EPO and INPI Brazil Deepen Patent Cooperation

The European Patent Office (EPO) and Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) have recently reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the field of patents. This renewed collaboration is designed to bolster innovation and economic growth, while also fostering increased bilateral trade and investment between Europe and Brazil.

EPO President António Campinos and INPI President Júlio César Moreira formalised the agreement through an exchange of letters, marking the continuation of their strategic partnership first established in 2019.

Under the new agreement, which entered into force on 3 April 2025, the EPO and INPI will continue their collaboration to enhance patent search and examination capacities. A key element of this cooperation is the reuse by INPI of EPO work products when examining Brazilian patent applications that correspond to those already assessed by the EPO. This strategy is designed to minimise duplication of efforts and streamline INPI’s patent granting procedures.

The approach has already delivered significant results through INPI’s “Fighting the Backlog Plan,” which successfully reduced the number of pending applications from 147,217 in September 2019 to just 1,333 by the end of November 2024.