Intellectual property in the current Brazilian political and economic arenas

At the time this article was written, the press teemed with news of high-ranking officers of the Republic, especially ministers who sit in the Presidential Palace, involved in acts of active and passive corruption. On the other hand, there was news of record-setting Brazilian exports, mainly due to the success of agricultural products.

First of all, as a politically aware Brazilian citizen, I am concerned that these men and women, who were responsible for administering the res publica, are in fact looting it, frustrating the aspirations of millions of citizens who, like me, want to see the creation of a just and modern society in Brazil, and, above all, to see our country take its place among the group of first world nations.

In my view, the fraying of the political fabric may shatter the strength of the economy in a short time because Brazil cannot do without the international capital needed to roll over its debt and finance its social projects.

This double wear, political and economic, can also lead to loss of international competitiveness.

It is known to all that Brazil depends greatly on the export of products commonly called commodities. This dependence is now progressively diminishing with the increase of high technology exports, such as airplanes and biotechnology.

Technological development applied to industry and science is the lifeline of any nation that wants to improve its social indicators and reduce its dependence on foreign technology.

And inventive talents abound in this nation. What is actually missing is governmental initiative to provide the necessary conditions for the full development of intellectual property in Brazil.

At this point, a question arises: Can Intellectual Property contribute to the economic stability and competitiveness of this country?

The answer to this question is certainly “yes.”

Yes, because there are numerous examples of countries that were devastated in World War II and rebuilt themselves thanks to the technological development that went hand in hand and often ahead of political and economic reconstruction. Classic examples are Japan and Germany.

These two countries, although they have almost no primary resources, such as minerals and oil, possess high technology and employ it in the development of finished products. They occupy the top ranks in almost all sectors of state-of-the-art technology. They invest large sums in patent protection, and accordingly their Industrial Property Offices are first-world, modern, and agile.

In Brazil, unfortunately, we find the National Institute of Industrial Property, INPI (the Brazilian PTO), in a state of penury, due to the complete indifference of the federal governments of the past twenty years! That’s right, twenty years.

The consequence of this neglect is that today the Brazilian PTO takes an unbearable five years to register a trademark and eight years to grant a patent. Eight years, in a world where technological changes are occurring at blazing speed.

Along with the enormous material impoverishment and personnel shortages at the BPTO, there is a disregard for the dedicated employees of that federal institution who do not have a decent career path. While a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earns somewhere around US$8,000.00 per month, in Brazil, an entry-level patent examiner, who must have higher level of education (i.e., a graduate degree plus a specialization course) earns R$2,000.00, about US$900.00.

An example of this lamentable neglect of the res publica is the fact that the current Federal Administration took over a year to appoint a president for INPI, which, like a ship without a captain, did not sink completely because of the tremendous commitment and efforts of its interim president, a career officer, despite all the political limitations resulting from his interim status.

The Minister of State responsible for industrial policy in Brazil, Luiz Fernando Furlan, despite being a prominent figure in FIESP and a successful entrepreneur, lost valuable time in dissuading the Federal Government from the unfortunate idea of politicizing the office of President of INPI (the Brazilian PTO).

Given its strategic importance for building the economic future of Brazil, the INPI can no longer change with the political winds every four years, at the risk of becoming a serious obstacle to Brazilian competitiveness in the globalized economy.

Finally, it is critical that politicians be aware of the enormous responsibility they have to ensure that intellectual property in Brazil be considered, as it is in first world countries, a strategic issue for the economic growth of our country.

Alberto Camelier – Senior Partner, Camelier Law Firm