The Kellis IP Weekly: Issue 2.4
Carnival and Copyright: With Carnival just around the corner, Brazil's collective management agency, Ecad, has been working to ensure the proper payment of copyright royalties over the course of the holiday, with its many public celebrations. Here is where things stand:
First, a Look Back: In 2024, Ecad collected R$32.8 million in copyright royalties related to Carnival, a 37% increase over 2023. The state of Bahia (whose capital, Salvador, is also considered the capital of Carnival) accounted for 21% of that total, with the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais in 2nd and 3rd place. Three states - Sergipe, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Norte - as well as the Federal District saw year-over-year collections increase by more than 100%, with a whopping 548% increase in Sergipe. Meanwhile, collections from São Paulo fell 22% relative to 2023 levels, and those from Espírito Santo dropped 18%.
The Current Status: While rising collection numbers demonstrate increased compliance with copyright payment obligations, Ecad continues to work to reach agreements with relevant jurisdictions to ensure royalty payments. The agency recently announced an agreement with the state of Amazonas regarding royalty collection, but simultaneously announced that city officials in the state capital, Manaus, had refused to even discuss royalty payments with Ecad. Ecad plans to sue the city to force compliance.
Ecad's Efforts: In addition to launching a public awareness campaign (entitled "Up-to-date copyrights are also a spectacle!") aimed at those who will use music publicly in Carnival programs and events, Ecad is using press releases focused on key states to further raise awareness, and also participated in a public awareness event sponsored by the Pará Cultural Foundation in Belém on Feb. 26. Additionally, Ecad presented a Seal of Recognition and commemorative plaque to the Salvador Tourism Company during an official ceremony in the city of Salvador, Bahia, in acknowledgement of the company's efforts to respect copyright rights.
Read more: https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-2025-estudo-do-ecad-mostra-os-estados-que-mais-arrecadaram-direitos-autorais-na-folia/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/ecad-e-convidado-para-forum-sobre-direitos-autorais-da-musica-no-para/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-em-minas-gerais-arrecadacao-de-direitos-autorais-de-musicas-mostra-a-forca-do-carnaval-mineiro/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-de-pernambuco-ritmos-regionais-se-destacam-em-estudo-do-ecad/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-baiano-salvador-recebe-selo-de-reconhecimento-do-ecad-por-respeitar-direitos-autorais/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-paranaense-ecad-mostra-cenario-musical-ecletico-na-folia-do-estado/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-sp-sao-paulo-foi-o-estado-que-mais-licenciou-shows-e-eventos-no-ultimo-carnaval/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-carioca-rio-de-janeiro-foi-o-terceiro-estado-que-mais-licenciou-shows-e-eventos-no-ultimo-ano/; https://www4.ecad.org.br/noticias/carnaval-no-amazonas-governo-do-estado-fecha-acordo-com-o-ecad-e-prefeitura-de-manaus-se-nega-a-pagar-direitos-autorais/
In Brief:
INPI President Júlio César Moreira lamented the employment situation at INPI LinkedIn, noting that few candidates applied for INPI's last round of hiring in the areas of biotechnology, telecommunications, and information technology; some of the newly hired employees are already leaving, after months of investment in their training; and that long-standing employees are also leaving as competitions for other public service jobs are announced. https://chatgpt.com/c/67c07a03-ed64-800d-a5f2-0fcaf4734f62
In view of the upcoming Carnival holiday, INPI deadlines that fall any day from February 28 to March 5, 2025 are extended to March 6, 2025. https://revistas.inpi.gov.br/pdf/Comunicados2825.pdf
INPI will host a meeting on March 27 to discuss changes that are expected as a result of the automation of certain patent processes. The event is open to registered participants (registration is available at the following link) and will be broadcast on INPI's YouTube channel. https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/central-de-conteudo/noticias/inpi-ira-apresentar-no-dia-27-03-mudancas-nos-servicos-online-de-patentes
Brazil's Secretariat for Copyright and Intellectual Property, part of the Ministry of Culture, continues to work on the Legal Framework for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural and Popular Expressions, the goal of which is to establish a set of measures to strengthen the safeguarding of the knowledge and cultural practices of traditional communities. The framework is being discussed by a working group comprising representatives from the Ministry of Culture and 18 other ministries, as well as cultural entities, researchers, and teachers from throughout Brasil. https://www.gov.br/cultura/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/minc-avanca-na-estruturacao-da-politica-nacional-para-as-culturas-tradicionais-e-populares
While Brazilian law excludes software per se from patentability, the current Guidelines for Examining Patent Applications Involving Computer-Implemented Inventions provide that "AI techniques, covering machine learning tools and deep learning tools, amongst others, when applied on the solution of technical problems can be considered an invention." INPI decisions regarding AI reinforce that AI must be implemented in new and nonobvious ways to be inventive. https://www.daniel-ip.com/en/articles/patents-for-ai-inventions-a-comparison-of-requirements-in-brazil-the-united-states-and-europe/
Paraguay’s DINAPI has launched a National Repository of Sound Brands where registered sound marks are available to the public. Fourteen such marks have been registered at DINAPI. https://www.dinapi.gov.py/portal/v3/noticias/detalle-noticia?idNoticia=511
INPI Argentina issued a press release describing a series of meetings regarding geographical indications and trademark registration as well as international trademark protection, with the goal of disseminating and strengthening knowledge that will help local producers promote the product growth and international competitiveness. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/encuentros-sobre-la-importancia-del-registro-de-la-marca
INPI Argentina President Carlos María Gallo participated in meetings with CEOs of medium-sized enterprises arranged by the Argentine Confederation of Medium-Sized Enterprises and also in a Colloquium on IP. The meetings yielded discussion regarding opportunities for collaboration regarding intellectual property, options for incentivizing foreign investment, and the protection of trademarks and inventions. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/recorrido-por-el-desarrollo-productivo-en-la-provincia-de-buenos-aires
Uruguay's Executive Branch approved a new regulation establishing the requirements for registration of software, thus implementing the software registry created by Law 20,212 of 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/santiago-martinez-9202b055_entra-en-vigor-la-normativa-del-registro-activity-7298788770215030784--4LQ/; https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-industria-energia-mineria/institucional/normativa/circular-n-1-fecha-26022025-registro-software; https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-industria-energia-mineria/institucional/normativa/circular-n-1-fecha-25022025-registro-software-orbita-direccion-nacional
DNPI Technical Director Santiago Martínez highlighted achievements during his tenure at a working breakfast between DNPI and representatives of the EUIPO. Those achievements include: accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Budapest Treaty; reduction of patent pendency from 14 years to four years, and reduction in trademark pendency from three years to 3.5 months; development of a professional certification in technology transfer and IP; updated guidelines for trademark examination; and publication of a compendium of jurisprudence on trademark law. Also at the breakfast, Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining Elisa Facio observed that improving regulations on intellectual property to advance technology and innovation is a priority of the current administration. https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-industria-energia-mineria/comunicacion/noticias/miem-union-europea-repasaron-logros-cooperacion-area-propiedad-intelectual
UPCOMING IP EVENTS
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 17-19, 2025: ABPI Annual Congress. São Paulo, Brazil. https://abpi.org.br/eventos-abpi/ (Portuguese).
September 7-9, 2025: IPO Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, USA. https://ipo.org/index.php/event/2025-ipo-annual-meeting/ (English).
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).
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.
