Brazil Joins The Budapest Treaty

This agreement simplifies the patent application process for inventions related to microorganisms.

*Updated – Following Brazil's accession to the Budapest Treaty in 2025, the implementing legislation has now entered into force, making the system fully operational for applicants. **

On June 24, 2025, the Brazilian Congress approved Legislative Decree No. 174/2025, formalizing Brazil’s accession to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure.

*With the enactment of Decree No. 13,011/2026, Brazil has now completed the domestic implementation of the Treaty. As a result, inventors—whether Brazilian or foreign—may deposit biological material with the designated International Depositary Authorities (IDAs) established in Brazil, allowing a single deposit to satisfy the disclosure requirements for patent applications in all Budapest Treaty member countries.

This international agreement, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), streamlines the patenting process for inventions involving biological material by recognizing a single deposit with an International Depositary Authority (IDA) as valid across all contracting states.

Brazil’s accession marks a pivotal step in aligning its intellectual property framework with global standards, enabling national institutions to apply for IDA status directly withing Brazilian territory, and therefore, significantly reducing the logistical and financial burdens previously faced by Brazilian applicants, who were required to deposit biological samples abroad.

This development is expected to enhance Brazil’s competitiveness in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and agribusiness, by making Brazil´s patent system more attractive, and secure to applicants and thus fostering knowledge and resource exchange.

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