On April 12, 2022, the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO) published Ordinance no. 34, which updates the procedures regarding the use of prior art documents disclosed in searches performed by foreign Patent Offices. According to said document, the issuance of Preliminary Office Actions now applies for patent applications filed in Brazil from 2017 on, with no upper limit regarding the year of filing.
The former Ordinances aimed at addressing applications pending examination filed on or before 2017. In other words, any patent application filed in Brazil is now eligible to receive such Preliminary Office Action, provided that:
- The technical examination of the application has not started yet;
- No fast-track examination was requested;
- No third-party observations were filed against the application (either by ANVISA or other parties);
- and The application has at least one corresponding application with prior art search already performed by a foreign Patent Office.
This new Ordinance is a follow-up of the BPTO Backlog Combat Plan started in 2019, and it came into effect upon its publication on April 12, 2022.