Administered by INPI and Brazilian Federal Revenue under Industrial Property Law No.9279/
1996 Article 198, the National Directory for Combating Trademark Counterfeiting (CNCP
/DNTM) is the exclusive official database enabling proactive customs seizure of infringing
cargo. Two critical compliance blind spots for overseas brands exporting to Latin America:
only fully registered goods trademarks qualify for CNCP enrollment; service marks
are excluded and mandatory Portuguese evidentiary materials with consular legalization
for directory filing. A European sportswear brand failed to activate border interception due to
incomplete directory registration, suffering massive inbound counterfeit shipments with
no customs intervention. This case clarifies INPI’s CNCP filing standards and cross-border
anti-counterfeiting operational rules.
A European sportswear brand held valid Class 25 apparel trademark registration in Brazil but
neglected enrollment in the CNCP anti-counterfeiting directory after receiving its INPI certificate.
For 18 months, thousands of counterfeit sneakers and apparel entered Brazilian ports weekly
without customs screening. When the brand filed an emergency customs seizure request, two
irreversible procedural defects blocked enforcement: First, without CNCP registration, customs
officials lacked legal authority to conduct routine proactive inspections targeting the brand’s
logo, and could only act upon separate court orders with lengthy delays. Second, all overseas
brand ownership documents, product comparison samples and infringement statements
lacked certified Portuguese translations and embassy legalization, making them inadmissible for
customs administrative review. The brand incurred over 1.6 million BRL in market revenue losses
and costly post-import civil litigation against scattered counterfeit vendors nationwide.
CNCP directory registration is a prerequisite for automatic customs border protection (INPI
Resolution 01/2013). The CNCP database is shared in real time with all federal customs stations,
federal police and public prosecutors. Only trademarks formally recorded in CNCP trigger targeted
cargo inspections; unregistered marks force brand owners to apply for individual judicial seizure
orders for every suspected shipment, a slow, resource-intensive process. Service marks (Classes
35–45) cannot be added to CNCP, regardless of registration validity.
Mandatory licensed local Brazilian IP attorney for all CNCP filings. Foreign trademark holders
cannot submit CNCP enrollment applications independently; an INPI-qualified resident industrial
property attorney must sign all submissions alongside a consular-legalized, Portuguese-translated
power of attorney. Raw English brand certificates, product photos and ownership papers without
official translation are rejected outright during directory review.
Complete CNCP filing material checklist: signed petition form, original INPI trademark registration
certificate, comparative genuine/counterfeit product image archives, legalized foreign corporate
identity documents, licensed local attorney POA, and a detailed brand anti-counterfeiting technical
specification sheet in Portuguese. The standard CNCP review cycle lasts 25–40 working days via the
INPI e-Marcas digital portal.
Continuous directory maintenance obligations. Brand owners must renew CNCP registration
simultaneously with trademark 10-year renewals. Any logo redesign, class expansion or corporate
ownership assignment requires supplementary CNCP update filings within 60 days of the INPI
recordal of the trademark change. Outdated directory entries will be removed from customs
watchlists automatically.
Post-seizure 10-day judicial confirmation deadline. If customs detains counterfeit goods via CNCP
alerts, the trademark owner must file formal judicial validation proceedings within 10 calendar days
of detention notice. Failure to meet the deadline results in mandatory release of all seized cargo
without liability for counterfeiters.
Brazil’s statutory CNCP national anti-counterfeiting trademark directory system delivers
automated nationwide customs border protection for international brands operating in Mercosur. This
European sportswear seizure failure case fully proves skipped CNCP enrollment and untranslated foreign
evidentiary documents eliminate proactive port interception powers. For overseas goods brands
exporting to Brazil, timely CNCP directory registration, standardized Portuguese document
legalization and synchronized directory/trademark renewal are non-negotiable safeguards to block mass
counterfeit imports at all federal border entry points.
Hyperlink List：
● IPcrossark:
IPcrossark—Reliable IP Registration Platform | Trademark, Patent & Copyright Help
● INPI Official CNCP Anti-Counterfeiting Directory Homepage (English & Portuguese):
https://www.gov.br/inpi/pt-br/projetos-estrategicos/combate-a-falsificacao-de-marcas
