On March 3, 2026, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office – BPTO published Normative Ordinance No. 58, dated February 23, 2026, which establishes internal procedures for the implementation of the special protection regime for trademarks and industrial designs related to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Brazil. The special regime was introduced by Provisional Decree No. 1,335/2026.

The special regime will consist of the following exceptional procedures by the BPTO:

• a simplified procedure for the recordal, in the BPTO’s database, of the highly renowned and well-known status of trademark registrations owned by FIFA;
• fast-track examination and a simplified procedure for trademark applications related to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, including different deadlines for the submission and examination of appeals; and
• fast-track examination of industrial design registrations related to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Eligible applications must be (a) filed in the name of FIFA or other entities formally acting on its behalf (including subsidiaries, commercial partners, or contractors), and (b) identified by FIFA as being related to the competition, through lists submitted to the BPTO, in accordance with Article 9, sole paragraph, and Article 13, sole paragraph, of Provisional Decree No. 1,335/2026.

The recordal in the BPTO’s database of the high-renown and well-known status of FIFA-owned trademarks will be carried out through a simplified procedure, based on the lists filed by FIFA, and the entity will not be required to submit specific evidence demonstrating the high-renown or well-known status of its trademarks during the exceptional period of effectiveness of the Provisional Decree.

For tracking and prioritization purposes, eligible applications will receive the identifier “Regime Especial FIFA 2027” (“FIFA 2027 Special Regime”). The list of trademark registrations with high-renown or well-known status owned by FIFA will be published on the BPTO’s official website.

Once the recordals have been completed, the BPTO will forward to the Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR – NIC.br (“Brazilian Network Information Center”) a list of the relevant trademarks, for the purpose of enabling the ex officio rejection of domain name registrations that reproduce or contain expressions identical or similar to FIFA’s trademarks.

In the event that a trademark application subject to the special regime is rejected, the following deadlines shall apply to the appeal procedure:

• the deadline for filing an appeal shall be 15 (fifteen) days from the publication of the rejection decision;
• the deadline for interested parties to file counterarguments to the appeal shall be 15 (fifteen) days from the confirmation notice of the appeal;
• the BPTO’s General Coordination of Appeals and Nullities shall issue an opinion on the appeal within 15 (fifteen) days from the end of the deadline for submitting counterarguments and shall immediately forward it to the BPTO’s Presidency; and
• the Presidency of the BPTO shall decide the appeal within 20 (twenty) days, counted from the end of the deadline for submission of counterarguments.

For the operational implementation of these procedures, two specific Work Groups have been established, one for Trademarks and one for Industrial Designs, composed of BPTO officials and acting under the technical coordination of the Directorate of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (DIRMA).

The Ordinance entered into force on March 3, 2026, and the special regime and the fast-track examination procedure will remain in effect until December 31, 2027. Upon the expiration of this period:

• the maintenance of the special protections shall follow the general rules applicable to other high-renown and well-known trademarks; and
• all proceedings still pending will be subject to the ordinary examination procedures for trademarks and industrial designs, unless otherwise provided by law.

The grant of registrations may extend beyond that date, in accordance with the applicable legislation.

By Jéssica Lima