The Specialized Federal Prosecutor’s Office at the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO) issued Opinion No. 43/2021/CGPI/PFE-INPI/PGF/AGU, changing the prior understanding on the right of precedence in registration for a trademark at the administrative level.

The former position of the BRPTO was that the right of precedence in registration could only be claimed before the grating of a registration, i.e., through an opposition. However, in reply to a consultation from the General Coordination of Appeals and Administrative Nullity Procedures (CGREC) due to recent decisions from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) that admitted the claiming of the right of precedence in registration after the granting of a registration, the Specialized Federal Prosecutor’s Office at the BRPTO expressed a new position in the sense that it is possible to argue the right of precedence in registration also through an Administrative Nullity Procedure (ANP).

Thus, it is established that now the right of precedence in registration may be administratively claimed through an opposition, pursuant to Art. 158, or through an Administrative Nullity Procedure (ANP), pursuant to Art. 168.

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