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A comparative study of patenting activity in U.S. and Brazilian scientific institutions

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Abstract

Patents generated from scientific research indicate academic involvement in technology development. Academic patenting activity is recent, even in developed countries. This study compares patenting activity of Brazilian and American universities. Brazilian universities had 29.5-fold increase in applications and 4.01-fold in grants (1990–2001), about twice the increase presented by American universities in this period. However, a significant fraction of Brazilian academic applications are abandoned due to the lack of specialized staff to help in writing and to shepherd the application through the patenting process in universities. The participation of research institutes in technological innovation is increasing steadily, even without financial incentives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial - INPI Praça Mauá, 7, Diretoria de Patentes, Divisão de Química Orgânica e Biotechnologia, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil, CEP. 20081-240

    Rita Pinheiro-Machado

  2. Rio de Janeiro Federal University, ICB/CCS, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Rio de Janeiro, (Brasil)

    P. L. Oliveira

Authors
  1. Rita Pinheiro-Machado
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  2. P. L. Oliveira
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Pinheiro-Machado, R., Oliveira, P.L. A comparative study of patenting activity in U.S. and Brazilian scientific institutions. Scientometrics 61, 323–338 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SCIE.0000045113.27221.bf

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SCIE.0000045113.27221.bf

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