BRPTO opens a public consultation on artificial intelligence-related patent applications.

On August 18, 2025, the Brazilian Patent and Trademarks Office (BPTO) published a Consultation No. 3/2025, in Federal Official Gazette No. 155, seeking comments on the draft Guidelines for Examining Patent Applications Related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

According to the draft, AI-related inventions will be considered a subgroup of computer-implemented inventions, as well as being classified into three main categories:

• AI models and techniques;
• AI-based inventions; and
• AI-assisted inventions.

Although inventions generated autonomously by AI, without any human intervention, are barred from patent protection (according to Article 6 of Law 9279/96 – IPL), it is accepted that an AI system may be used by the inventor in an assisted manner – as an auxiliary tool in the process of achieving an invention. Thus, the invention must:

• Solve a technical problem;
• Present a technical solution; and
• Produce a technical effect.

As to the descriptive sufficiency assessment, AI-related inventions must provide all the technical details necessary for a person skilled in the art to carry them out without any deviations, thus complying with the provisions of Article 24 of the IPL. For example, descriptions of AI models and techniques, the data set, the correlation between the input data and the data generated by AI (in the case of AI-based inventions), among others, must be provided.

Claims related to neural networks, generic algorithms, training methods, training data, regression methods, among other categories directed exclusively to the AI model or technique itself, or the database (data set), are prohibited from protection (according to Article 10 of the LPI).

Accepted claims must be drafted in such a way as to make the application explicit in the initial part of the claim, preferably in the application category of the AI model (e.g., “Face recognition method using a neural network characterized by (…)” or “Handwritten character recognition method using a support vector machine characterized by (…)”). If the claim presents a category directly related to the AI model but incorporates technical features that use AI, it will be considered inadequate based on Article 25 of the LPI. However, its category may be reformulated, without incurring the provisions of Article 32 of the LPI. since such inadequacy will be considered a “gross error,” as provided for in the provisions of item 2.4, (iii), of Resolution No. 93/2013.

In addition, the draft highlights situations for assessing inventive step concerning the use of AI in the solution of a known technical problem.  For example, mere automation of known processes, combination of AI techniques, replacement of AI models or techniques, parameter adjustment and optimization, interaction with hardware, and data processing. It should be noted that the focus of the analysis of inventive step falls on the object actually claimed and the concrete technical effects provided by the invention, and not on the AI system used as a tool.

Contributions must be submitted within 60 days (i.e., until October 17,2025).

For more details, the English translation of the draft Guidelines for the Examination of Patent Applications related to Intelligence is available here.

If you have any doubts or if you require any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us at international@simoes-ip.com.

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