Fast-Track examination for Green Patents reinstalled

Rule # 175, of November 5, 2016, published in December 6, 2016 established the fast-track prosecution program for green patent with the same terms of the pilot program that ended early April this year.The program has proven to be a good alternative against the BRPTO’s backlog. The average time for the BRPTO to grant a final decision is currently about 10 years. On the other hand, if the application goes through the fast track examination procedure it will be decided in about one year.To be eligible for the green fast track procedure, applications for utility model and invention must have not previously been examined and must have no more than 15 claims, of which up to three may be independent.Rule #175 list of green-technologies is based on the WIPO green database.The original Rule # 175/2016 in Portuguese can be downloaded here. English version by Licks Attorneys will be available soon.