On August 15, 2023, the BRPTO published the necessary procedures for the implementation of the new electronic system for Industrial Designs, disclosed the new table of services for Industrial Designs and clarified about the beginning of the effectiveness of the 2nd edition of the Examination guidelines for Industrial Designs.

Through this publication, the BRPTO communicates to users the schedule of the steps involved in achieving the aforementioned objectives, as it can be seen below:

• September 04, 2023 – Publication of the 2nd Edition of the Industrial Design Guidelines;
• September 27, 2023 – Interruption of the Electronic Application for Industrial Designs system;
• September 27, 2023 to October 1^st, 2023 – Period of unavailability of electronic systems for Industrial Designs, Patents, Computer Programs, Topography of Circuits and Geographical Indications, with unavailability report attached;
• October 02, 2023 – Entry into production of the Electronic Application for Industrial Designs 2.0 system;
• October 02, 2023 – Entry into force of a new table of services for Industrial Designs;
• October 02, 2023 – Entry into force of the 2nd edition of the Industrial Design Guidelines;
• October 24, 2023 – There will be no publication of the Industrial Designs section of the Brazilian Industrial Property Journal;
• October 31, 2023 – There will be no publication of the Industrial Designs section of the Brazilian Official Journal;
• November 07, 2023 – There will be no publication of the Industrial Designs section of the Brazilian Official Journal;
• November 14, 2023 – Resumption of publications in the Industrial Designs section of Brazilian Official Journal.

It is worth noting that the aforementioned 2nd edition of the Industrial Design guidelines will address the changes brought about by the Hague Agreement, an agreement whose purpose is to facilitate and speed up procedures for registering an industrial design abroad and to reduce the costs involved in such a procedure. That is, through such cost reduction, Brazilian applicants will be able to obtain protection of industrial designs in all signatory countries through a single filed international application.

Furthermore, in said Hague Agreement, each country will make its analysis as to the applications for Industrial Designs based on the treaty, so, for example, in the case of applicants designate Brazil for a filing of application of international industrial design through the BRPTO, such application will be examined using the Brazilian Law 9.279/96.

Finally, it is worth noting that through such modifications that will come into force on October 2, 2023 through the publication of the 2nd Edition of the Industrial Design Guidelines, the foreign applicants will now have a single procedure for registering their designs in the Brazilian market, which will reduce transaction costs and should make Brazil more attractive for investments, especially in design and innovation.

For more information about the aforementioned changes/updates that will occur in the industrial design area, do not hesitate to contact us.