In a Notice published in BRPTO's Official gazette #2792 of July 9, 2024, the BRPTO informs that strikethrough text is now allowed only in documents related to technologies in the field of image and video processing.

Although not generally permitted, the BRPTO recognizes that such an artifice is common in standardization forums, for example, JVET, MPEG, and ITU, to “precisely define which changes to current standards are being proposed by the different institutions involved in the development of the standards”.

The BRPTO warns that such (strikethrough) elements will only be allowed in the specification of patent applications related to the mentioned technologies and should not be included in the set of claims, abstract, and/or drawings.

If this formatting is used, the applicant must provide clarifications stating that it fits the case mentioned above, identifying at least the page of the Specification where such elements are found. Failure to provide such identification will result in an office action for clarification that this is the current situation.

The full Portuguese text of the Notice can be accessed here.