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The new online system for registering intellectual property of software (computer programs) of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) went into operation. It's the e-RPC. The system's first benefit is its fully electronic access, Helmar Alvares, head of the INPI's Computer Program Division, told Agência Brasil. The e-RPC can be accessed directly on the institute's website.
Alvares explains that software creators and developers will have access to e-RPC 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the advantage of being in an environment with the facilities of 'web'. The process, now automated, will make obtaining the intellectual property registration certificate faster, Álvares said. “In up to a week, ten days, he will have the registration certificate. This is an advantage that we are giving to the user”, highlighted the employee.
Until the last month of May, the analysis time of a software registration application at the INPI took around 100 days, at least. As of that month, with the implementation of a plan to reduce bureaucracy, a new flow model was created that reduced this time, “even though it was still on paper and manual”, to an average of 23 days. The shortest time was 13 days. With the e-RPC, Helmar Alvares said that the goal is to reduce the period to ten days “or less”.
clear the stock
The INPI has received requests for registration of computer programs since 1989, resulting in an inventory of 21 thousand requests until today, almost all of which have already been converted into registration. “Ninety-eight percent [of orders] generate records,” noted the division head. This year, more than 5,000 'software' registrations have already been granted. There are still about 1,500 orders left in the stock to be re-examined. "Our intention is, by the end of the year, to zero this and resolve all pending orders."
Alvares informed that software that receives a registration certificate is protected for 50 years, starting on January 1 of the year following its publication or creation. "That's what's in the law."
Last year, INPI received 1,880 requests for 'software' registrations. This year, the number has dropped to 700 orders. Alvares recalled that, until now, the registration process was done on paper. He hopes that e-RPC will further popularize the application for registration, given that the developer market is very large. In Rio de Janeiro alone, there are more than a thousand Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, he said. “And Brazil is good in this area. It has many regions that produce 'software'”.
The head of the INPI division pointed out that, in addition to being proof of authorship, the registration certificate also serves as a guarantee to obtain financing from public bodies, such as the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
According to the INPI, the e-RPC is part of the measures to reduce bureaucracy in public services promoted by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), coordinated by the Administrative Simplification Working Group.
Source: Agência Brasil
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