BRAZIL
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE BRAZILIAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE AGENCY FOR THE APPROVAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL PATENTS
On April 12th, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office and the National Health Surveillance Agency signed an agreement whereby the roles of each institute where clarified in the granting of patents for pharmaceutical products and processes.
This agreement solved a standoff created by article 229 of Industrial Property Law, as amended by Law No. 10196/2001, which allowed the Agency to examine the subject matter of patent applications in the light of public health.
Under the agreement, the Agency will continue giving its prior consent for the granting of pharmaceutical patents, but focusing on the impact on public health, but the analysis of the patentability criteria (novelty, inventive step and industrial application) will be an exclusive attribution of the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office.