The Kellis IP Weekly: Issue 12.3

Happy Holidays!

To all readers of the Kellis IP Weekly, happy holidays! May you find joy and peace as you celebrate, and best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year. We’ll be taking a break next week, which means this is the last issue of 2024. We hope to see you in 2025!

New Year, New Model

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Issue 12.3

Amcham Releases Study on Strengthening Intellectual Property in Brazil: Speaking at the launch event, MDIC Executive Secretary emphasizes that strengthening intellectual property in Brazil is vital to the Lula government and central to the administration's economic development plan.

• Call to Action: The report calls on Brazil to undertake numerous activities to strengthen the country’s intellectual property framework—not all of which will be viewed as positive by U.S. stakeholders. Here are some of the study’s recommended actions:

  • grant fiscal autonomy to INPI (which is perennially underfunded, even though authorization to spend just 10% of its projected 2024 collections of R$400 million would be sufficient to carry out necessary and recommended activities)

  • restructure career incentives for INPI employees (so that they have a reason to stay at INPI once hired)

  • allow INPI to hire new employees (which still has hundreds of vacant positions despite hiring 120 new employees earlier this year)

  • adhere to the Treaty of Budapest (the Chamber of Deputies approved PDL 466/2022, which addresses Brazil’s adhesion to the Treaty of Budapest, on Dec. 5, and the bill now awaits action in the Senate)

  • adhere to the Lisbon Agreement (which would be hugely beneficial for European countries that rely heavily on geographical indications)

  • further expand the Patent Prosecution Highway program

  • increase penalties for engaging in piracy

  • update Brazil’s IP laws, including by passing PL 2210/2022 (but ensuring that patent applicants retain the 36-month period to revise the claims of their applications, and that some form of patent term adjustment is included to compensate for administrative delays in patent examination and issuance)

• Read more:  https://www.gov.br/mdic/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2024/dezembro/201ca-propriedade-intelectual-e-ponto-central-para-o-desenvolvimento-economico-do-pais201d; https://abifina.org.br/acontece-na-abifina/evento-amcham-fortalecimento-da-propriedade-intelectual-no-brasil/; https://abifina.sharepoint.com/reas%20Temticas/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Freas%20Temticas%2FPROPRIEDADE%20INTELECTUAL%2FPropostas%2Dpara%2Do%2Dfortalecimento%2Dda%2DPropriedade%2DIntelectual%2Dno%2DBrasil%2DAMCHAM%2D2024%2Epdf&parent=%2Freas%20Temticas%2FPROPRIEDADE%20INTELECTUAL&p=true&ga=1

In brief:

• INPI's latest iteration of the "Permanent Dialogue with Interested Parties" user meeting focused on online betting and acquired distinctiveness.  https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/inpi-realiza-encontro-sobre-apostas-on-line-e-distintividade-adquirida

• The National Council to Combat Piracy signed an MOU with France's National Anti-Counterfeiting Committee to strengthen cooperation in combatting piracy and copyright infringement.  https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/brasil-e-franca-unem-esforcos-contra-pirataria-e-violacao-de-direitos-autorais

• A knock-and-talk operation by Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) of Japan resulted in the closure of 15 pirated anime/manga sites in Brazil, which collectively attracted 7.95 million viewers per month.  https://torrentfreak.com/japanese-anime-companies-shut-down-another-15-pirate-sites-in-brazil-241216/

• A Rio de Janeiro court found that Adele plagiarized Martinho da Vila's song "Mulheres" in her work "Million Years Ago."  Although she can still appeal the decision, the court has ordered the song to be removed from digital platforms.  https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/colunistas/mariana-morais/2024/12/7013313-adele-tem-derrota-no-processo-de-plagio-em-musica-de-martinho-da-vila.html

• With Senate approval, an agreement renewing WIPO's authority for an official office in Brazil (originally established in 2009, but expired now for some time) is set to take effect.  https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/materias/2024/12/18/senado-ratifica-renovacao-de-acordo-sobre-sede-brasileira-da-ompi

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).

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).

* 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.