The Kellis IP Weekly: Volume 2025, Issue 1.3
What's up at GIPI? Since the Lula administration took office, the Interministerial Group on Intellectual Property has become increasingly opaque, a trend that accelerated in 2024.
Indicators: In the last six months of 2024, GIPI issued just 3 press releases on the “News” section of its website. For purposes of comparison, here are the number of press releases issued by GIPI since the second half of 2021 (the last period prior to the Lula administration taking office):
1H 2024: 10 press releases
2H 2023: 7 press releases
1H 2023: 7 press releases
2H 2022: 5 press releases
1H 2022: 9 press releases
2H 2021: 16 press releases
Additionally, GIPI released only one set of meeting minutes in 2024. Those minutes were released in early August for a meeting held on June 11. Every preceding year in recent history included at least 2 GIPI meetings (with corresponding published meeting minutes).
Why It Matters: GIPI is responsible for implementing Brazil's National IP Strategy, which sets forth a vision for where Brazil should be on IP after 10 years (in 2030). Implementation of the strategy occurs through the execution of successive 2-year action plans. If GIPI is not actively ensuring implementation of the National IP Strategy, then the strategy risks fading into irrelevance.
The first action plan, covering from 2021-2023, concluded with 46.9% actions completed, 44.9% of actions in progress, and 8.2% of actions not started. Not necessarily impressive, but at least there were constant updates about the status of that plan over the course of its life.
With six months left in the 2023-2025 action plan period, GIPI's Action Plan Dashboard reports, confusingly, 56% of actions completed, 90% in progress, and 16% not yet started. GIPI's last status report on the 2023-2025 Action plan covered the period from November 2023-May 2024, and listed 97 actions as complete or nearly so, and 65 as behind schedule. Notably, GIPI's Power BI application for the Action Plan (which, at least in theory, is updated regularly, but was last updated in November 2024) shows that while some actions have moved from almost done to done, there are still 97 actions completed or nearly so, and 65 actions behind schedule.
The question, then, remains: What is GIPI up to? And does the Brazilian government still care about implementing the National IP Strategy?
Read More: https://www.gov.br/propriedade-intelectual/pt-br; Power BI; https://www.gov.br/propriedade-intelectual/pt-br/assuntos/estrategia-nacional-de-propriedade-intelectual; https://www.gov.br/propriedade-intelectual/pt-br/assuntos/estrategia-nacional-de-propriedade-intelectual/planos-de-acao/arquivos/1st-relatorio-monitoramento-pa-2023_2025_final_06set24_b.pdf; https://www.gov.br/participamaisbrasil/atas-de-reunioes4; https://www.gov.br/participamaisbrasil/resolucoes16
Notorious Markets List Released: The USTR published its 2024 Notorious Markets List, which contains various interesting data points.
Operation 404 Success: Despite Operation 404's wide popularity among stakeholders, the effort has been criticized for not leading to prosecutions, convictions, and/or lasting change. As highlighted in the NML, however, a target of the second Operation 404 phase was criminally prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison in March 2024. The seventh and most recent phase of Operation 404 was held in September 2024.
Online Markets: Brazil is mentioned only twice in the Online Markets portion of the NML: once in a list of countries that have issued blocking orders for Russian piracy site rutracker, and again as being a country in which e-commerce platform (and oft-time counterfeit goods purveyor) Shopee operates a country-specific site.
Physical Markets: The NML once again identifies São Paulo's Rua 25 de Março shopping area (which encompasses multiple individual markets) as notorious. Other physical markets identified in the Mercosur region include Barrio Once and La Salada in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay.
