Brazil’s Patent Office clarifies key procedures: what Ordinance 01/2026 means for applicants

Following developments in administrative procedures implemented by the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO), on March 10, 2026, Ordinance 01/2026 was published, establishing specific procedures for withdrawal of patent applications, abandonment of applications, waiver of granted patents, and withdrawal of petitions filed during patent prosecution.

For a better understanding of the actions, we clarify the meaning of each service, as explained in the Ordinance itself: Ordinance 01/2026

I – Withdrawal of application: at the request of the applicant, it is the act that ends the prosecution of a national patent application considered deposited, without disclosure of its technical content.

In these cases, the request effectively ends the proceeding without disclosure of the technical content of the application, which represents an important step as therefore will not constitute prior art for future patent filings. The withdrawal will be considered valid when submitted within the initial 16 month period following the filing date or priority date.

Applications with early publication or international application admitted to the national phase in Brazil via PCT will not be considered for withdrawal services.

II – Abandonment of application: at the request of the applicant, it is the act that ends the prosecution of a patent application of any nature, after its publication.

After the period of 16 months from the filing date or priority date, the request will be considered an abandonment, not a withdrawal.

For international applications submitted via PCT, the approval of the abandonment will only occur after the publication of the admissibility of the application.

III – Patent waiver: it is the act that extinguishes a patent of any nature due to the waiver by its holder.

The application will be considered a waiver if submitted after the patent has been granted. The patent is considered extinct as of the date of the request, and the protected subject matter becomes part of the public domain.

IV – Withdrawal of petition: it is the act that renders a request (service petition) ineffective.

The only new feature among the services, the BPTO now allows the holder to withdraw a specific petition, provided it is done before the publication corresponding to the service being fulfilled, that is, before the service is analyzed or decided by the Office.

Important to mention that, in joint ownership proceedings, the request for any of the services in question must contain the signature of all depositors, applicants or holders.

These measures, already foreseen among the services offered by the PTO, aim to consolidate the rules to provide greater security, standardization, and transparency to applicants and patent holders so that they can exercise their right to withdraw an application, a service request, or to renounce a patent already granted.

It is certain that the PTO seeks better integration with the application holder by offering services that benefit both the applicant as the PTO itself.