On last July the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) issued Ordinances No. 26 and 27 regarding the administrative procedure for annotating license and assignment agreements regarding industrial property rights, as well as the registration of technology transfer and franchise agreements.

It is important to highlight that:

• Contracts digitally signed abroad now do not require notarization/legalization/apostille, enhancing the process’s efficiency.
• Digitally signed documents, even without Brazilian certification, are accepted, further simplifying the formality.
• Contracts signed in Brazil no longer require signatures from two witnesses, making document preparation easier.
• Copies of Bylaws/Articles of Association of Brazilian companies are no longer mandatory for registration.
• Representatives are not required to sign all pages and the annexes of the contracts.

Additionally:

• Contracts about non-patented technology can be annotated as Technology Supply Agreements (TSA).

Bibliographic reference:

http://revistas.inpi.gov.br/pdf/Comunicados2743.pdf