Posts in Brazil

In a significant milestone for the preservation of biodiversity, Decree 11,865/2023, published in the Official Gazette on 12/28/2023, enacted the Nagoya Protocol in Brazil. The protocol, providing for access to genetic resources and the fair sharing of benefits arising from their use, is part of the renowned Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Nagoya Protocol, in force since October 12, 2014, relates to the international commitment of 140 countries, including Brazil, to implement the objective of the CBD on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources and the traditional knowledge associated with them (TK).

Did you know that Brazil’s medical device market is experiencing a surge, attracting billions in imports annually? This boom, however, is attracting not only legitimate businesses but also those looking to exploit loopholes. On average, more than US$6.7 billion worth of products are imported annually, with around 14,000 new products being introduced every year. One example is the increase in sales of equipment for endoscopic surgeries, given the rise in the number of bariatric surgeries, which already exceeds 70,000 procedures per year.

On February 20, 2024, a Brazilian congress member, Antônio Luiz Rodrigues Mano Júnior (known as Júnior Mano), introduced a bill to amend the national IP Statute (Law #9,279/96) and regulate the ownership of inventions generated by artificial intelligence systems. Bill #303/2024 proposes the addition of a paragraph to Article 6 of the IP Statute, which regulates ownership of inventions, with the following wording: “in the case of inventions autonomously generated by artificial intelligence system, the patent can be requested in the name of the artificial intelligence system that has created the invention, being the artificial intelligence system considered the inventor and owner of rights arising from the invention.”

At the end of 2023, Law 14,785/2023 was published in Brazil’s official gazette, creating a new regulatory framework for chemical pesticides and environmental control products. The result of decades of discussions in the National Congress, the new law brings provisions that represent improvements to the system, such as the mandatory use of risk analysis in the process of granting registration of products and the requirement to harmonize with internationally established standards.

The world is increasingly connected, and semiconductors are essential to enabling this connectivity. Specialists project the semiconductor market to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030 (McKinsey & Co., 2022). The term “semiconductors” covers a large amount of embedded technology that is advancing rapidly in its development. Semiconductor companies are highly innovative and rely on innovation to maintain their market share and expansion objectives. An indicator of innovation in this sector is, of course, patents. Of the 10 largest semiconductor companies, according to a ranking published by Investopedia in April 2023, five companies filed between 2,000 to 5,000 patent families between 2019 and 2022

Digital video company, DivX, scored a win in a Brazilian court after a judge ratified its expert report and enforced a previously-granted preliminary injunction against Netflix. DivX sued Netflix for infringement of its Patent No. PI 0506163-6, which is directed to a “deblocking” tool implemented in High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)-encoded files. According to DivX, Netflix’s streaming in HEVC infringes the patent.

Brazil is among the countries currently in the spotlight in the automotive sector. The nation was ranked sixth, according to a survey published in January 2023 by Motor1, among the countries with the highest number of vehicles sold in 2022, and the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is emerging, as the number of EVs sold in Brazil increased by 58% in the first semester of 2023 compared to the same period last year..

Regulatory Law in the Life Sciences and Agribusiness sector plays an essential role in balancing scientific innovation and the protection of public interests. In Brazil, a country recognized for its vast biodiversity and potential for scientific research, regulation in this field is crucial to ensuring responsible access to genetic resources and to address emerging issues, such as cannabis regulation. Before commercializing products in the Brazilian market, a company must be able to navigate a vast array of laws and regulations, especially in cases involving pharmaceuticals, seeds, pesticides, food or feed, cosmetics and medical devices. On top of that, when it comes to biotechnology related products involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or products derived from access to genetic resources or where traditional knowledge is associated, another layer of rules is applicable.

Autonomous vehicles were designed with the purpose of minimizing accidents on urban roads and providing more safety and comfort, assisting or performing independently some tasks that are the driver’s responsibility. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has developed a classification of autonomous vehicles, creating six categories for autonomous driving. Level zero refers to conventional cars without any technology of this type, while at the other extreme, at level five, the driver becomes a passenger, needing only to activate the vehicle and indicate the destination. In such case, it is up to the vehicle control system to carry out in a fully autonomous way the driving of the vehicle throughout the route and to carry out any emergency decision-making. The intermediate levels of autonomous driving include systems already found on the market, such as parking assistance, emergency braking and lane change assistance, among others.

Unlike other jurisdictions, injunctions in Brazil are no equitable remedy. There is no discretionary power of the court to decide whether to grant a permanent injunction upon the finding of infringement at the end of the proceedings. Injunctive relief is the primary remedy, and it can only be substituted by financial damages at the election of the plaintiff. Preliminary injunctions, on the other hand, are subjected to the discretion of the courts—and must pass a test of balance of hardships.