Innovation promotion in Brazil

• Author: Ricardo Camargo Mendes - Claudia Mancini
• Position: Partner/Manager - Consultant
• Pages: 15-16

15

1 GDP – gross domestic

product

2See

www.mct.gov.br/index.

php/content/view/9058.

html

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INNOVATION

PROMOTION IN

BRAZIL

In spite of these significant developments, there

is scope to further enhance Brazil’s innovation

landscape. For example, the gap between the

number of scientific articles published by

Brazilian researchers and the number of patent

applications filed suggests a general lack of

awareness about the potential benefits to be de-

rived from filing patents. Further incentives,

therefore, may be needed to raise awareness

about the patent system and to encourage indi-

vidual inventors, researchers and companies to

patent their inventions. A further fine-tuning of

the IP legal framework, an enhancement of the

services offered by IP institutions and tax incen-

tives to stimulate R&D would also go a long way

in encouraging broader use of the IP system and

in generating increased economic benefits from

innovation in Brazil.

There are, however, indications that awareness of

the IP system and its use are expanding. Statistics

from Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial

Property (INPI) show a net increase in the number

of patent applications filed by residents in the last

decade. Filings rose from 5,666 applications in

1997 to a peak of 7,502 applications in 2004, tail-

ing off in 2007 to 6,975 applications.

Over the last 20 years, emerging economies have

generally benefitted from global trends in re-

search and development (R&D) which have

helped to boost national development and nur-

ture broader international cooperation. An em-

phasis on innovation, its promotion and associat-

ed intellectual property (IP) aspects are key

features of any policy that seeks to effectively pro-

mote economic growth and development.

Brazil’s wealth of natural and human resources, its

highly qualified researchers and the recognition

earned by its research institutions over the last

decade make it a key player in innovation circles

(see, for example, “The Inova Success Story,”

WIPO

Magazine

6/2009). Thanks to the government’s

commitment to promoting a culture of innova-

tion, Brazil’s domestic IP environment is increas-

ingly primed to attract foreign investment and

stimulate the full participation of its private sector

and research institutions in international knowl-

edge networks.

Brazil hones its IP policy

In 1996, Brazil undertook a major reform of its

patent law – for the first time granting patents for

pharmaceutical products and processes (see

“Brazil harvests the wealth of its rain forests,”

WIPO

Magazine

4/2007). This led to the implementation

in 2004 of the

Lei da Inovação

(Law of Innovation)

which facilitates private/public research partner-

ships and the transfer of innovation from public

research institutions to the private sector. Shortly

afterwards, Brazil’s parliament passed the

Lei do

Bem

(Law of Goods) providing the private sector

with fiscal incentives to invest in R&D.

These measures were adopted as part of a gov-

ernment plan to increase the R&D:GDP1ratio to

1.5 percent by 2010. The government also aims

to increase private sector investment in R&D.

Currently, the bulk of Brazil’s R&D spending –

some 53 percent – comes from the public purse.2

In this article, Mr. Ricardo Camargo Mendes, Partner/Manager, andMrs. Claudia Mancini, Consultant, both

at Brazil’s Prospectiva Consultoria in International Business and Public Policies, highlight how Brazil is

honing its IP policy to create a more favorable operating environment for business.

Photo: © iStockphoto.com / scibak