Brazil Posts List in English of Proposed IPR/Service Retaliation Against U.S. in WTO Cotton Dispute
Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) has posted an English translation of the possible areas for retaliation against U.S. intellectual property rights and services, due to the U.S.' noncompliance in the World Trade Organization upland cotton dispute.1
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Comments on the proposed countermeasures are due by April 4, 2010.
(On March 15, 2010, Brazil's MDIC issued a notice seeking comments on the Portuguese version of this list, which is intended to be in addition to Brazil's countermeasures in the area of goods in which increased duties are set to be imposed on certain U.S. goods on April 7, 2010. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/16/10 and 03/09/10 news, 10031615 and 10030910, for BP summaries.)
MDIC's English Translation of Proposed IPR/Service Retaliation
The following is MDIC's English translation of Brazil's proposed IPR and service retaliation countermeasures that it issued for comment on March 15, 20102:
| 01 | Subtraction, for a determined period of time, of the term of protection for patent rights on products or processes with respect to medicines, including medicines for veterinary use. |
| 02 | Subtraction, for a determined period of time, of the term of protection for patent rights on products or processes with respect to agricultural chemical products. |
| 03 | Subtraction, for a determined period of time, of the term of protection for patent rights on agricultural biotechnological products or processes. |
| 04 | Subtraction, for a determined period of time, of the term of protection for patent rights on plant varieties. |
| 05 | Subtraction, for a determined period of time, of the term of protection for copyrights and related rights concerning modalities of public musical performance. |
| 06 | Licensing of patents on products or processes with respect to medicines, including medicines for veterinary use, without the authorization of the right holder and without remuneration. |
| 07 | Licensing of patents on products or processes with respect to agricultural chemical products, without the authorization of the right holder and without remuneration. |
| 08 | Licensing of patents on agricultural biotechnological products or processes, without the authorization of the right holder and without remuneration. |
| 09 | Licensing of copyrights and related rights on literary works, without the authorization of the right holder and without remuneration. |
| 10 | Licensing of copyrights and related rights for the broadcasting to the public of audiovisual works, without the authorization of the right holder and without remuneration. |
| 11 | Suspension of the holder's exclusive right to prevent the importation and domestic marketing of medicines, including medicines for veterinary use, which incorporate patent rights, even where the imported product has not been placed in a foreign market directly by the intellectual property right holder or with his/her authorization. |
| 12 | Suspension of the holder's exclusive right to prevent the importation and domestic marketing of agricultural chemical products which incorporate patent rights, even where the imported product has not been placed in the external market directly by the intellectual property right holder or with his/her authorization. |
| 13 | Suspension of the holder's exclusive right to prevent the importation and domestic marketing of agricultural biotechnological products which incorporate patent rights, even where the imported product has not been placed in the external market directly by the intellectual property right holder or with his/her authorization. |
| 14 | Increase of existing fees or institution of additional charges due to the National Institute of Industrial Property - INPI - in procedures related to the registration (including acquisition and maintenance) of intellectual property rights. |
| 15 | Increase of existing fees or institution of additional charges due to the National Service for the Protection of Plant Varieties - SNPC - in procedures related to the registration (including acquisition and maintenance) of intellectual property rights. |
| 16 | Increase of existing fees or institution of additional charges due to competent bodies in procedures related to the registration of copyrights and related rights. |
| 17 | Application of duties of a commercial nature on the remuneration due to intellectual property right-holders in respect of patents. |
| 18 | Application of duties of a commercial nature on the remuneration due to intellectual property right-holders in respect of trademarks. |
| 19 | Application of duties of a commercial nature on the remuneration due to intellectual property right-holders in respect of copyrights and related rights (except rights on computer programs). |
| 20 | Application of duties of a commercial nature on the remuneration due to intellectual property right holders in respect of copyrights and related rights concerning computer programs. |
| 21 | Mandatory registration for the acquisition and maintenance of economic copyrights and related rights. |
1In August 2009, the WTO authorized Brazil to impose millions in countermeasures against the U.S. due to its failure to comply in the U.S.-Brazil cotton dispute. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/01/09 news, 09090110, for BP summary.)
2Note that the original information first made available in Portuguese appeared to contain fewer listed items.
MDIC list of possible IPR/Service retaliation (in English) available at http://www.mdic.gov.br/arquivos/dwnl_1268948510.doc
MDIC press release on its request for comments (in English) available at http://www.mdic.gov.br/arquivos/dwnl_1268689199.doc