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In mid-July, two Brazilian intellectual property (IP) experts delivered a series of seminars to business people, lawyers and government officials in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Wellington.
The seminars, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Investment Promotion Fund, aimed to equip New Zealanders interested in doing business in Brazil with the tools needed to enter the market in a way that did not put their intellectual assets at risk from exploitative third parties.
Helio Fabbri and Fernando Jucá, of law firm Advocacia Pietro Ariboni, delivered a PowerPoint presentation [289KB] at the seminars, as well presented a written guide [PDF, 388KB] on “Intellectual Property in Brazil”. Interested individuals are welcome to download copies for these resources, for personal use.
The two presenters acknowledged that New Zealand businesses looking towards Brazil tended to be stepping outside their comfort zones – because the US, Australia, Europe and Asia were much more traditional targets for our goods and technologies.
Dr Jucá said that this meant New Zealand entrepreneurs reaching out to Brazil were “ambitious” and “visionary”. At the same time, they often found themselves “far from their own business reality” – and this required them to get good-quality advice before entering the new market.
One basic mistake that foreigners made in Brazil was failing to protect their IP before starting negotiation with interested business partners in Brazil, Dr Fabbri said. This could lead to exploitation and loss if intellectual property.
Dr Fabbri said a “golden rule” for New Zealand companies contemplating entering Brazil should be “protect before you talk”: that is, if you think you have a product, technology or concept that is unique and needs protecting from those who might wish to exploit it once you start trading in Brazil, you should make the necessary application with Brazilian authorities (such as the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office) first, before talking to potential partners or distributors in Brazil. (Even if a patent application can take a long time to be processed, the mere fact of submitted the application means that a competitor cannot jump ahead of you in the line.)
Dr Jucá said that businesses also needed to be clear to use the right type of IP protection. Many of the practices and technologies that New Zealand companies sought to take to Brazil would not be patentable because they would lack the novelty requirement. In such cases, other options had to be pursued – such as the negotiation of robust licensing agreements.
The two presenters agreed that the best way for a New Zealand company thinking of entering Brazil to approach IP issues was to consult a New Zealand lawyer with specialisation in IP, who would then be able to work with relevant colleagues in Brazil.
Drs Fabbri and Jucá also took the opportunity of being in New Zealand to consult law firms with an interest in intellectual property – these included Baldwins, Pipers, Buddle Findlay, AJ Park, Cone Marshall and James and Wells.
If you would like to receive hard copies of “Intellectual Property Protection in Brazil”, or if have any questions about the above project, please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Brazil Desk Officer, Michael Appleton on (04) 439-8582 or michael.appleton@mfat.govt.nz. These seminars also received support from the Latin America New Zealand Business Council, the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, NZ Trade and Enterprise, Export NZ and James and Wells in Hamilton.
