10 proposals to improve the Intellectual Property system in Brazil.

As it is widely known Brazil is, currently in amidst its presidential election, possibly one of the most heated and controversial of our history.

That being said, like all controversy there is hope for improvement, including in matters related to Intellectual Property. With the intention to promote a more in-depth discussion about the subject the Brazilian Association of Intellectual Property (ABPI) sent 10 (ten) proposals with the objective to improve the current system of Intellectual Property in our country, including reducing the time to examine and grant patent and trademark applications, regulations about applications related to Biodiversity Patents, and, also, the creation of courts specialized in Intellectual Property.

Shortly, the main changes proposed are:

– Decrease in the time to analyze and grant patents and trademarks applications, in accordance with the Madrid Protocol, which was recently signed by Brazil;

– Administrative autonomy to the BPTO, including the modernization of the physical structure and training of employees;

– Regulation of research, development and patentability of inventions that include Brazilian biodiversity and genetic resources, since, according to the proposal “the legislation imposes unnecessary obstacles to national research and is ineffective to prevent cases of biopiracy”;

– Renovation of the Industrial Property Law (9.279/96,) and Innovation Law (10.973/04), in order to facilitate the acquisition of credit for innovation and creation of an inventive program such activities;

– To not be necessary, anymore, to obtain an approval of the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency for cases of Pharmaceutical Patents, that, nowadays, require the approval of the agency to be properly granted by the BPTO.

The Association also suggests more rigorous punishments for violations of Intellectual Property rights, both in the civil and criminal courts, requiring more courts specialized in this subject.

Lastly, it proposes the modernization and consolidation of copyright norms and a more rigid enforcement in the fight against piracy. One way to do this would be to strengthen the National Council for Combating Piracy of the Ministry of Justice and the fight against crimes against Intellectual Property.

Sincerely, we hope that all such proposals are approved, in order to improve our Intellectual Property System.

Lawyer Author of the Comment: Ellen Pires Camargo

Source

Headline: Dez propostas para a melhoria do sistema de Propriedade Intelectual no Brasil

“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

What are the difficulties in implementing Data Protection policies?

The aftermath of passing of the GDPR in Europe (and of the Brazillian Law of Data Protection) seems to be a very dark and dreary place, full of uncertainties, what, in some sense, is completely understandable.

However, before dreading is important to assess the situation and pinpoint what are the difficulties in implementing any Data Protection policy.

The first issue the sheer amount of new requirements that were created, new obligations, especially those regarding access and communication with the data subject created a new level of issues to companies that deal with great number of users (and, consequently, of data).

Another important aspect is that Data Protection policies are very process-driven, what requires a lot of work in order to organize the company to abide by those stipulations, such as the need to be “privacy-by-design and by-default”, what requires the incorporation of privacy in their architecture of products and services. In Brazil is important to highlight that the level of organization in medium to small size companies is very low, what will impose another difficulty for those players to comply with those policies.

The third aspect is that will those policies may be vague in some points (especially the Brazilian law), there is a good level of detail required, and that need to be understood, such the need to keep internal records of all and any of their data protection activities, for example.

It is also important to highlight the fines that may be applicable in case of non-compliance, with can reach substantial values (around 50 million BRL by the Brazilian law, for example), what raises concerns regarding the application of those fines.

And, the last but not the least, there is the fact that those policies have very broad goals and seek to protect the usage of data in ways that, in the future, may evolve in a sense that the very core of the definitions stablished on those policies (that are already somewhat vague, in some concepts) became unnecessary or not useful for their implementation.

That being said, this initial moment, in which these policies will be implemented and understood, is a moment in a very important phase will take place, the phase of testing these policies, what will lead, in the future, for a better a more adequate Data Protection regulation.

Lawyer Author of the Comment: Luciano Del Monaco

Headline: Complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) What and how?

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”