Gustavo Sartori

Innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries and everyday life. Given its growing importance, many jurisdictions, including Brazil, the United States, and Europe, are establishing specific guidelines to legally protect AI inventions. Although each region seeks to protect innovation, the approaches differ significantly, particularly regarding patentability requirements, inventiveness, and technical disclosure.

In an ongoing effort to reduce the backlog of patent applications, Brazil has introduced new appellate stage guidelines that significantly impact how applicants should respond to office actions and file appeals. These changes emphasize thorough and strategic responses to ensure all objections are properly addressed, paving the way for a more efficient patent granting process. The motives behind the appellate stage guidelines can be traced back to around 2018, when the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) began publishing new rules aimed at streamlining and expediting the examination and reducing the pendency time of patent applications, for example, of so called “preliminary office actions”.

Brazil, a country known for its abundant natural resources, is emerging as a significant player in the global renewable energy sector. Brazil has one of the highest levels of insolation in the world (ranging from 4.25 to 6.5 sun hours per day according to the Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment Project – (SWERA) and is therefore uniquely positioned to harness the power of the sun.