Register your trademark
in Brazil with us

No. In Brazil, you can trademark a name that you intend to use. A cancellation action based on non-use is possible only five years after the registration is granted.

There is no legal obligation to get a trademark in Brazil to sell or promote your products or services. But the fact that you use it will create minimal rights in Brazil. If somebody is copying your trademark, there is little you can do about it. For this reason, we hardly recommend registering your trademarks in Brazil. To register your brand, you will have to file a local application before the Brazilian Trademark Office.

Having a trademark in another country does not create any rights in Brazil. To have a right in Brazil, you have two options:

1. File a Brazilian trademark application 2. File an international trademark, Madrid protocol application, and select Brazil as a designated country.

Before offering your products or services, you want to perform a trademark search in Brazil. The reason is simple; you do not want to use a previously registered trademark in Brazil to avoid a trademark infringement lawsuit.

We also advise you to perform a search before filing a trademark application to avoid unnecessary conflict or delay during the process-

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office has an online database to conduct a trademark search. However, trademark online searches in Brazil are only available in Portuguese.

You can also make trademark searches in Brazil using the European Union Intellectual Property Office -EUIPO- Trademark Database (TM VIEW) that consolidates various national databases and allows searches in different languages.

This trademark search will perform an exact match search and can also include other trademarks that contain the same search terms. A good practice is to search also for:

- Similar trademarks - Noticeable variations as plurals or gender - Translations. - Obvious misspelled words - Sound-alike works - Other accepted spellings

You should also be familiar with the international trademark classification of goods and services, AKA Nice Classification. This classification is essential because trademarks are registered in a specific class, but there are also relations between the classes.

It will help if you look closer to trademarks registered in Brazil that are registered in the same class or classes as your brand, but also in classes that could be connected by consumers.

Once you have a list of similar brands, you have to study one by one to see if there is a risk of confusion, and they cover similar goods or services.

If you have a question about your search or want a legal opinion, our Brazilian trademark attorneys can help.

The cost will include the official fees plus the professional fees of the Brazilian trademark lawyers handling your case. We have developed a tool that can give you the exact cost of your trademark in Brazil in a few clicks.

Not yet, Brazil does not accept multiclass applications. So far, you have to make a separate application for each international class. However, it will probably change soon.

Foreign applicants should appoint an attorney in Brazil. We can help you with that.

The trademark application must contain: -the applicant’s complete name, address, nationality; -description of the product(s) or service(s) covered by trademark; -a digital sample of the logo (if any);

In case you claim a priority, we will need the country of origin, registration date, and application number.

Once the office verifies that the application complies with all the requirements, it will order the publication of the trademark request.

In Brazil, the trademark office requests a POA with a simple signature. No notarization or apostille is needed.

Yes. Within 60 days after the publication, any interested person can file an opposition against a trademark.

A smooth application procedure can take between 12 to 18 months. We call a smooth application one with no opposition or office actions.

Office actions can come at two different moments. The first, just after the application, and they will be based on formalities or classifications. After the end of the opposition period, the second examination will be based on absolute or relative grounds of refusal.

Applicants will have two months to reply to the office action. In case you do not file a proper answer to the office action, the trademark will be deemed abandoned.

Trademarks in Brazil are valid for ten years from the application date, and they can renew as many times as needed. You will need to file a trademark renewal and pay a renovation fee during the last year of the validity of the trademark or six months after the expiration, paying an extra charge.

You have to renew the registration every ten years, and you have to use the trademark in Brazil to avoid a cancellation action based on non-use. Any interested person can file a cancellation action after five years of the trademark granting date.

A registered trademark can be challenged for different reasons, for example:

- Lack of use: if you have not used your trademark for five years, it can be canceled if someone files a cancellation action based on non-use. - The trademark was incorrectly granted. - The application included false information - The registration was obtained in bad faith - The registration was obtained by a person with a relationship with the rightful owner of the trademark in another country