Read more: https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2025/january/ustr-releases-2024-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy; https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20Review%20of%20Notorious%20Markets%20of%20Counterfeiting%20and%20Piracy%20(final).pdf
In Brief:
In the first ten days of 2025, INPI received 79 PPH applications--a 10% increase over the same period last year. If that pace continues, even INPI's drastically increased limit of 800 PPH applications per quarter will be insufficient to meet demand. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/inpi-ja-recebeu-79-requerimentos-para-o-pph-em-2025
After successfully pushing the international community to adopt rules that would allow this change, INPI has announced that as of July 1, 2025, the office will only receive international PCT filings electronically. Those wishing to file in paper will have to do so directly at the WIPO International Bureau. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/inpi-divulga-alteracao-no-deposito-internacional-pct
The USPTO published a trademark application for MAGIS TV for opposition. The Chinese-based brand is infamous for copyright piracy, especially in Latin America, but has also applied for trademarks in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay. At the same time, the service appears to be rebranding to Flujo TV. https://torrentfreak.com/notorious-pirate-iptv-service-magistv-applies-for-us-trademark-and-rebrands-250114/
A press release by Peru's INDECOPI noted that cartoon adventurer Tintin, as well as the first version of Popeye, both will enter the public domain in 2025, and in conjunction therewith highlighted its Copyright Information Guide on the Basic Aspects of the Public Domain, available in both print and audio formats, as well as its Virtual Catalog of Literary Works in the Public Domain. https://www.gob.pe/institucion/indecopi/noticias/1088454-indecopi-destaca-el-pase-de-personajes-como-popeye-y-tintin-a-dominio-publico-en-2025
Uruguay has completely eliminated its 3-year backlog of trademark applications, and reduced patent pendency from over 14 years to 4.5 years. DNPI Technical Director Santiago Martínez celebrated the achievement while recognizing that much work remains to be done. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/santiago-martinez-9202b055_dnpi-marcas-patentes-activity-7275225352489086977-bHTL
Lula will sign the first bill regulating tax reform today, Thursday, January 15. The bill creates three new taxes, which in turn fully replace four existing taxes and partially replace a fifth existing tax. Other aspects of the tax reform are still working their way through the National Congress. https://veja.abril.com.br/coluna/radar/lula-vai-sancionar-texto-que-regulamenta-a-reforma-tributaria/
UPCOMING IP EVENTS
*January 22-24, 2025: World Intellectual Property Forum. Dubai. https://www.worldipforum.com/ (English).
*January 27-28, 2025: International Intellectual Property Lawyers Association Conference. Dubai. https://iipla.org/events/dubai/ (English).
February 20-21, 2025: AIPPI Midterm Meeting. Zagreb, Croatia. https://www.aippi.org/event/2025-aippi-midterm-meeting/ (English).
March 17-19, 2025: XXIV ASPI Intellectual Property Congress. Sao Paulo, Brazil. https://congresso.aspi.org.br/ (Portuguese).
March 20-23, 2025: XX ABAPISUL Regional Meeting. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. https://abapi2.org.br/ (Portuguese).
^May 17-21, 2025: INTA 2025 Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, USA. https://www.inta.org/events/2025-annual-meeting/ (English).
June 8-10, 2025: ASIPI El Salvador Seminar. El Salvador. https://asipi.org/event/seminario-el-salvador-2025/ (Spanish).
August, 2025: ABPI Annual Congress. São Paulo, Brazil. https://abpi.org.br/eventos-abpi/ (Portuguese).
September 13-16, 2025: 2025 AIPPI World Congress. Yokohama, Japan. https://www.aippi.org/event/2025-aippi-world-congress/ (English).
^October 30-November 1, 2025: AIPLA Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C. https://www.aipla.org/detail/event/2025/10/30/default-calendar/aipla-2025-annual-meeting (English).
November 30-December 3, 2025: XXIII ASIPI Congress - Buenos Aires, Argentina. https://asipi.org/event/xxiii-congreso-asipi-buenos-aires-2025/ (Spanish).
* Indicates events at which I will be speaking.
^ Indicates events I will be attending.
QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS
Kellis IP is available to provide consulting services to help you understand and respond to any of the developments highlighted in this newsletter, or any other IP issues in Brazil and the surrounding region.
