Contratos de Transferência de Tecnologia e o Marco Legal da Inovação: um estudo de caso das Universidades Federais do Sudeste do Brasil

Abstract

With the reform of Law No. 10,973/2004 through the so-called Innovation Legal Framework, Law No. 13,243/2016, technology transfer was included as a factor to be observed by government spheres and their funding agencies to encourage and support the establishment of strategic alliances and the development of cooperation projects involving companies, ICTs, and non-profit private entities focused on research and development activities. In this context, this study aims to investigate how federal universities in the Southeast of Brazil explore their intellectual property rights, based on the analysis of the technology transfer agreements they have entered into. To this end, an empirical, exploratory research is conducted, without a pre-established theoretical proposition, thus allowing for an open and investigative exploration of the case, comprehending the phenomenon in a comprehensive manner in order to ascertain what the collected data reveal about the object of study. Consequently, the research is carried out through multiple case studies, involving literal replication of the cases, conducted by comparing the contracts entered into with the standardization models devised by the Federal Attorney General’s Office. In general, the aim is to understand how the Federal Universities located in the Southeastern region of the country exploit the intellectual property rights arising from their academic activities, based on the analysis of the technology transfer agreements they have signed, in order to make inferences about the characteristics of this legal relationship and how this phenomenon manifests. The results point to conceptual and legal challenges related to technology transfer agreements, whose lack of normative specificity contributes to the absence of uniformity in university practices. Furthermore, the exploitation of intellectual property occurs mainly through patent licensing or patent applications, often not registered or recorded with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), in favor of private institutions, with occasional public and international partnerships. Ultimately, this study focuses on the exploitation of intellectual property generated in the public sphere, not only allowing for the dissemination of this knowledge but also providing space for a more contextualized analysis of contractual regulation proposals suited to the normative requirements as presented by the legislator.