The BRPTO first granted patents with a term of protection of 10 years from grant on May 27, 1997, when nine patents filed from August 1983 to April 1987 were granted.

In 2012, the number of patents granted based on the now revoked sole paragraph of Article 40 of the LPI (which allowed for a term of protection of 10-year from grant) exceeded grants based on the (caput) text of Article 40 itself (which stipulates a term of protection of 20-year from the filing date).

Only in 2019, with the implementation of the BRPTO “Plan to Combat the Patent Backlog”, the Office granted more patents with a term of protection of 20-year from filing than with 10-year from grant.

On May 12, 2021, the Supreme Court Justices declared the sole paragraph of Article 40 of the LPI unconstitutional. In view of that, since May 2021 the 10 years from grant term of protection is no longer applicable.

Fonte: Licks Attorneys, © 2023.

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Percentage of utility patents granted annually by term: 20 years from filing vs. 10 years from grant*

v 10.6 • February 15, 2023