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Hot Topics in IP during 2023: BPTO Public Tender

The long-awaited public tender to hire 120 new examiners for the BPTO, the body responsible for granting patents in the country, is underway.

By Luiz Edgard Montaury Pimenta, Montaury Pimenta Machado & Vieira de Mello

The National Institute of Industrial Property (BPTO) is hiring new examiners.

The long-awaited public tender to hire 120 new examiners for the BPTO, the body responsible for granting patents in the country, is underway. There are 120 vacancies for planning, management, and infrastructure analyst positions in industrial property; industrial property researchers; and industrial property technologists.

The tests were carried out in January 2024. The hiring of new examiners for the BPTO represents an important step to boost the agility necessary for the proper functioning of the Industrial Property system in the country. According to the Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, the new examiners hired will support the project to speed up the analysis of patent and trademark applications.

It is expected that, after the exam, the new BPTO examiners will effectively begin working between one and three years from now. This is because, after passing the selection process, candidates will undergo a one-year training program. During this period, successful candidates will begin working at the BPTO under the supervision of a Senior Technician.

With new examiners, the issue of the patent backlog (a large volume of unexamined or pending patent applications) that persists in some technological areas is expected to be resolved. The patent backlog can have negative consequences, such as delays in obtaining patents, uncertainty for inventors and patent holders, as well as delays in product development and innovation.

If the country manages to reduce the technical examination process and consequent granting of patents to two years, this will speed things up, which will boost the entire technology industry in Brazil. This will make the country more competitive compared to others around the world, as a faster patent system means greater incentives for both domestic and international industries, attracting the prospect of faster returns for investors.

Furthermore, it is attractive to foreign investors and especially local investors, positioning Brazil in a more competitive position compared to countries that have a more agile patent granting system, such as the United States and Europe.