News | BRPTO Allows Co-Ownership of Brazilian Trademark Applications or Registrations
09/09/2020
In accordance with the new procedure:
– There is no limit to the number of co-owners;
– All co-owners must be common in case of impediment based on prior existence of similar or identical trademarks;
– Proof of use is accepted from only one co-owner for defense purposes against forfeiture; on the other hand, for legitimate reasons of not presenting proof of use against forfeiture, it is necessary to present reasons from all co-owners;
– Ownership transfers require authorization from all co-owners, except by court order; moreover, an application or registration with a single owner may be transformed into a multiple owner application or registration, also allowing any future transfers involving co-ownership;
– Reply to oppositions and office actions require the signature of all co-owners;
– On the other hand, oppositions, forfeiture, and nullity requests can be presented by only one of the owners.