ENIO BIANCHI ME v. ALUMITEM: Vibration Damper Patent Appeal Granted
Brazilian SME patent holder ENIO BIANCHI ME pursued an infringement action against aluminium profiles supplier ALUMITEM PERFIS E ACESSÓRIOS PARA ESQUADRIAS LTDA. over utility model patent BRMU8400847Y1, covering a vibration damper arrangement for gap-opening devices. The Court of Justice of São Paulo granted the appeal with determination, closing the case on 15 January 2025.
Filing to Appeal Granted in 0 days
Case closed 15 January 2025; filing date not available in public record
Appeal granted: what the São Paulo ruling means for both parties
What ‘appeal granted with determination’ means
Under Brazilian civil procedure, granting an appeal ‘with determination’ (com determinação) signals that the appellate panel accepted the appeal and issued specific directions — typically remanding the matter to the lower court or tribunal with instructions on how to proceed. This is not a final merits ruling on infringement; rather, it reopens or redirects the proceedings in accordance with the appellate court’s guidance.
Procedural — merits pendingENIO BIANCHI ME secures appellate traction
For ENIO BIANCHI ME, a granted appeal is a procedural win that keeps the infringement claim alive and advances it under appellate direction. The patent holder retains the right to pursue enforcement of BRMU8400847Y1 in accordance with the court’s specific determination. Whether this translates to a substantive infringement finding remains to be seen at the remanded or directed stage.
Enforcement claim continuesALUMITEM faces continued exposure under court direction
ALUMITEM PERFIS E ACESSÓRIOS PARA ESQUADRIAS LTDA. must now respond to the proceedings as shaped by the appellate court’s determination. A granted appeal suggests a lower-level ruling or procedural step was found deficient or requiring correction. ALUMITEM’s exposure to a substantive infringement finding has not been resolved and likely persists into the next phase of proceedings.
Infringement exposure unresolvedVibration damper IP enforcement signals enforcement intent
This case is consistent with a pattern in which smaller Brazilian IP holders — often individual inventors or micro-enterprises — leverage utility model registrations to pursue infringement claims against component suppliers. For aluminium profile and architectural hardware manufacturers operating in Brazil, this case suggests that utility model patents in the gap-opening and door/window hardware sector carry real litigation risk, even at the appeal stage.
Brazil UM enforcement riskFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | ENIO BIANCHI ME | Individual | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | ALUMITEM PERFIS E ACESSÓRIOS PARA ESQUADRIAS LTDA. | Individual | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge N/A | Judge | Court of Justice of Sao PauloSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The verdict phrasing — ‘Give provision to appeal, with determination’ — reflects Brazilian appellate procedure in which the panel both admits the appeal and issues a directive for what must occur next. This is a procedural disposition rather than a substantive ruling on infringement of BRMU8400847Y1. It suggests the lower proceedings contained a deficiency or unresolved issue that the Court of Justice of São Paulo identified as requiring correction or further examination, without itself adjudicating the merits of the infringement claim.
BRMU8400847Y1 — Vibration Damper Arrangement for Gap-Opening Devices
BRMU8400847Y1 is a Brazilian utility model patent — designated by the ‘MU’ prefix in INPI’s numbering system — covering an arrangement for a vibration damper integrated into a device for opening gaps. Utility models in Brazil protect functional improvements to existing objects and carry a maximum term of 15 years from filing. The Y1 suffix indicates a granted registration. The patent is relevant to the architectural hardware and window/door frame (esquadria) component sector.
For manufacturers and suppliers of aluminium profiles, window hardware, and architectural esquadria accessories operating in Brazil, BRMU8400847Y1 represents a specific functional claim over damper arrangements that control vibration in gap-opening mechanisms. Given that ALUMITEM’s core business is precisely this product category, the patent’s scope is commercially significant. Competitors sourcing or manufacturing similar damper components for the Brazilian market should treat this registration as an active enforcement risk.
Should you run an FTO against BRMU8400847Y1?
Any Brazilian manufacturer, importer, or distributor of aluminium profiles, window frame accessories, or vibration damper components for esquadrias should consider a freedom-to-operate assessment against BRMU8400847Y1. This litigation demonstrates that the holder is willing to enforce the registration through full appellate proceedings — a significant signal of enforcement intent. R&D teams developing or adapting gap-opening device hardware for the Brazilian market face particular exposure.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map the claims of BRMU8400847Y1 against your product specifications, identify design-around opportunities, and surface related Brazilian utility model registrations in the esquadria hardware space. Eureka also monitors INPI prosecution status and related litigation activity, giving your legal and product teams a real-time risk picture before market entry or product launch.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on BRMU8400847Y1 to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar Brazilian Patent Cases: Vibration Damper & Hardware Infringement
Explore comparable infringement actions before the Court of Justice of São Paulo involving Brazilian utility model patents in the architectural hardware and window frame component sector.
What this case signals for the Brazilian architectural hardware IP landscape
A granted appeal in a São Paulo infringement action over a vibration damper utility model underscores the litigation risks in Brazil’s hardware component sector.
Brazilian utility models carry real enforcement leverage for SME holders
BRMU8400847Y1 is a utility model (modelo de utilidade) registration — a lower-threshold IP right in Brazil that is nonetheless fully enforceable in infringement proceedings. This case demonstrates that even micro-enterprise holders (ME) can sustain multi-stage litigation against commercial suppliers, reaching the Court of Justice of São Paulo at appellate level.
Aluminium profile and window hardware suppliers face ongoing UM patent risk
ALUMITEM’s position as a supplier of profiles and accessories for esquadrias (window and door frames) places it squarely in a product category where functional hardware patents — including damper arrangements — are actively enforced. Suppliers in this segment should audit their product lines against registered utility models in Brazil’s INPI database.
ME v ALUMITEM — key questions answered
In Brazilian civil procedure, granting an appeal ‘with determination’ (com determinação) means the appellate panel admitted the appeal and issued specific directives — typically remanding the case to the lower court with instructions. It is a procedural rather than final merits ruling; the infringement question under BRMU8400847Y1 has not been conclusively decided.
BRMU8400847Y1 is a granted Brazilian utility model (modelo de utilidade) registered with INPI, covering an arrangement for a vibration damper used in a device for opening gaps — applicable to window, door, and frame hardware. Utility models in Brazil protect functional improvements and are enforceable in infringement proceedings before state and federal courts.
The plaintiff is ENIO BIANCHI ME, a Brazilian micro-enterprise and the holder of utility model patent BRMU8400847Y1. The defendant is ALUMITEM PERFIS E ACESSÓRIOS PARA ESQUADRIAS LTDA., a supplier of aluminium profiles and accessories for architectural window and door frames (esquadrias). The case was heard by the Court of Justice of São Paulo.
The dispute centres on an arrangement for a vibration damper for a device for opening gaps — a functional hardware component relevant to window and door frame (esquadria) systems. ENIO BIANCHI ME alleged that ALUMITEM’s products infringed the registered utility model BRMU8400847Y1 covering this arrangement.
The granting of the appeal suggests ongoing litigation risk for ALUMITEM and, more broadly, signals that Brazilian SME patent holders are willing to pursue enforcement of utility model registrations to appellate level. Aluminium profile and esquadria hardware suppliers should audit product lines against INPI utility model registrations in the damper and gap-opening device category and consider freedom-to-operate assessments before launching similar products in Brazil.
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