Brazil’s INPI design priority consultation, Public Consultation No. 02/2026, closes on 23 October 2026. INPI proposes two kinds of fast track for industrial design applications and post-grant petitions: free priority by law for elderly, disabled or seriously ill applicants, and a paid pilot with 11 modalities and 500 places in its first phase. Once the period ends, INPI must answer the contributions and publish the final texts, with dates still to be set. This update is for companies that file or plan to file designs in Brazil, directly or through the Hague System.
Key takeaways
- Contributions to Public Consultation No. 02/2026 are accepted only through the official form, until 23 October 2026.
- The drafts create two priority queues, one for applications and one for petitions on granted registrations, ahead of the chronological order.
- Phase I of the pilot would offer 500 requests, with at least 25 per modality and a maximum of 10 per applicant.
- Foreign companies could fit modalities such as litigation over the design, marketplaces that require a registered design or a link to a prioritised patent.
- No date, fee amount or final text has been published yet; until then, the regular queue applies.
What is INPI’s design priority proposal?
INPI (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial) is Brazil’s industrial property office. On 8 September 2026 it opened the consultation, published in Industrial Property Journal No. 2905 with a 45-day period for comments on four drafts: an ordinance creating priority processing for designs, an ordinance on the pilot modalities, an ordinance on the Phase I quota system and new guidelines in the Design Manual. The drafts are available on Brasil Participativo.
The first draft amends Ordinance INPI/PR No. 07/2022. It states that applications are examined in chronological order and creates two independent priority queues placed ahead of that order:
- Priority by law: applicants aged 60 or over, persons with disabilities or serious illnesses, under Law 9,784/1999. It is free and, according to the draft Manual, limited to individuals.
- Priority for strategic objectives and public policies: the pilot modalities, subject to a fee set in INPI’s fee table and to a quota.
This “priority processing” should not be confused with the six-month Paris Convention priority right; the draft Manual itself draws that distinction.
Which pilot modalities could foreign companies use?
The modalities ordinance lists 11 categories of applicant. The relevance column is our own reading.
| Modality (art. 2) | Evidence required | Relevance for foreign companies |
|---|---|---|
| I. Party to federal or state court proceedings involving the design | Document showing the action and identifying the design | High, for enforcement |
| II. Registration needed to release public funding | Funding request and condition | Low |
| III. Design linked to a patent or patent application prioritised by INPI | Patent number and its priority modality | Medium |
| IV. Science, technology and innovation institution | Valid qualifying document | Low |
| V. Applicant mentored individually by INPI | Mentoring certificate | Low |
| VI. Public interest or national emergency declared by the federal executive | The official act | Case by case |
| VII. Online marketplace that formally requires a registered design | Intention to sell and the platform’s requirement | High |
| VIII. Traditional peoples, communities or family farming collectives | Official documents and declarations | Low |
| IX. Start-up as defined by law | Valid qualifying document | Low (Brazilian legal definition) |
| X. Domicile or application in a country with a reciprocity agreement on priority processing | Domicile and the agreement’s conditions | Depends on future agreements |
| XI. Registration needed for a public permit, authorisation or concession | Documents showing the dependency | Medium |
How would the Phase I quota work?
The quota ordinance sets 500 requests for Phase I, in a period whose start and end dates are left blank. At least 25 requests are reserved for each modality and the rest are open to any. Each applicant may file no more than 10, places are allocated by date and time of filing, and every request counts against the quota whether or not it is granted. When the limit is reached, INPI stops accepting requests. It would publish monthly statistics, including the number of requests, their distribution by modality and, when available, the average processing time of prioritised applications.
Why does Brazil INPI design priority matter?
Under Law 9,279/1996, a design application that meets the formal requirements is published and granted automatically (art. 106), and novelty and originality are examined only if the owner requests it after grant (art. 111). Any interested party can bring administrative nullity proceedings within five years of grant (art. 113). The drafts would speed up all three stages: the application through to grant or refusal, any appeal, and post-grant merit examination and nullity petitions. For a company fighting copies, a faster certificate and a faster merit opinion are the practical gains.
Several rules in the draft deserve attention. Every co-owner must qualify. Priority ends if the application is transferred to someone who does not qualify. Documents in a foreign language need a simple translation. Decisions on the request cannot be appealed, although a new request with fresh evidence can be filed. The drafts do not expressly address international registrations designating Brazil through the Hague System, a point worth raising and confirming in the final text.
What happens after 23 October?
Article 4 of the consultation says that, once the period ends, INPI will publish its response to the contributions together with the final texts of the ordinances and guidelines. The drafts leave blank the date of entry into force and the Phase I window, so there is no date yet for filing requests. Contributions sent late, by other means or outside the relevant article of the form will not be considered (art. 3, §3).
What this means for your business
- If you want to comment, use the official form by 23 October and tie each remark to a specific article.
- Review your Brazilian design pipeline: which applications are pending, which are in dispute and which products sell on marketplaces.
- Prepare evidence now: court documents, platform requirements or the number of a prioritised patent.
- Budget for a fee that has not yet been set, and remember the 10-request cap per applicant.
- For new filings, weigh national applications against Hague designations of Brazil until the final text clarifies their treatment.
Our industrial design team for Brazil and Latin America can follow the final texts and prepare priority requests once the pilot opens.
Where companies get this wrong
- Treating the drafts as law. Nothing is in force until INPI publishes the final ordinances.
- Confusing priority processing with the Paris Convention priority right, which is a different institution with its own six-month deadline.
- Assuming the reciprocity modality applies: it depends on an agreement between Brazil and your country.
- Transferring a prioritised application to a non-qualifying group company and losing the fast track.
- Waiting for the window to open: places are allocated in order of filing and can run out.
Frequently asked questions
When does the INPI consultation on design priority close?
On 23 October 2026, according to the Brasil Participativo page for Public Consultation No. 02/2026, which opened on 8 September with a 45-day period. Contributions must be submitted through the official form and linked to a specific article of the drafts; those sent late or by other means will not be considered.
Is priority examination for designs already available in Brazil?
No. The texts are drafts under consultation. INPI will answer the contributions and publish the final ordinances, which will set the date of entry into force and the Phase I window. Until then, design applications follow the regular chronological queue.
Could a European or Latin American company use the pilot?
Possibly, if its case fits a modality, such as court proceedings over the design, a marketplace that formally requires a registered design or a link to a prioritised patent. All co-owners must qualify, each applicant is limited to 10 requests in Phase I and the fee amount is still to be set.
Can IP Global Guard handle design filings and priority requests in Brazil?
Yes. We prepare the strategy, the national application or the Hague designation, and the evidence for a priority request, coordinating qualified local correspondents before INPI. You keep a single point of contact for Brazil and the rest of your portfolio in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
How IP Global Guard can help with your designs in Brazil
A faster queue only helps if the application, the evidence and the timing are ready when the window opens. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages design portfolios across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Tell us which designs you have pending or plan to file in Brazil, and whether any are in dispute or sold on online platforms. We will assess which modality could apply and prepare the request as soon as the final rules are published. Contact our Brazil design team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the drafts as published for consultation.
Sources
- INPI, INPI abre consulta pública sobre trâmite prioritário para desenhos industriais (8 September 2026)
- INPI, Industrial Property Journal No. 2905, Public Consultation No. 02 of 2 September 2026
- Brasil Participativo, consultation page (8 September to 23 October 2026)
- Brasil Participativo, draft ordinances and Manual guidelines
- Planalto, Law No. 9,279/1996 (Industrial Property Law)
- Planalto, Law No. 10,741/2003 (Statute of Older Persons), art. 1
