As of September 15, 2020, the BRPTO will allow the co-ownership of Brazilian trademark applications or registrations.

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.

 

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