Minister Márcio Elias Rosa (Industry and Commerce) said this Wednesday (10) that Inpi (National Institute of Industrial Property) registered the Pix as a highly renowned brand associated with the Central Bank.
This classification is given to brands that are recognized by the general public and that carry some type of prestige, tradition or trust built over time. In theory, the measure protects the use of the brand at all levels, even if not related to financial services.
The announcement comes at a time when the payments mechanism is target of attacks by US authorities.
Furthermore, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) seeks to transform Pix into a national symbol as a way to wear down his main opponent in the October election this year, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ). Flávio and Bolsonarism in general seek to align themselves with donald trumpAmerican president.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently published a report with several criticisms of the BC payment system.
“Inpi registers Pix do Brasil, associated with the Central Bank, as a highly renowned brand, and in the form of industrial property law the greatest protection that can be given to the brand and symbol”, declared Márcio Elias Rosa at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a meeting of the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development, known as Conselhão.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it is the first brand linked to a government body to be classified as highly renowned. The measure should be published next week.
Márcio Elias’ announcement was made during a moment in the meeting in which Lula posed for a photo holding a Brazilian flag stylized in honor of Pix. In the center of the blue circle there was the inscription “Pix is from Brazil”.
The political world discovered between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 that Pix is a delicate subject. At the time, the Federal Revenue changed rules for monitoring transactions through the system. The opposition to Lula started to say that the government would tax Pix.
The statements on the subject caused political wear and tear on the PT member, to the point that the measure was revoked to contain the political damage to the president. One video by deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) which raised suspicions about a tax, which did not exist, went viral and marked the highest point in Lula’s exhaustion because of Pix.
The defense of the payment mechanism also fits into the PT member’s discourse of national sovereignty. Lula has been talking about the topic for decades, but the subject gained more prominence recently with Donald Trump’s measures against Brazilian products.
