A practice manual for Brazilian patent annuities. Brazil's deadline is not a single date but a sequence of three, and the annuity number is a year out from the anniversary it is anchored to. Both are common sources of docketing error.
1. At a glance
- System type
- Annual annuities
- Anchor date
- Filing date
- First fee
- The 3rd annuity Anchored to the 2nd anniversary of filing
- Payment timing
- Early window → ordinary window → extended window
- Extended window
- Anniversary + 9 months Double rate, no reduction
- If unpaid
- The application is dismissed while examination is pending
- Restoration
- Within 3 months of publication of dismissal or lapse — BRL 440 plus arrears
- Reduction
- 50% Ordinary window only
- Risk level
- Caution
2. Anchor date and due-date calculation
The anchor is the filing date. The reference anniversary for annuity n is the (n−1)th anniversary of filing. What is distinctive about Brazil is that the deadline around that anniversary is split into three stages.
| Stage | Timing | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Early window opens | Anniversary − 3 months | Ordinary rate (all prior annuities must be paid; from 2024) |
| Ordinary window closes | Anniversary + 3 months | Ordinary rate; reduction available |
| Extended window closes | Anniversary + 9 months | Double rate; no reduction |
Worked example
For an application filed on 2020-06-15, the reference anniversary for the 3rd annuity is 2022-06-15 and the three stages fall as follows.
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Early window opens | 2022-03-15 |
| Ordinary window closes | 2022-09-15 |
| Extended window closes | 2023-03-15 |
The 4th annuity has a reference anniversary of 2023-06-15, and the same structure repeats. Each annuity is paid separately; there is no multi-year bulk payment.
3. When payments begin
- Fees begin with the 3rd annuity.
- They are payable while examination is pending, and non-payment results in dismissal of the application.
- For PCT cases, annuities that fell due before national phase entry are paid together within three months of entry.
- The fee axis is two-dimensional: a flat amount while pending, moving to the post-grant bands from the annuity following grant.
4. The extended window
5. Lapse and restoration
If nothing is paid by the close of the extended window, the application is dismissed or the patent lapses. Restoration may be requested within three months of publication of that dismissal or lapse, on payment of a BRL 440 fee together with the arrears.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Basis | Industrial Property Law Art. 87 |
| Time limit | 3 months from publication of dismissal or lapse |
| Cost | BRL 440 plus the unpaid annuities |
6. Reduction
Natural persons, micro and small enterprises (ME, MEI, EPP), Inova Simples entities, science and technology institutions (ICT), non-profits and public bodies receive a 50% reduction.
- For joint applications, every applicant must qualify.
- It applies only to payments made in the ordinary window, not the extended window.
- Sources giving 60% are based on the former fee schedule; the current figure is 50%.
7. Official fees
The table below shows ordinary window rates effective 2025-08-07 (BRL).
| Band | BRL |
|---|---|
| While pending (flat) | 400 |
| Post-grant, annuities 3-6 | 1,000 |
| Post-grant, annuities 7-10 | 1,600 |
| Post-grant, annuities 11-15 | 2,200 |
| Post-grant, annuity 16 onward | 2,800 |
8. Payment procedure
9. Term extension
Term extension in Brazil has not been researched. If extension becomes relevant on a pharmaceutical case, confirm against INPI material with local agent input.
10. Management checklist
Fields to populate first
- Filing date, from which every reference anniversary is calculated.
- The instalment number and the reference anniversary as separate fields — they are a year apart.
- Whether the patent has been granted, since the rate moves from the flat pending amount to the post-grant bands.
- Reduction eligibility, checking every applicant on joint cases.
- A local agent, since generating a GRU requires a Brazilian tax number.
Payment cycle
- The early window opens three months before the anniversary, conditional on all prior annuities being paid.
- Treat the close of the ordinary window (anniversary plus three months) as the working deadline, especially for cases claiming the reduction.
- Once grant issues, switch the rate to the post-grant band from the following annuity.
- Where the extended window cannot be avoided, re-invoice at double rate with no reduction.
- If dismissal or lapse is published, decide on restoration within three months.
Easily confused points
- The 3rd annuity is anchored to the 2nd anniversary of filing.
- There is not one deadline but two — the ordinary and the extended window.
- The reduction disappears in the extended window, quadrupling the effective cost.
- Non-payment while examination is pending dismisses the application rather than lapsing a patent.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.