The Ministry of Environment published on its website the new templates of Benefit Sharing Agreements in compliance with the Biodiversity Act (Law # 13.123/2015). In light of such Act, the one who carries out activities of research and development accessing Brazilian genetic resources and traditional knowledge must share the benefits arising out of such activities if they originated a finished product or reproductive resources.
Further to our newsletter 12/16, please be informed that the Brazilian Patent Office issued on 1.March 2017 the Resolution No. 179 revoking Resolution 174, which was addressed in said previous newsletter.
After the ratifications of 2/3 of WTO (World Trade Organization) members, article 31 bis was formally brought into the text of TRIPs Agreement. Such provision aims at allowing compulsory licenses for export in order to meet the needs of countries with insufficient or no capacity of manufacturing drugs. It is a direct result of Doha Declaration on TRIPs Agreement and Public Health of 2001, which aims at striking a balance between IP protection and access to health care.
A fter a very long wait, the Brazilian Patent Office finally published the Examination Guidelines for computer-implemented inventions, which went into effect on 6 December 2016, date on which they were published in the Brazilian Official Gazette. The guidelines underwent a process of public consultation and the final version introduced no relevant divergence from the draft document that had been distributed. A translation of the guidelines is enclosed.