The paths for Brazil's development in a more industrialized and protected economy set the tone of the 1st Seminar on the Protection of Innovation in Information and Communication Technology, held on August 23rd. The event, organized by Licks Attorneys, addressed important issues not only for the patent field but also for Brazil's growth.
By opening the seminar in Rio de Janeiro, Otto Licks, partner of the firm, highlighted the relevance of COPPE (Coordination of Graduate Programs in Engineering) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) for the patent system in Brazil. "Among Coppe's valuable contributions to the country, the important task of relaying to members of the Judiciary the technological development and the scope of their protection by the Brazilian patent system is notable. It is an honor and a pleasure to have Coppe at this event today."
Prof. Ph.D. Paulo Diniz, head professor of the electrical engineering program at Coppe, opened the first presentation from Canada. He highlighted the importance of developing an ecosystem that respects patents intending for economic growth and investment in the BRPTO (Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office) and regulatory bodies. When addressing the challenges faced by small inventors, Diniz encouraged partnerships with companies that negotiate licenses: "This way, we will be able to collect the resources from these licenses and even feed the ecosystem to invest in new inventors."
The panel "Development and licensing of innovative technologies" was moderated by Rodolfo Barreto, partner at Licks Attorneys, who highlighted the technical profile of the four panelists described as "important Brazilian names with international renown". Ícaro Leonardo da Silva, Patent Director at the telecommunications company Ericsson, in Sweden, nationally and internationally recognized as one of 5 G's inventors, listed the effort of research and development of efficient ecosystems so that society can use the technology.
The "timeline", according to Ícaro da Silva, points out that all his work will be repeated with a focus on 6G, which does not yet exist but occupies the "complex technical discussions in search of solutions". He stated that to avoid losing relevance in the international market, Brazil "needs to understand that it is necessary to defend the patent rights".
André Noll Barreto, Research Specialist at Nokia in France, Ph.D., holding a master's degree from PUC-Rio and a doctorate in Germany, presented his blog, "5G Descomplicado" (Unraveling 5G), with the history of the development process towards 5G. He recalled that investments in basic research are usually state-owned. However, companies are expected to take an interest at some point, thus investing, generating systems, patents, and, finally, the product. "Out of every 100 technologies that we start to invest because they look promising, only about 10% are applied in products."
André also mentioned that Brazil has the 8th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world but is in 25th place in patents. "Something is wrong. We produce science but cannot transform it into intellectual property, products, and wealth for the country."
Professor Marcello Campos, Ph.D., deputy director of Coppe, said that "the Brazilian model" does not please him and drew attention to the country's "brain drain". "Our participation (in the market) is secondary, at best", he pointed out. The context does not favor that "Brazilians who have brains valued by top companies stay here."
Luciano Mendes, Ph.D., coordinator of the Commission for Research and Use Cases Commission at 5G Brasil, Inatel-Embrapii, holds a doctorate at Unicamp and a postdoctoral degree in Germany, spoke about the creation of the Brasil 6G project. He adds that: "Inatel is trying to operationalize the Competence Center in 5G and 6G networks, creating an environment so that we have the mechanisms to insert knowledge, take patents to the international market, and be part of this specific universe".
The second panel was dedicated to presenting the paper "Technological Radar - 5G Technology: Panorama of Patenting in Brazil and Worldwide" by researchers Cristina Mendes and Daniel Dias, both from BRPTO. The moderator, Elvira Andrade, telecommunications engineer and patent specialist at Licks Attorneys, highlighted that 5G technology is at the heart of the digital transformation process, with great disruptive potential in several sectors, and should be the key to the fourth industrial revolution.
Daniel Dias pointed out the greater participation of Chinese companies in discussions involving 5G technology. Cristina Mendes added: "Our objective with this paper is to be a source of technological information in Brazil for people working in these areas and can even evolve our work."
"Importance of investments in innovation for Brazil's development"
The third panel discussed the "Importance of investments in innovation for Brazil's development". Engineer Otávio Caixeta, from the Telecommunications Department of the Ministry of Communications, opened the panel. As an advisor at the Department of Investment and Innovation, Caixeta detailed the Ministry's priorities and presented an optimistic scenario of total internet access in the country: "We have 90% of households with at least one internet user", he pointed out. He spoke about the government's working group to draw up a digital inclusion plan and the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), which will prioritize quality connections in 58,000 basic health units and 138,000 public elementary schools and cover 36 thousand kilometers of federal highways.
"The private sector has an important role to play. This is a shared interest. I ask for support for this cause", said Caixeta, defending an effort to produce technology in Brazil. "We want to increase our efficiency and productivity, which have been paralyzed for decades so that citizens can have a better life." And he defended patent protection by saying that "enjoying innovation as a user is one thing; it is another thing to own it, which is much better".
The seminar ended with a presentation by the Executive President of the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (Abinee), Humberto Barbato, a member of the Superior Council for Innovation and Competitiveness at Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo). Barbato said he was proud that his sector is the one that most obtains patents at the BRPTO and regretted the time when, according to him, it was considered "a mortal sin to talk about industrial policy in Brazil".
According to him, all associates in ICTs (Information and Communication Technology) use the Informatics Statute as a mechanism for technological development, not in the sense of market reserve, but of a "well-defined industrial policy that gives legal certainty". He explains that, without this policy, Brazil would have much less investment than its current situation. According to Barbato, the sector represented by Abinee is the only one that invests 4% of revenues in research and development, while the transformation industry does not reach 2%.
Without intellectual property legislation that gives legal certainty to inventors, "our country will keep investing resources, and these same companies will register their inventions abroad", said the Abinee director. Barbato highlighted the importance of swift measures by the Judiciary to curb the infringement of patent rights. Furthermore, he believes that failing to ensure resources to the BRPTO to allow the Institute to meet the demands of the industry that invests in research and development would be "the biggest mistake we could make". The BRPTO, in his perspective, "has significantly reduced the time to analyze patent applications, but we need to continue improving at this pace".