Do you know what well-known marks are?
A well-known trademark is one that has achieved significant prestige, fame, and notoriety throughout the entire national territory. Due to this high level of recognition, Law 9.279/1996 grants special protection to such trademarks across all branches of activity.
This protection is an exception to the principle of specialty, which typically guarantees trademark protection only within its field of activity. Once a trademark is recognized for its high renown, it is protected in all market sectors, including those in which it does not operate.
This means that a third party cannot register a similar or identical trademark to a well-known mark, even if it operates in a different market segment.
Examples of well-known trademarks in Brazil include: Coca-Cola, Google, Facebook, Unimed, Sadia, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, among others. Check the complete list of these trademarks by clicking here.
How does the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recognize a well-known trademark?
The owner of the trademark must request recognition of its well-known status from the PTO through a specific petition. This petition must be filed together with the trademark considered to be well-known, accompanied by evidence.
The PTO will then analyze and decide whether or not to grant recognition of the trademark’s high renown.
Once high renown is recognized, the PTO will make a note in the registration of the trademark that led to this condition, and the trademark will be granted protection in all market segments for 10 years. In the final year of this period, the trademark owner must submit a new request to the PTO to maintain the high renown status and extend the protection for another 10
