The 1st Panel of the Federal Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) rejected the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO)’s appeal and affirmed the Lower Court’s decision on the merits, which ordered the BPTO to analyze the administrative appeal filed by the Plaintiff (against the rejection of its trademark application) within 60 days1.
It should be highlighted that the lawsuit was filed less than a year counted from the filling of the administrative appeal. Bearing that in mind, it appears that the Brazilian Judiciary is continuously setting more stringent criteria to guarantee the reasonable duration of the proceedings before the BPTO.
Finally, the court of appeals rejected the argument raised by the BPTO in relation to the limited number of examiners and lack of infrastructure, stressing that the Brazilian legislation establishes the 30 days deadline (or 60 days in exceptional cases) for the analysis of an administrative appeal.
1 Lawsuit No. 5070442-67.2019.4.02.5101