensure quality in every aspect, analyzing potential legal actions, dealing with negative decisions, and preparing appropriate responses for different jurisdictions. And best of all: with a flat-fee system for all countries.

Services related to the area
  • Protecting your trademarks from searching and the filing of the application up to the granting of the certificate, including whatsoever measures for defending your rights throughout Latin America and the Caribbean countries
  • Protecting your inventions during all the prosecution process in the local Patent Offices from filing until the granting of the Letters-Patent and afterwards, including the payment of renewal fees (where applicable) in Latin America and the Caribbean countries, and any measures for defending your rights
  • Protecting your industrial designs during all the prosecution process in Latin America and the Caribbean countries, from filing until the granting and afterwards, including the payment of renewal fees (where applicable), and any measures for defending your rights

Life Sciences

Our Life Sciences team is highly familiar with the industry and is greatly experienced in the field, standing at the forefront of pioneering and multidisciplinary cases.

We are able to act in a thorough fashion across questions of the most varied natures, since we rely on the consultancy of a team of professionals that are highly skilled in multiple fields of legal nature in addition to other specialists such as engineers, medical doctors, pharmaceutical experts, biomedical researchers, biologists, chemical engineers, among others.

Our clients’ portfolio comprises domestic and transnational companies acting in the fields of health, medicaments, biological products, pharmaceutical actives, medical devices and health techs, in addition to the fields of cosmetics, foodstuffs and agrochemical products.

You may rely on our assistance to create solutions aimed at customizing and specifically fulfilling the requirements of your company, such as for example:

Services related to the area
  • Preparation and consultancy relative to contractual questions intended to meet the sector’s specific requirements;
  • Intellectual Property portfolio management (contracts/agreements, protection and enforcement of trademarks, patents etc.);
  • Consultancy in the creation of companies, regularization and renovation of activities for compliance with the rules of the Brazilian market authorities;
  • Access to Brazilian public and private health care systems;
  • Clinical researches and access to programs subject to the supervision of ethical and regulatory authorities;
  • Planning, implementation and following-up of the cycle of introduction of products in the Brazilian market, obligations after introduction and civil liability in connection therewith;
  • Analysis for conformity and participation in public policies and governmental procurement within the scope of the health sector, involving preference of margins and Partnerships for Productive Development [in Brazilian Portuguese these are called Parcerias para o Desenvolvimento Produtivo using the acronym PDP’s];
  • Administrative and legal consultancy and litigation involving authorities that regulate the sector;
  • Planning, preparation and implementation of technology transfer agreements and contracts with universities, as subject to the Law of Innovation;
  • Preparation and implementation of Programs of Compliance, guidance and training in policies and procedures;
  • Consulting relative to unfair competition and business secrecy;
  • Assessment and guidance with regard to conduct within the anti-trust scope;
  • Preparation of written opinions, contracts, agreements, extrajudicial notifications, announcements to the market, pre-litigation legal and technical opinions.

Marketing & Entertainment Law

Anticipation and awareness of the latest market shifts and trends makes up our DNA. From large productions and digital influencers to diverse advertising channels and the metaverse, our strategic legal advice helps brands and businesses alike to connect with their audience in an effective way.

Major national and international legal ranking entities such as Chambers and  Partners recognize our Marketing & Entertainment Law group for its integrated, broad and multidisciplinary expertise in multimedia marketing, advertising and entertainment business practices. Chambers Latin America 2021 – Clients acknowledge “Excellent” head of department Fernanda Magalhães as “an expert in business in Brazil and abroad” who, “through her impressive background, formulates innovative solutions to [client] matters.”

We regularly apply our international industry knowledge to provide tailored advice to our clients on all aspects of the use, licensing and commercialization of intellectual property and personality rights. Clients such as advertisers and branding, advertising and digital influencer agencies, as well as content creation, production, technology and live entertainment companies, benefit from a wide range of legal services such as:

Services related to the area
  • Drafting and negotiating contracts for traditional and digital advertising campaigns, including advertising agency service agreements, media purchase agreements, celebrity and influencer talent agreements, and product placement and endorsement deals;
  • Risk assessment and broad legal and reputational advice on promotional, product labeling, marketing and advertising campaigns, in accordance with consumer protection regulations and advertising industry standards from the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Board (CONAR);
  • Legal advice on structuring the monetization of intellectual property assets and personality rights of Web3 initiatives and emerging technology projects, from clearing IP rights for metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) projects to securing various transactions, as well as monitoring, protecting and enforcing clients’ IP and personality rights throughout the virtual world;
  • Broad legal support for sports and eSports teams, athletes, sponsors and entertainment event organizations on the clearance, enforcement and monetization of intellectual property assets and personality rights;
  • Legal advice and day-to-day support for pre- and post-production phases of film, video and audiovisual projects, from drafting and negotiating master production and marketing agreements and talent, production crew and logistics service agreements, as well as content clearance and risk assessment, to copyright registration of work product; and
  • Advising on and negotiating umbrella and specific licensing agreements with the Brazilian copyright collecting society (ECAD) for public performance of music.
RECOGNITIONS

Patents

Inventions are protected by issuing patents, which in Brazil are classified as invention patents or utility model patents.

