Technology transfer in Brazil: a study of contracts for the exploitation of patents registered by the Brazilian Patent Office, 2001-2006

摘要

The analysis of licensing contracts provides strategic information about technologies that have been actually commercialized. This paper presents aspects of technology transfer in Brazil based on data from contracts for the exploitation of patents (EP) registered by the Brazilian Patent Office (INPI) in the period 2000-2006. A total of 283 contracts were analyzed, covering 623 documents of industrial property (patents for invention, utility model and industrial design). Some findings of the study show that the contracts for EP correspond to 2.47 percent of all contracts of technology transfer registered; there is a significant number of contracts firmed between transnational corporations and their subsidiaries; and there is strong regional inequality in this process of technology transfer that corresponds to the gap in technological development between different regions of Brazil. This work illustrates information that can be used by policy-makers, managers and developers of technology to identify strategies of companies and to subsidize national policies for technological development.