The Brazilian Trademark Office (BPTO) has announced a noteworthy step forward in modernizing its trademark system: starting August 7, 2025, a Fast-Track Trademark Examination service will be available for select trademark applications and petitions. This measure is part of the BPTO 2025 Action Plan, aimed at fostering innovation, promoting economic development, and improving efficiency in the country’s IP system.
This long-anticipated measure reflects Brazil’s growing commitment to creating a more business-friendly and internationally competitive trademark environment.
What Foreign Applicants Need to Know
The new service will allow trademark owners, or their legally authorized representatives, to request expedited examination in certain cases. To apply, a specific form must be submitted along with supporting documentation.
Who Can Apply for the Fast-Track Examination?
Besides certain legal priorities available to applicants who are 60 years or older, have a disability or serious illness, or are Brazilian startups registered under the “Inova Simples” regime, the new fast-track system also includes strategic categories of priority:
- Trademark applications supported by a previously filed opposition based on prior rights;
- Cases involving judicial actions or requiring the release of public funding;
- Trademarks related to patents undergoing expedited review;
- Applications filed by Science, Technology, and Innovation Institutions (ICTs) or by entities participating in a BPTO Technical Cooperation Agreement;
- Situations involving public interest or national emergency.
What’s New, and Why It Matters
Until now, Brazil had no formal mechanism for expediting trademark examination, although a few applicants managed to fast-track their cases informally by invoking patent guidelines in court-related disputes. This workaround was never clearly established in the BPTO’s Trademark Manual, leading to inconsistent outcomes and unpredictability.
The new rule brings clarity, legitimacy, and structure to what used to be a vague and discretionary process. By formally integrating fast-track options into the trademark system, BPTO offers foreign companies a legal basis to react more effectively in time-sensitive disputes as well as a new layer of support for product launches or licensing arrangements involving Brazil
The introduction of a dedicated fast-track examination procedure for trademarks is a major leap forward for Brazil’s IP environment, bringing greater transparency, efficiency, and legal certainty to one of Latin America's most important markets.