The warranting of protection to an innovation is an extremely serious matter and for that reason the entire process should be undertaken by an industrial property specialist, who understands the importance of protecting your innovation.

An invention shall only be patentable if it is novel, inventive and industrially applicable.

We work in a multidisciplinary way in the analysis of the companies’ portfolio, carrying out complete diagnoses, with information on possible protection gaps, excess of registrations, registration inconsistencies in INPI, among others.

Services related to the area
  • Prepare patents applications;
  • Conduct prior art searches in Brazil and abroad;
  • Technological Prospecting;
  • Prepare opinion letters;
  • File patent opposition actions;
  • Administrative nullity proceedings;
  • Freedom to Operate (FTO);
  • File and follow up on patent applications in Brazil and abroad.

Plant Varieties

As the main form of protecting innovations generated in the field, plant varieties allow the recovery of investments in plants improvement, such plants being selected for showing distinct characteristics that remain stable and homogenous over successive generations.

Services related to the area
  • Advising and consulting on the registration of plant varieties at the National Service for Plant Variety Protection (SNPC);
  • Preparing licensing agreements related to plant varieties; and
  • Protecting plant varieties through judicial and extrajudicial means.

Regulatory Law in the Health Area

Our Regulatory team anticipates and prepares your company with regard to the sector’s challenges and opportunities.

We act within the scope of competence of the rule-making entities towards the feasibility of commercialization of products and services, as well as the authorization of licensing of operations, including the approval of projects, registration of products and securing import licenses. We also participate most actively in workgroups, associations and events, in addition to monitoring all legislation updates.

We provide consultancy and litigation services and we act at all times of interaction with the health authorities, particularly the Brazilian Health Supervision Agency [ANVISA – Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária] and the Brazilian Complementary Health [Private Health Insurance] Agency [ANS – Agência Nacional de Saúde Complementar].

Ours is a multidisciplinary approach, with actions carried out together with other fields – such as intellectual property, public law and anti-corruption practices, to better provide assistance to your business in strategic matters throughout the entire life cycle of your products, irrespective of the latter consisting in medicaments, biological products, medical devices, foodstuffs, cosmetic products, sanitation products or agrochemical products.

Services related to the area
  • Preparation, follow-up and management of aspects related to health inspections and compliance with good manufacturing practices;
  • Creation of companies, regularization and renovation of activities in accordance with what is established by the authorities within the Brazilian market;
  • Investigations and advice towards conformity with compliance with regulation standards, including the regulation strategy for the development and approval of new products;
  • Evaluation of cases involving permissions and restrictions to advertisement and promotion of products subject to the rules of the Health Supervision System;
  • Preparation of defense briefs and appeals related to health infringement;
  • Procedures for importing products subject to regulations;
  • Clinical research and access programs regulated by ethics and regulation authorities;
  • Advisory in the procedures used for approval of prices by the Medication Market Regulation Chamber [Câmara de Regulação do Mercado de Medicamentos - CMED];
  • Participation in due diligence procedures in the industries subject to specific regulations.

Sports Law

Our team assists a wide range of clients with legal services related to sports marketing, advertising compensation models, sponsorships and royalties for the use of intellectual property assets and images rights of athletes and talents.

We advise athletes, referees, trainers, clubs, leagues, sports federations, marketing and communication companies, as well as other agents in the chain of business related to traditional and e-sports.

Services related to the area
  • Preparation, negotiation and management of licensing and use agreements for athletes’ publicity images and careers;
  • Preparation, negotiation and management of sponsorship agreements for traditional and e-sports athletes, clubs, leagues and championships;
  • Advice on strategic management and the licensing of trademarks, copyrights, image rights and naming rights;
  • Orientation on the mechanics,rules and risks associated withambush marketing and the commercial use of athlete images, as well as the intellectual property rights of e-clubs and businesses;
  • Preparation, implementation and enforcement of anti-piracy programs for federations, clubs and athletes; and
  • Representation in sports-related disputes inside and outside of court, including arbitral proceedings.

Startups & Innovation

We believe that supporting the innovation ecosystem is crucial. That’s why we created Sztartup Desk, which promotes startups and new businesses in Brazil with projects ranging from entrepreneurs seeking to protect their assets and consolidate their companies to investors opting for a secure and sustainable venture.

