Brazil and Uruguay Launch Collaborative Patent Examination Project
August 25, 2026
The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO), on August 25, 2026, in its Official Gazette No. 2903, has officially launched a Collaborative Patent Examination Project with Uruguay’s Patent and Trademark Office (DNPI) under their 2026 Bilateral Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding.
To qualify for this pilot, patent applications must meet three specific requirements:
- Technical Field: Pharmaceuticals (pharmaceutical chemicals and biopharmaceuticals), biotechnology, or natural products.
- Filing Route: National phase entries via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with corresponding family counterparts at both BRPTO and DNPI.
- Entry Date: applications filed at BRPTO in 2021 or 2022.
The initial set of applications selected for the project includes:
| BR Application No. | Applicant(s) | UY counterpart | PCT No. |
| BR 112023015177-5 | JOINT STOCK COMPANY BIOCAD | UY39621A | PCT/RU2022/000025 |
| BR 112023015909-1 | PAIRWISE PLANTS SERVICES, INC. / MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC | UY39631A | PCT/US2022/015893 |
| BR 112023016360-9 | JANSSEN BIOTECH, INC. | UY39633A | PCT/US2022/016454 |
| BR 112023018003-1 | JOINT STOCK COMPANY “BIOCAD” | UY39659A | PCT/RU2022/050073 |
| BR 112022025435-0 | ASTRAZENECA AB | UY39296A | PCT/EP2021/067304 |
| BR 112023000406-3 | ASTRAZENECA AB | UY39321A | PCT/IB2021/056177 |
| BR 112023003423-0 | VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED | UY39395A | PCT/US2021/047754 |
| BR 112023016970-4 | ENANTA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | UY39642A | PCT/US2022/017686 |
The selected applications will be removed from the standard backlog queue and prioritized for expedited technical examination. The BRPTO will not issue preliminary office action for these cases. Participation strictly serves to advance the timeline; once technical examination begins, each application will follow BRPTO’s standard prosecution workflow.
To learn more about the BRPTO’s Collaborative Patent Examination Projects, contact us at cobo@coboip.com. We will be pleased to assist you.
