Industrial property: delay in patents harms the bioeconomy

Report from Correio Braziliense showed how the delay in granting patents has hampered the development of the so-called bioeconomy in Brazil. Dr. Matheus Puppe, partner at Maneira Advogados, was interviewed to comment on the matter.

Industrial property: delay in patents harms the bioeconomy

Embrapa study shows that implementation of the sector can generate, annually, industrial revenue of US$ 284 billion

Fernanda Strickland
Tainá Andrade

05/08/2023
(image credit: Caio Gomez)

The bioeconomy is a growing market in the third government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Last week, by signing the decree that removes the management of the former Amazon Biotechnology Center (CBA) — now the Amazon Biobusiness Center, from the Manaus Free Trade Zone — and hands it over to the Social Organization (OS) Fundação Universitas de Estudos Amazônicos (FUEA), the president follows what was foreseen in the previous administration and, with this, signals one of the technological directions that the country will take in the coming years.

The action will allow the organization, previously scrapped, to start raising more public and private resources for the development of research, but, mainly, new business formats with natural products from the Amazon Forest. According to an unprecedented survey carried out by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), in 2023, the implementation of the sector in the Brazilian economy could generate, annually, industrial revenue of US$ 284 billion, by 2050.

(photo: Editoria de Arte)

The new horizons, however, come up against a legal bottleneck, which is also the mechanism responsible for ensuring innovations in the area of technology in Brazil: patents.

The instrument deals with the right of temporary ownership over an invention or utility model. It is granted by countries to individuals and legal entities responsible for creating an item, with exclusivity in the commercial exploitation of said technology being guaranteed for a specified period. In the case of bioproducts, patents protect the genetic heritage, which can be, for example, the extract taken from plants or the composition for the formula of herbal and natural medicines.

Legislation

“National laws — which deal with where the masterpiece for the product is being taken from — will dictate what can or cannot be protected. We call it genetic heritage. In Brazil, the law is more restrictive in terms of protecting biodiversity products”, explains Sérgio Bernardo, general patent coordinator at the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi), responsible for the area of biotechnology.

“We cannot achieve protection for plants; what we achieve is patent a product that has its extract. For example, a natural three-phase product is launched, with Brazil nuts, a composition is made for this. This composition will be deposited [registered] to the Inpi”, he states.

In Brazil, there is an old dispute regarding the time for patent analysis. The lawyer and specialist in Intellectual Property, Business, Contractual and Electronic Law, Pedro Tinoco, highlighted that this is a complex and time-consuming process, which can take years to complete, which is why the holder must be prepared.

“It is also important to have specialized legal support, so that all the formalities required in filing the patent are fulfilled and the registration is carried out appropriately, with a view to monitoring the process before Inpi and defending the rights of the inventor in the event of of disputes or infractions”, he clarified.

Loss

A timid sign from Inpi had emerged in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, because the body responsible for providing patents in the country followed the global health emergency order and reduced the standard analysis time for some topics, including “green innovations”. Inventions that brought environmental improvements would have priority and shorter waiting times for the process to be completed. In other words, what took three to four years now takes eight to nine months. Furthermore, the agency reported that other strategies to speed things up have been “the hiring of personnel, the reinforcement of infrastructure, the improvement of processes and procedures and the use of artificial intelligence”.

The issue is that without patents the biomarket may be left unprotected. But, with them, in the format that is carried out today, government support may not occur at the same pace, especially for the national market. According to the Inpi Mapping study of technologies developed from bio-inputs from the Amazon, the largest depositors in the country today are universities, foundations and research institutions (83%). Companies make up just 17% of this contingent, with Natura being the main one.

Cupuaçu

“In general, in the national market we have low demand, especially when it goes to the technological area. This does not come from a lack of interest, but there is not yet a very developed field for companies working with biotech. For this reason, places that carry out research and develop research technology are the biggest depositors. The largest number of companies come from other parts of the world”, assesses the Inpi coordinator.

The factors presented, associated with the lack of practical knowledge to dealing with patents, can lead countries to take advantage of environmental initiatives to register traditional goods and inputs from other nations,warned the lawyer specializing in Digital Law, Data Protection, and Intellectual Property, Matheus Puppe.

“An example of controversy is the case of the cupuaçu patent, an Amazonian fruit whose name was registered by a Japanese company in 1998, generating protests in Brazil”, recalled the specialist. "The bioeconomy has enormous potential to boost the economy and promote sustainability. However, the patent system needs to be constantly reviewed to adapt dynamically to new initiatives and market demands. Otherwise, they could restrict access to essential products and services, such as medicines and food and hinder the transfer of technology to developing countries", he added.

https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/economia/2023/05/5092865-propriedade-industrial-demora-nas-patentes-prejudica-a-bioeconomia.html