Green Patents
- 25 February 2013
- Articles
The Rio+20 Conference on Environment has recently taken place in the City of Rio de Janeiro. Prior to the Conference, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office launched a pilot project to incentive the protection of environmental-friendly technologies, the so-called “Green Patent Project”.
The purpose of that Project is to support inventions that might impact clima changes and to offer innovative companies in green technologies a chance to have their patent applications granted within a maximum of two years.
Currently in Brazil, the average time period for a patent application process to be concluded is 8 years.
Inventions regarding technologies on alternative sources of energy, energy conservation, transportation, management of residues in general and agriculture are eligible to participate in the “Green Patent Project”.
Moreover, only patents for inventions filed in Brazil by nationals from Brazil or from country members to the Paris Union Convention filed as of January 1st 2011, may apply for participation in the Project.
Patent applications under the PCT International Phase may not take in the first phase of this program. Other requirements include mandatory publication of the patent applications before joining the Project and a maximum number of 15 claims.
Whoever wishes to participate in the “Green Patent Project” must ensure that its patent application duly complies with the requirements described above and pay, in addition to the applicable. Project fees, the fee to request the technical examination. In case the patent application has not yet been published, a fee for “anticipated publication” must be paid.
After the participation in the Project is applied for, the BPTO shall, within a term of up to 3 months, decide and make public whether the pre-requisites have been complied with and the patent application accepted.
If the application is accepted, the examination process will follow its normal course and the final decision will be rendered in up to 2 years. If the application is rejected, it will be dealt with as an ordinary patent application.
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