Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit against rule that guarantees a minimum term for patent protection

In a decision made available on the 7th of November, Judge of the Supreme Court Luiz Fux dismissed a lawsuit by which ABIFINA (an association of Brazilian pharma industries) requested the declaration of unconstitutionality of article 40, sole paragraph, of Law # 9,279/1996. Such provision foresees a minimum of 10 years of protection for patents, counting from their issuance – which may represent a compensation in view of the current backlog, as the general rule is 20 years of protection from filing date. In brief, Judge of the Supreme Court Fux dismissed the lawsuit due to procedural reasons.

 

Click below to access the full content of the decision (portuguese only).