The Kellis IP Weekly: Volume 2025, Issue 1.4
INPI Releases October-December Performance Numbers: The numbers continue to show that applications in the biotechnology and telecommunications fields have the highest pendency, with overall numbers largely unchanged since the previous quarter.
Average Patent Pendency from Request for Examination: Applications in the polymers and related technologies art unit received a technical decision within 2.2 years on average, while applications in the telecommunications art unit received a technical decision within 4.6 years on average. Biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications took the second- and third-longest, with an average pendency of 4.4 and 4.3 years, respectively.
Average Patent Pendency from Filing Date: Applications in the metallurgy and materials art unit received a technical decision in an average of 3.3 years, just under the 3.4-year average for applications in the polymers and related technologies art unit and well below the 5.7-year average for telecommunications applications. Once again, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications occupied the second and third spots, with 5.5 and 5.4 years of average pendency, respectively.
Average Patent Pendency from First Examination: Mechanical engineering applications reached a final decision in the least amount of time on average (57 days) from the first examination, while biotechnology applications reached a final decision in the most amount of time on average (195 days). Notably, despite being at the top of the average total pendency rankings, telecommunications applications received a final decision within 75 days of the first examination date, the third-fastest time.
Filing Year of Examined Applications: Of the applications examined in the October-December 2024 timeframe in each of the biopharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and telecommunications spaces, 80% or more were filed in 2018 or earlier. For metallurgy and materials applications, 80% or more were filed in 2021 or earlier. Looking at all applications for which technical examination was completed in the same timeframe, most (1681) were filed in 2019, with 2 filed in 2009 and 38 filed in 2024.
In Brief:
In December 2024, average patent pendency at INPI reached 4.3 yrs from filing and 3.1 years from the request from examination; fast-track applications averaged 10.4 months to a final decision; and average trademark pendency reached 17.8 months without opposition and 26.3 months with opposition. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/governanca/planejamento-estrategico/central-de-monitoramento
In the first 22 days of January, INPI received 190 PPH applications. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/servicos/patentes/GPPH%20e%20PPH/estatisticas-de-pph
INPI has re-established the protocol for priority collaborative examination (the patent prosecution highway) for a number of jurisdictions, including Germany, Australia, Norway, Poland, and Russia. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/restabelecido-protocolo-para-exames-colaborativos-prioritarios-de-patente
GIPI is seeking public input through a survey open from January 21-24 (a remarkably short period of time) regarding communications to the public about the National IP Strategy. https://www.gov.br/propriedade-intelectual/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/participe-da-pesquisa-sobre-a-estrategia-de-comunicacao-da-enpi
Patent filing statistics for 2024 in Chile improved over 2023, with 2.6% more patent applications overall (4,102 applications filed), 28.7% more PCT applications (186), and a patent pendency of 2.6 years. See https://www.inapi.cl/sala-de-prensa/detalle-noticia/inapi-cierra-2024-con-record-en-solicitudes-de-patentes-y-un-crecimiento-del-28-7-en-presentaciones-internacional
Peru's Patent Program, which provides technical assistance to national inventors who wish to seek patent protection but are unfamiliar with the process, received 132 applications in 2024, an increase of 22% since 2023. See https://www.gob.pe/institucion/indecopi/noticias/1094576-indecopi-programa-patenta-alcanzo-132-solicitudes-de-patentes-en-2024-y-lanza-convocatoria-para-potenciar-la-innovacion-este-ano
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.
