The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) has adopted, through INPI Resolution No. 297/2026, new Regulations governing administrative trademark opposition proceedings. Published in the Official Gazette, the Resolution introduces changes aimed at simplifying and expediting trademark opposition proceedings, streamlining their various stages and aligning them with the INPI’s current procedural framework.
The new regulations introduce, among others, the following changes:
Automated Notice to the Parties
To avoid delays and expedite the continuation of the proceedings, once the three-month period under the notice provided for in Article 15 of the Trademark Law has expired, through which the applicant is informed of the existence of one or more oppositions against its application, the INPI’s system will automatically generate a notice to the opposer requiring it to confirm its intention to maintain the opposition within 15 business days.
Likewise, once the opposition has been maintained and the applicant has submitted its response, the system will automatically issue a notice allowing the parties to voluntarily submit their final arguments within a 10-business-day period.
Thus, the new Regulations introduce the automation of two key procedural steps, reducing the need for administrative intervention to move the proceedings forward.
Consolidation of Procedural Steps and Elimination of the Separate Evidentiary Stage
The new regulations consolidate several procedural obligations within the same timeframe. Once the applicable period has expired, the opposer will have 15 business days to maintain the opposition, pay the applicable fee, supplement its grounds, and offer and produce evidence.
The applicant, in turn, must respond to the opposition, offer and produce evidence, and pay the applicable fee for the INPI to decide the opposition.
Evidence must be submitted and produced together with the supplemental grounds of the opposition or with the response to the opposition, as applicable. This eliminates the separate subsequent evidentiary stage provided for under the previous regime, which allowed the remaining types of evidence, once admitted by the INPI, to be produced subsequently within a common period of up to 40 business days.
With respect to electronic evidence, when information from websites, social media, databases, or other electronic sources is relied upon, the relevant URLs must be identified and must be freely accessible.
Cancellation and Invalidation Claims Related to Trademark Oppositions
Originally, Resolution 183/2018 provided that, when either party raised the judicial cancellation or invalidation of a trademark related to the dispute, the matter had to be brought before the courts, while the INPI would continue to examine likelihood of confusion and the other grounds underlying the opposition.
The new Regulations expressly allow parties to raise, within opposition proceedings, the cancellation of a trademark registration and the invalidity provided for under Article 24(a) of the Trademark Law, where applicable, and specifically establish the procedural stages at which such claims may be brought.
The Regulations also address situations in which the grounds for cancellation or invalidation arise after the ordinary procedural opportunities have expired.
In such cases, the formal notice required under the general cancellation and invalidation proceedings will not be necessary, since the parties are already participating in the opposition proceeding.
On the other hand, invalidation claims falling under Article 24(b) and (c) of the Trademark Law remain outside the INPI’s administrative jurisdiction and must be pursued before the competent courts. In such cases, the administrative opposition proceedings will be stayed until the invalidity claim has been resolved by the competent court.
When Will the New Regulations Take Effect?
The new Resolution takes effect today, August 12, 2026, upon its publication in the Trademark Bulletin.
To determine which procedure applies, the relevant date will be the filing date of the trademark application against which the opposition was filed, rather than the date on which the opposition itself was filed:
Trademark applications filed on or after March 1, 2026: oppositions will be processed under the new Regulations.
Trademark applications filed on or before February 28, 2026: oppositions will continue to be processed under the previous regime.
Accordingly, the new regulations will apply as of August 12, 2026, while oppositions against applications filed on or before February 28, 2026 will continue under the previous regime.
If you need assistance with trademark registration or opposition proceedings, please contact us at info@lermanszlak.com.
