The law is from may 1996, but I believe it was already "first to file" way before that - brazilian institutions are usually much closer to their european counterparts than to US ones.
But of course Brazil is a signatory of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, so owners of a patent in other signatory countries have a one year grace period to file the same patent in Brazil. The situation you refer to is most likely a result from this Paris Convention rule.
Brazil uses the "first to file" system. I've translated below the part of the law that states it (article 7 from law no. 9279):
Art. 7 - If two or more authors independently created the same invention or utility model the right to obtain the patent is granted to the one that can prove having the oldest deposit, notwithstanding the invention or creation dates.
BTW, one of the main reasons large companies file first in the US is that in most other economically significant countries (i.e., in Europe) all applications are immediately published, which means you have at most a one year window of opportunity from filling the patent there to file it in all other countries you're interested in.
Slashdot Mirror
The law is from may 1996, but I believe it was already "first to file" way before that - brazilian institutions are usually much closer to their european counterparts than to US ones. But of course Brazil is a signatory of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, so owners of a patent in other signatory countries have a one year grace period to file the same patent in Brazil. The situation you refer to is most likely a result from this Paris Convention rule.
Brazil uses the "first to file" system. I've translated below the part of the law that states it (article 7 from law no. 9279):
Art. 7 - If two or more authors independently created the same invention or utility model the right to obtain the patent is granted to the one that can prove having the oldest deposit, notwithstanding the invention or creation dates.
BTW, one of the main reasons large companies file first in the US is that in most other economically significant countries (i.e., in Europe) all applications are immediately published, which means you have at most a one year window of opportunity from filling the patent there to file it in all other countries you're interested in.