Sztartup Desk provides legal advice for entrepreneurs, startups, and investors to operate sustainably and securely in the market through innovative solutions and the protection of intellectual assets.

Services related to the area
  • Legal Consulting for startups and new ventures at all stages of development
  • Registration and protection of trademarks, patents, programs, software, industrial designs, and intellectual property
  • Definition of business models, allocation of partners, analysis of legal formats for company incorporation
  • Drafting contracts for legal relationships with suppliers, clients, employees, and independent service providers
  • Company incorporation, shareholders' agreement, domain and trademark registration, patents, software, etc.
  • Search or review of confidentiality agreements, privacy policies, terms of use, contracts with third parties
  • Assistance in tax and corporate matters
  • Due diligence, analysis of contractual instruments, internal practices and compliance, equity participation agreements
  • Consulting in angel investment, direct capital injection, share acquisition, convertible debt, venture capital, incubators, and accelerators

Technology Transfer, Licensing and Franchising

Our multidisciplinary team handles all steps related to negotiating, drafting, reviewing and registering Technology Transfer Agreements before the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI), whenever such registration is required.

Technology transfer agreements must be registered with the INPI to guarantee certain effects, such as: obtaining official authorization to remit payments abroad owed by local companies; obtaining the deductibility of payments for corporate income tax purposes when the remittances are made by companies which adopt the “actual profits” tax method; and ensuring contract validity vis-à-vis third parties (erga omnes effects).

Technology Transfer Agreements include the following types of contracts:  Trademark License Agreements, Patent License Agreements, Know-How Transfer Agreements, Technical Assistance Service and Franchise Agreements. The market looks increasingly promising for these types of agreements, each with different characteristics, effects and regulations.

We also review various types of agreements in different areas (Distribution, Copyright, Partnership, Taylor-Made, Services, Marketing Consultancy, Research & Development, as well as any other agreement that involves the licensing or transfer of intellectual property rights).

Services related to the area
  • Drafting and negotiating agreements;
  • Registering agreements with the INPI.

Trademarks

Trademarks must be registered to guarantee their exclusive use for activities in Brazil and all other countries around the world.

We recommend conducting a prior search to confirm the availability of your project’s trademark for registration with the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI). That step determines whether any similar trademark was previously registered that could keep you from using your project’s trademark.

Representation

We use our proprietary system to search the INPI database. We then evaluate the desired mark and its main variations to identify possible registrations by identical or similar third parties that could pose an obstacle to registration.

Our strategic analysis of your portfolio starts with an assessment report which includes information such as eventual blind spots or points of omission of protection of the trademarks, excessive amount of registrations, loss of distinctiveness, acquisition of secondary meaning,
vulnerability, possible trademarks deemed to be highly renowned, inconsistencies in the records kept by the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office and even an eventual recommendation of centralization of ownership of the portfolio by use of a trademark holding entity.

We offer quality representation and personalized communication on the status of administrative processes, in accordance with clients’ needs and wishes. Through the Madrid Protocol, we have protected trademarks in over 120 countries without needing to hire local correspondents. We also have a network of correspondent offices to assist with protecting client trademarks anywhere around the world.

Specialized Consulting

If the name is not chosen carefully, launching a new trademark can involve overcoming obstacles. We offer specialized consulting services in Brazil and abroad, while recommending viable measures aimed at minimizing the risk of complications in using or registering a trademark.

Talk to us to find out how we can help you.

Services related to the area
  • Prior search focused on a trademark’s ability for registration in Brazil and abroad
  • Analysis, preparation and follow-up of trademark applications in Brazil (at the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office [or the INPI, which is the Portuguese acronym of Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial] and abroad (at corresponding international offices)
  • Preparation of oppositions, appeals and requests of administrative annulment
  • Protection and enforcement of trademark rights
  • Monitoring and prosecution of trademark designations in Brazil using the Madrid System

Trade Secrets

The protection of confidential information, either of an industrial or a commercial nature, that integrates the most important assets of a business venture, is a matter of concern for companies acting in all markets and it is viewed with seriousness irrespective of the size of the company.

We are deeply experienced in this field, such experience allowing us to adjust our solutions to be adequate for the specific requirements of your business. We elaborate the text of the recommended contractual precautions, we revise procedures used to access information, we prepare or revise Information Security Policies and we provide you with our advice regarding any other preventive measures that may be deemed relevant.

In case of breach of confidentiality, our team may also undertake extrajudicial and judicial measures aimed at containing and remedy the associated damages.

Services related to the area
  • Among the various preventive mechanisms, negotiating and writing up agreements in which the objects constitute confidential data, or the confidentiality clauses of any type of contract/agreement;
  • Undertake to protect the trade secrets by judicial or extrajudicial means.
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