On 11 June 2025, the Brazilian Senate approved the country’s accession to the Budapest Treaty1 — an international agreement that governs the deposit of microorganisms for patent purposes.
Brazil will become the 92nd contracting party to the Treaty, marking a significant step forward for the country’s intellectual property (IP) infrastructure. Accession will bring a host of benefits, including:
- Simpler, faster, and more cost-effective deposit procedures - Biological materials associated with Brazilian inventions will no longer need to be sent abroad to meet the Treaty’s requirements (a requirement which can result in significant extra cost, bureaucracy, uncertainty, and time-pressure for Brazilian patent applicants).
- Eligibility for Brazilian institutions to seek International Depositary Authority (IDA) status - allowing them to serve as recognised IDAs under the Treaty. As Chile is currently the only South American country with an IDA under the Budapest Treaty (Colección Chilena de Recursos Genéticos Microbianos or CChRGM), accession to the Treaty is a significant opportunity for these institutions to establish themselves as depositories of choice.
- Greater alignment of Brazil’s IP system with global standards - enhancing legal certainty and international collaboration.
This development appears to be good news for patent applicants, making it easier and cheaper to deposit their key biological assets and to comply with the requirements of patent offices in order to secure protection for them. It also reinforces Brazil’s growing prominence in the global life sciences field, particularly in the plant, microbiological and AgBiological sectors; sectors in which the country is already recognised as a leading innovator and a major market, and where patent protection covering commercial products in many cases depends on a deposit of biological material having been successfully made at a recognised IDA in a timely manner.
This blog was co-authored by our microbiome and AgBiological specialists Louise Atkins and Ben Tolley. If you would like advice on how best to protect your biological materials, or advice on aligning your intellectual property and biological deposit strategies, please reach out to them.
- Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (1977)
Ben Tolley
Ben is a Senior Associate at Mewburn Ellis and does patent work in the life sciences sector. This includes drafting and prosecuting UK, European and International patent applications. The majority of his practice is engaged in 'defending' or 'attacking' patents in opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO.
Email: ben.tolley@mewburn.com
