Register an Industrial Design in Brazil
In some business, the industrial design is as important as the branch or technology of the product in question. Registering it is a recommended measure to protect the design. Here you will discover how to do it.
The Brazilian institution responsible for the industrial design registry is the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial, known as INPI, which is the National Institute of Industrial Property. It is linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and is also sponsored by it.
According to the Brazilian legislation, both a person or a company can sponsor an industrial registry. This means that the author of the design as well as the company that created it can apply for the registry. The registry process is long and detailed and may require assistance.
If you don't know how to register your industrial design or don't have time to do it, you can seek for the help of attorneys or agents, who know the whole process done by the INPI and can assist you with it. A lot of companies provide this type of service. They will take care of the legal, bureaucratic and technical details of the registry process, which is usually more expensive than doing it by yourself, although is a less risky one.
How to apply for the Industrial Design Registration
The registry application must be submitted to INPI by filling a form, containing information about the author as well as a descriptive report about the object that will be protected. To apply for the industrial design registry is necessary to:
• Fill out the Formulário de Depósito, which is a deposit form that can be found at INPI's webpage.
• Pay the Guia de Recolhimento da União, known as GRU, which is the State Revenue Collection Guide.
Then the following documentation must be delivered to INPI:
• RG, the Brazilian ID card, or RNE, CPF and proof of residence of the author
• CNPJ, the National Register of Corporate Taxpayers, and Article of Association – only if a company made the application
• Specific Power of Attorney
• Technical report
The technical report to apply for industrial design registry must contain:
• descriptive report
• claims
• drawings or photographs
• project field of application
The GRU fee of BRL 95,00 can be paid in order to guarantee the requirement confidentiality for 180 days after the application in INPI. It is also possible to ask for the author secrecy in the Formulário de Depósito without paying any other fee. In this case the author information, as well as his declaration of maintaining his name confidential must be presented in a sealed envelope.
The industrial design registry can be submitted in the head office of INPI located in Rio de Janeiro or through a representative office of this institution in your state. The representative state offices are named Escritórios de Difusão Regional, also known as DIREG.
Process of Registering an Industrial Design
INPI will receive the requirement and submit it to a formal preliminary study. During the process, INPI can make additional requirements. If it is a formal preliminary demand about the already delivered documentation, it is necessary to fill out the Formulário de Petição – a petition form – in two copies and deliver it to INPI with the changes made along with the original Formulário de Exigência – a demand form – signed. Both forms can be found in INPI webpage, and must be fill out within five days after the Formulário de Exigência has been signed.
If the requirement is about the application itself, it is necessary to send to INPI, besides the two copies of the Formulário de Petição, four copies of a new technical report and pay another GRU fee. This must be done within sixty days from the publication on the Revista de Propriedade Industrial, also known as RPI, which is the Industrial Property Magazine.
Approval of the Industrial Design by INPI
If the registry application is approved, it will be automatically published at RPI and the registry will be granted with the emission of a certificate. All this process occurs in a six to eight months period. After the registry concession a study must be requested about the originality and novelty of the registered object.
The certificate will be available at INPI office where the forms have been submitted the necessary registry documentation had been sent. After the concession, in order to maintain the registry, every five years a maintenance fee (GRU) must be paid. After ten years since the registry was done it will be necessary to request a registry extension, as well as in the fifteenth and the twentieth year after it.
If the industrial design register is denied by INPI, it is possible to appeal against the decision, presenting clear reasons why you are appealing and why the industrial design should be accepted. It is also necessary to present the GRU fee paid and two copies of the Formulário de Petição. This must be done within sixty days after the publication on RPI.
You can find more information about the procedures of getting an industrial design registry and the fees that must be paid during and after the process at INPI's webpage.