By Bruno Rosa, Jornal do Brasil, 03/06/2005

Of every four companies installed in the State of Rio de Janeiro, one is not concerned with the value of its brand to the point of not even registering it with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). This is what reveals an unprecedented survey prepared by the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) with 141 companies from the 15 sectors of the manufacturing and construction industry.

As the Economic Report anticipated last week, national businessmen have been facing increasing problems with piracy of their brands abroad. According to data from Firjan, 62,5% of industrialists in Rio de Janeiro claim that registration is not necessary due to the small size of their companies. Bureaucracy was cited as the second reason. The high cost of registration came in third, cited by 18,8% of respondents.

- The businessmen's response shows a wrong behavior, since the need to register occurs regardless of the size of the company. The lack of a brand can harm the company when it starts an expansion process abroad - explains Luciana de Sá, head of Firjan's economic advisory.

Three out of ten companies have already faced a problem. The most common conflict is the improper use of the mark by third parties: 65,9% of cases. In addition, 14,6% had counterfeit marks and 12,2% lost the right of use to pirates, due to lack of registration.

- Many entrepreneurs do not know that they can lose all the investment made in building a name - endorses Gisela Gadelha, legal advisor at Firjan.

The lack of registration is strongly felt in the publishing and printing sectors (32% have their names protected) and civil construction (only 20%). The management of the civil construction company Eldec Engenharia e Instalacoes, which has been in the market for 22 years, is among those who are not concerned with the problem.

- I don't think it's necessary because I don't have a direct relationship with consumers. I do not work directly with the media, so it is not my priority - acknowledges Genildo Ramos, managing partner of the company, which has 17 employees.

Today Firjan hosts a seminar on the importance of registration for business. More than 700 entrepreneurs and specialists on the subject are expected.