With a population that exceeds 2017 million and with the eighth-largest Gross Domestic Product in the world, Brazil has always been one of the most relevant regions where we often see international patent applications being filed. While being a hotbed for foreign innovators, Brazil has comparably low application volumes from local applicants. Accordingly, the IP Pilot data reveals that only 13% of patents prosecuted and published between 2019 and July 2023 are of domestic origin, while 87% or 86,928 applications originated overseas.
Given the importance of receiving work from abroad for local IP businesses, IP Pilot examined the relationships between Brazil’s patent prosecution firms and their international colleagues.
Representatives from which authorities sent most patent cases to patent firms filing in Brazil?
Based on the exchange statistics of the top 1000 patent prosecution firms in Brazil, local associates received 82,422 and sent 1,321 patent cases between 2019 and 2023.
Out of the total received, 38% of cases Brazilian patent prosecution firms were from US associates. German (10%), Japanese (8%), and Chinese (6%) IP law firms followed the American ones.
Country breakdown of Top Sending Law Firms to Brazil
Which US IP law firms sent most patent cases to Brazilian associates?
US Patent Prosecution Firms Sending Cases to Brazil 2019 – July 2023
| Law Firm | Number of Patent Cases Sent to Brazil |
| 190 | |
| 180 | |
| 156 | |
| 149 | |
| 140 | |
| 138 | |
| 139 | |
| 135 | |
| 133 | |
| 131 | |
| FOLEY & LARDNER LLP | 130 |
| 116 | |
| 111 | |
| 110 | |
| MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP | 105 |
| MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP | 104 |
| QUARLES & BRADY LLP | 103 |
| MINTZ LEVIN COHN FERRIS GLOVSKY AND POPEO | 102 |
| KLINTWORTH & ROZENBLAT IP LLC | 102 |
| POLSINELLI | 100 |
Source: IP Pilot | Based on the number of patent applications first published between 2019 and July 2023
Given the importance of the exchange with the US representatives for Brazilian IP business, IP Pilot reveals the rating of the American patent prosecution firms sending most patent cases to Brazil.
KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP, FISH & RICHARDSON, CANTOR COLBURN LLP, WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI, and DORITY & MANNING, P.A., and others were among the Top 20 senders.
As for instructions, approximately 34% of patent cases were directly instructed by the applicants, whereas 66% were exchanged between the law firms, implying the benefit of networking with the US representatives rather than trying to approach the clients directly.
Which Brazilian associates received most cases from the US patent prosecution firms?
DANNEMANN, SIEMSEN, BIGLER & IPANEMA MOREIRA and KASZNAR LEONARDOS PROPRIEDADE INTELECTUAL were the most preferred partners of the American associates. They received approximately 24% and 17% of total volumes sent to Brazil by the US patent prosecution firms respectively.
MONTAURY PIMENTA MACHADO & VIEIRA DE MELLO, CLARKE, MODET, DANIEL LEGAL & IP STRATEGY, LICKS ADVOGADOS, GUSMAO & LABRUNIE, DAVID DO NASCIMENTO, ANTÔNIO MAURÍCIO PEDRAS ARNAUD, and HUGO SILVA & MALDONADO PROPRIEDADE INTELECTUAL together got 37% of the prosecution work from American partners.
