In February 2026, the Federal Prosecution Service of Brazil issued Legal Opinion No. 13/2026, conducting a legal review of the patent procedural rules formulated by the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil (INPI), which focus on four core procedures: withdrawal of patent applications, abandonment of patent applications, waiver of granted patents, and withdrawal of petitions.
Withdrawal of Patent Applications
An applicant may file a request for the withdrawal of a patent application within 16 months from the filing date or the earliest priority date. Upon approval of the request, the technical content of the patent application shall not be disclosed and shall not constitute prior art.
Notably, domestic applications that have been early-published within the 16-month period and international applications entering the Brazilian national phase via the PCT shall not be subject to the withdrawal rules, and shall be treated as abandoned instead. This provision is consistent with the requirement of the PCT Treaty that "no publication shall be made for withdrawals at the international phase".
Abandonment of Patent Applications
Abandonment of a patent application applies to three scenarios: applications for which the 16-month withdrawal period has expired, applications early-published within the 16-month period, and PCT international applications that have entered the Brazilian national phase but not yet been granted patent rights.
The request for abandonment shall take effect only upon the formal approval of the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil. Upon approval, the administrative procedure of the patent application shall be terminated, and the application shall not enter the examination or grant stage. Since the application is generally already published at the time of abandonment, its technical content shall constitute prior art, and no re-application for the same patent shall be allowed.
Waiver of Granted Patents
In respect of the waiver of granted patents, the patent right shall terminate as of the date on which the waiver request is filed, and the technical content thereof shall immediately fall into the public domain. It clearly stipulates that a patentee has the right to waive the patent right, provided that such waiver does not prejudice the vested rights of third parties and that the agent must hold a power of attorney containing express authorization for the waiver.
Withdrawal of Petitions
For various petitions filed during the patent examination process, the applicant may request the withdrawal of the petition before the INPI renders an official decision thereon. This legal effect is irrevocable, and the filing of a withdrawal request shall not eliminate the legal effects already generated.
Through the systematic sorting and legal confirmation of these four core procedures, the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil has provided applicants with clearer and more operable legal guidance.
Source：https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/manifestacoes-juridicas-de-pi
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