Secondary Meaning: In June 2025, the INPI published the long-awaited Ordinance No. 15/2025, which regulates the so-called "acquired distinctiveness" of trademarks.

Following up on the article written by Mirna Conceição (click here to access), the INPI published on June 10, 2025, the long-awaited Ordinance No. 15/2025, which regulates the so-called "acquired distinctiveness" (secondary meaning) of trademarks.

Here are the key points of the Ordinance, which takes effect on November 28, 2025:

a) Deadlines for requesting examination of acquired distinctiveness before the INPI:

According to Article 84-D of the Ordinance, the request may only be filed with the INPI at the following procedural moments:

(i) on the filing date of the trademark application, through a clear and express statement attached to the initial application petition;

(ii) within up to 60 (sixty) days from the publication date of the trademark application, through a clear and express statement attached to a formal submission petition;

(iii) on the filing date of an administrative appeal against a rejection decision grounded on the lack of inherent distinctiveness, through a clear and express statement attached to the appeal petition;

(iv) on the filing date of a response to an opposition grounded on the lack of distinctiveness, through a clear and express statement attached to the response petition; or

(v) on the filing date of a response to an administrative nullity proceeding grounded on the lack of distinctiveness, through a clear and express statement attached to the response petition.

b) Required documentation:

In order to prove acquired distinctiveness, the applicant must present documentation demonstrating distinctiveness acquired through use, showing:

(i) substantially continuous use of the trademark subject to the application for three years prior to the date of the request mentioned in the previous topic; and

(ii) that a relevant portion of the domestic consuming public for the products or services in question recognizes the sign as a trademark exclusively associated with the applicant, capable of identifying the associated products and services and distinguishing them from identical or similar offerings of different origin.

Based on these established rules, those who have not yet sought recognition are advised to begin preparing documentation to support future requests.

Furthermore, for trademark owners who have previously had their administrative appeals against rejections denied based on Item VI of the Industrial Property Law (LPI), a new opportunity opens—now with clear guidelines—to file new applications and seek recognition of acquired distinctiveness administratively, which is significantly less costly than pursuing judicial channels.

Count on the team at Ritter Advogados to help you define the most effective legal strategy for recognizing your trademark's acquired distinctiveness.