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In a recent decision¹, the Superior Court of Justice confirmed the understanding that the analysis of trademark conflicts should also consider the ideological similarity of the marks, under the penalty of consumer confusion or wrongful association. In this case, the owner of the mark “BIGFRAL” filed a nullity lawsuit against registration of the mark “MEGAFRAL”, (...)

The Superior Council of Cinema approved the proposal of a hybrid model of collection of the Contribution for the Development of the National Cinematographic Industry (Condecine), a tax collected from the audiovisual sector, over the Video On Demand service (VoD). According to the proposal, VoD providers may choose to collect the Condecine over the number (...)

The guide IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2018 recognizes Murta Goyanes Advogados as one of the world’s leading patent firms and highlights the team´s “excellent advice and high-quality work”. To identify the key patent lawyers and law firms, the IAM analysts conduct each year extensive research and interviews with professionals from (...)

In a recent decision¹, the State Court of Rio de Janeiro confirmed its understanding that the acquisition of third parties’ trademarks by Google AdWords constitutes unfair competition and results in civil damages. In this case, the e-commerce company “Groupon” filed a lawsuit against the online travel agency “Hotel Urbano”, due to infringement of its corporate (...)

According to a recent decision¹ issued by the 4th Business Court of Rio de Janeiro, the commercial use of excerpts from musical compositions on clothing articles, without prior authorization, infringes copyrights and, therefore, results in civil damages. In this case, Carmelo Maia, heir and holder of Tim Maia’s copyrights, filed a lawsuit against the clothing (...)

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) engaged external consultancy services in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). For three weeks, consultants will work together with the BPTO to collect information and maintain contact with examiners, managers and users of industrial property services. The (...)

On May 8, 2018, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) published Resolution No. 217/2018, which implements the fast-tracked examination of patents and patent applications for pharmaceutical products and processes, materials and devices related to neglected diseases Zika and Chikungunya, as well as rare diseases. According to World Health Organization (WHO), rare diseases are those (...)

Following its Action Plan for 2018, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) continues expanding international cooperation through Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements. Now, the BPTO will initiate the second phase of the PPH agreement with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which will last until April 30, 2020. Through the PPH agreement, a (...)