The Handbook defines Forfeiture as “an administrative mechanism intended to prevent abuses in the exercise of the rights granted to patent holders”.

Forfeiture may be requested stating five years after the patent’s granting. This requirement stems from Article 80 of the Brazilian Patent Statute, which provides that forfeiture can only be sought two years after the granting of a compulsory license, which, in turn, can only be requested three years after the patent’s granting, as per Article 68, Paragraph 5, of the same Statute.

Furthermore, as provided in Article 83, a patent forfeiture decision takes retroactive effects, applying either from the date the interested party filed the request or from the date of the publication initiating the process, if started by the BRPTO.

BRPTO/DIRPA’s Ordinance #10/2025 is available in Portuguese here.

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