An analysis of Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI) patent database from 2001 to 2005 showed that less than 5% of the total patent deposited in the subclass C12N, which referred to "Microorganisms or Enzymes, Compositions thereof, Propagating, Preserving or Maintaining Microorganisms, Mutation or Genetic Engineering, Culture Media", were from national depositors. In contrast, more than 34% of all these deposits came from the United States of America during the same period. Among the national depositors, public universities and government research institutions contributed with 83% over all the deposits, demonstrating that research and development in the field of Biotechnology in Brazil has been concentrated within Brazilian public institutions during this period.
Patents; Biotechnology; Intellectual Property; Technologic Innovation
