Camila Vieira Guimarães
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) has ruled that the minimum term for the enjoyment of industrial rights granted to inventors, the purpose of which was to mitigate the effects of delays in the analysis of applications by the INPI, which by law was at least 10 years if the right came from an invention patent or 7 years if it came from a utility model patent, is unconstitutional.
By nine votes to two, the STF justices concluded that extending the term of patents in the event of a delay in analysis by the INPI goes against the constitutional principles of legal certainty and free competition.
As a result, regardless of how long the INPI takes to analyze applications, the term of an invention patent will be 20 years, and a utility model 15 years, both from the date the application is filed with the INPI.
Although the rule has been declared unconstitutional, the Federal Supreme Court still needs to modulate the effects of its decision, defining time frames for its application, especially since in the specific case, the legal rule excluded from the system had been in force for more than 24 years, generating a series of concrete situations that are still verifiable and will be affected by this judgment.
Marcos Martins Advogados reinforces its commitment to advising its clients by applying the most up-to-date case law and will continue to monitor the case in order to provide guidance on the effects of the decision’s modulation.
