Despite not being mandatory by law, the registration of a computer program is essential to prove the authorship of its development before the Judiciary, and can be very useful in cases of cases related to unfair competition, unauthorized copies, piracy, etc., thus ensuring greater legal certainty for its holder to protect its business asset. The validity of the right is 50 years from January 1 of the year following its publication or, in its absence, its creation.

The Copyright Law (Law nº 9.610/1998), and subsidiary the Software Law (Law nº 9.609/1998), grant protection to the computer program itself, that is, to the literal expression of the software, that is, its lines of source code. The registration of a computer program with the INPI is the way to guarantee its ownership and obtain the necessary legal certainty in order to protect your business asset, including, for example, in the event of a lawsuit to prove the authorship or ownership of the program. .

We recommend that the computer program is sufficiently finalized for your registration application to be deposited with the INPI; thus, the maximum possible extension of protection of your source code will be guaranteed. Thus, as new versions of this same software are being developed, they can also be registered. There is no limitation for the number of records deposited on the same software at the INPI.

A caveat is worth mentioning here: only conceptual software, that is, computer programs that are still merely in the field of the idea, are not subject to protection.

Software registration at INPI is fast, fully electronic, with certificate issuance in an average period of less than 7 days.

Not. After filing the registration request, non-payment of the GRU (Union Collection Guide), or even scheduling it for a later date, will imply an unknown request (dispatch code 742 – see section 2.2.3 of the User Manual) . We recommend that the GRU be paid prior to filing the application for registration.

To file the registration request, the digital signature of the holder of the right and the attorney-in-fact (when applicable) is required. Without a proxy, the holder will sign the Declaration of Veracity – DV with his e-CPF (in the case of an individual) or e-CNPJ (in the case of a legal entity). If there is an attorney, two digital signatures will be required, one on the power of attorney, of the holder of the right, and another on the DV document, of the attorney (must be using his e-CPF)

Once the registration request has been filed and the GRU payment has been consolidated, the deadline for issuing and making the certificate available on the INPI portal is up to 10 calendar days from the filing date.

The custody of the technical documentation (source code) that makes up the registration request is no longer the responsibility of the INPI, but of the interested party himself, that is, the Right Holder. He will be responsible for ensuring its perfect integrity for as long as necessary.

Not. The registration of computer programs is not territorial, that is, its scope is international, comprising the 175 signatory countries of the Berne Convention (1886).