The path of the industrial design application

After filing the application, one should monitor the progress weekly through the Revista da Propriedade Industrial, or RPI  (INPI’s Gazette) by using the definitive number of the application, received upon filing, without “BR”. The decisions and other pertinent orders of applications are published in the editions of INPI’s Gazette, which is the official mean of communication between INPI and the user.

The portal includes two other options for consultation, the Push tool and the Search. However, these alternatives do not exclude the need for periodic verification of INPI’s Gazette.

The application will initially be submitted to a preliminary formal requirements examination after which the filing will be notified. In case of any inconsistency, a preliminary amendment request will be prepared and published in INPI’s Gazette, in the design section. The deadline for submission of preliminary  amendments is five days (of the date of publication), and, if the amendment is not submitted, the application will  deemed non-existent.

Once the filing is notified, the application will move on to a technical examination. If there are any inconsistencies during this stage, a technical amendment request will be prepared and published in INPI’s Gazette. The dealine for submission of technical amendments is 60 days (of the date of publication) and the lack of response within the term will entail definitive dismissal of the application.

To submit a preliminary formal amendment or a technical amendment, it is necessary to fill out the request and submit it together with the changes requested. In case of a technical amendment, it is still necessary to pay the fee related to the service through a Brazilian Federal Revenue collection slip (GRU).

After INPI issues a decision on the application,  it is possible to  appeal within 60 days of the date of its publication  on INPI’s Gazette through the applicable petition, including the reasons for disagreement with the decision and providing additional documentation to support your plea.
 

After publication of the granting, the Certificates of Industrial Design are available online for the holder of the design.

In order to maintain the registration, a maintenance fee must be paid every five-years. The fee referring to the2nd Five-Year Term  must be paid within the fifth year of the date of filing (period between the 4 and 5-year anniversary of the Registration). If that deadline is not met, afterthe registration’s 5th Anniversary,  there is an additional 6-month period, called extraordinary period, in which the payment is added by an additional fee.

With respect to the maintenance of further periods, beyond the regular 10 years term, the calculation works in the same way; however, the five-year fee must be then accompanied by the request for Renewal of the Registration, if there is any interest in doing so. These two fees together are called Renewal. This is for the periods of the 10th year (of the nine-year anniversary to the ten-year anniversary)/in the 15th and the 20th year.

Third parties feeling impaired with the granting of a registration may file a request for nullity through the Petition Form, including the relevantGRU paid for the service requested as well as the reasons and relevant documents to support the nullity plea. The maximum term to request the nullity of a Registration through INPI’s administrative route is five years of the date of granting. INPI can also establish  the administrative nullity of the registration within the same five-year term.

If an administrative nullity proceeding is submitted, an indication if the beginning of the nullity proceedings is  published in INPI’s Gazette, and the holder of the registration shall follow the same procedure to present its claims within 60 days of publication. Therefore, it is important that the holders of the registration periodically monitor the RPI to be aware about potential publications of requests for nullity.

To clarify your questions, send a message through the system Fale Conosco (Contact Us).  In the subject of the message, forward to Desenho Industrial (Área Administrativa) [Industrial Design (Administrative Area)], in case of questions about petitions, forms, guides, and five-year periods. Or, in case of questions regarding eligibility for registration, submission of drawings, change in pictures, and technical decisions, the message should be addressed to Desenho Industrial (Área Técnica) [Industrial Design (Technical Area)].