BRPTO Suspends Priority Examination for H04 Patent Applications

The Brazilian PTO (BRPTO) has just introduced a significant regulatory change affecting patent applications in the field of electric communication technologies. Through Ordinance #17/2025, published on December 16, 2025, the BRPTO established the temporary suspension of priority examination requests for patent applications whose main IPC classification is H04 (Electric Communication Technique), effective as of January 1, 2026.

This measure represents a shift for patent prosecution practice in Brazil, particularly for applicants in the telecommunications, information and communication technologies (ICT), electronics, and communication-related software sectors, which traditionally account for a substantial portion of Brazilian patent filings and accelerated requests.

Brazilian patent law allows applicants to request accelerated examination under specific circumstances. Among the available mechanisms, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) has played a central role over the recent years, especially for foreign applicants seeking to expedite prosecution based on favorable examination results obtained in other jurisdictions.

The PPH has been widely used in technology-intensive sectors, notably those classified under IPC H04, due to their strong alignment with international patent portfolios, standardization initiatives, and global filing strategies. As a result, H04-related applications have consistently represented a significant share of priority examination requests submitted to the BRPTO.

The suspension introduced by Ordinance #17/2025 did not arise abruptly though. Over the past years, the BRPTO has progressively implemented quantitative and operational controls on priority examination requests, particularly under the PPH framework. Earlier regulations introduced a series of constraints, including:

• weekly caps applicable per applicant;

• annual caps on the total number of PPH requests;

• quarterly limits on new PPH submissions; and

• more recently, specific numerical restrictions on H04-classified applications, which were subject to reduced quotas and periodic review.

These measures already reflected the BRPTO’s concern with the concentration of accelerated examination requests in certain technical divisions and the resulting impact on workload distribution and examination quality.

Now, Ordinance INPI/DIRPA No. 17/2025 marks a clear regulatory shift. Under Article 2 of the Ordinance, the BRPTO expressly provides that no priority examination requests of any kind will be accepted for patent applications whose main IPC classification is H04, regardless of the specific priority modality invoked, including the PPH.

The Ordinance preserves only a limited set of exceptions, namely:

• elderly applicants;

• applicants with disabilities;

• applicants suffering from serious diseases; and

• Startup applicants.

The suspension applies broadly and is not tied to annual or quarterly numerical caps. Moreover, the BRPTO has expressly stated that there is currently no forecast for reopening priority examination for H04 applications, in contrast with the previous system of periodic reviews, reinforcing the structural nature of the measure.

From a practical standpoint, the new regulation significantly alters the landscape for ICT and telecom patent prosecution in Brazil. As of 2026, applicants will no longer be able to rely on the PPH or other priority mechanisms to accelerate examination of H04 applications based solely on procedural eligibility.

This change is particularly relevant for portfolios involving telecommunications standards (including potential SEPs), network infrastructure and protocols, and communication-related software and hardware solutions. In these areas, accelerated prosecution has traditionally been an important tool for aligning Brazilian patents with global enforcement, licensing, and standardization timelines.

The focus on the main IPC classification also highlights the strategic importance of classification choices during filing and prosecution. For inventions spanning multiple technical domains, applicants may need to reassess filing strategies.

It is important to note that the new suspension operates cumulatively with existing PPH regulations. The global annual limits for PPH requests, as established under prior BRPTO ordinances, remain fully in force for all other technical fields. In other words, the restriction for H04 applications does not replace the existing quota system but rather adds a sector-specific exclusion layer, independent of whether PPH slots remain available in a given year.

From a policy perspective, the suspension raises questions regarding predictability and harmonization in international patent prosecution, particularly in light of the growing reliance on accelerated examination mechanisms worldwide. While many patent offices worldwide have expanded fast-track programs to address backlog concerns and encourage innovation, the Brazilian approach underscores a tension between administrative efficiency and applicants’ expectations for procedural acceleration in highly active technological fields.

The BRPTO’s decision to suspend priority examination for patent applications classified under IPC H04 represents a recalibration of its accelerated prosecution policy, signaling a shift from quantitative limitations toward a sector-specific exclusion grounded in systemic capacity and examination quality considerations. This change may require applicants to reassess prosecution timelines and strategic expectations for ICT and telecommunications inventions in Brazil, with greater emphasis on portfolio planning, classification strategy, and long-term filing objectives in the absence of fast-track mechanisms.