Two years after the unveiling of the Patent Backlog Combat Plan in 2020, upwards of 60% of all outstanding patent applications have been processed. The result has been a significant increased facility in the ease of doing business in Brazil. At the same time, a Supreme Court ruling on 6...

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Two years after the unveiling of the Patent Backlog Combat Plan in 2020, upwards of 60% of all outstanding patent applications have been processed. The result has been a significant increased facility in the ease of doing business in Brazil. At the same time, a Supreme Court ruling on 6 May 2021 held that 10-year patent term extensions were unconstitutional – despite the significant backlog at the patent office. The court ruled that 20 years on from the date of filing would prove sufficient in all areas. The ruling resulted in a number of suits, especially in the pharmaceutical sector where most patent extensions had been granted. The longer-term implications of the ruling are likely to be highly significant for generic pharmaceutical manufacturers.

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