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Developing IP Economies: Brazil

  

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With patent data available for no less than 184 WIPO member states, trends in IP can be found all over the world.  The largest patent offices often receive the most attention, but many smaller patent zones are experiencing exciting growth and innovation. This week, we will examine IP in economically-surging Brazil.

Brazil’s rising economy has been the subject of intense economic study and admiration for nearly half a century.  It currently has the 7^th largest GDP in the world and is second only to the United States in the Western hemisphere for economic size.  How does its IP fare in turn?

Growth and Improvement in IP

The 2007 WIPO Patents Report (PDF) counts Brazil on a short list of developing countries outside of Asia that were posting significant growth in IP filings at the time. The report cited Brazil among countries that were examples of “increasing internationalization and diversity of the patent system.”  Indeed, data on WIPO’s Statistical Country Profile for Brazil, containing statistics through 2009, show steady growth in IP filings since 1999. Brazil also posted world-leading growth in adoption of the PCT system from 2005 to 2009.

These rising numbers are a result of economic growth but also of improvements in Brazil’s IP system.  Brazil has received criticism from its trade partners for lacking IP policy and protection as recently as 2005.  However, a 2009 World Trade Organization review reported that new legislation—such as a 2007 measure protecting designs for integrated circuits for electronic devices—constituted progress for Brazilian IP.  At the time of the report, the U.S. also issued a statement acknowledging Brazil’s progress regarding protection of audiovisual goods in particular.

Industrial Strength

In recent years, industry has taken an ever-larger slice of Brazil's economic pie, with that sector now accounting for almost a third of the country's GDP.  In turn, Brazil's industrial design application numbers have risen noticeably in recent years, as indicated in the graph above. Much of the industrial growth has been driven by investment from foreign firms.  These include America’s Whirlpool Corporation and Sweden’s Electrolux Group, both makers of appliances, who respectively hold the first and third ranks in number of PCT applications in Brazil.

Accordingly, Brazil ranks among the top ten states for non-resident patent filings as a percent of all applications.  This puts Brazil in the company of other countries like Singapore that famously attract lots of foreign capital.  Resident applications in Brazil rose modestly but steadily for the ten years from 1998 to 2008, but remain relatively low.  This means that Brazil still ranks low on patent intensity, especially considering its large population. 

Conclusion

Brazil’s surging economy means that its IP sector is undergoing change.  Brazil has responded by making institutional changes to its IP, and it continues to attract increasing applications.  Like many countries with highly active patent offices, it is experiencing serious backlog.  But as the country sorts through its IP and continues to grow its domestic industries, its IP should reach a balance that will make it a major contributor to the world IP system.  Brazil's is already an innovating economy, and Researchers should certainly to keep the country in mind as a possible source for literature and other information when conducting searches.