GDP and patent trending - Next Stop: Rio de Janeiro

Frank Sinatra famously quipped "they've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil."  indeed many of us who count ourselves among the caffeine-addicted reap the benefits of beans harvested in Brazil and elsewhere daily.  It also appears that Brazilian inventors have awakened to the international IP explosion and "they've got an awful lot of patents in Brazil".  In looking at the trending of patenting activity from Brazil (for US patents and WIPO published), one sees a marked acceleration between 1998-2003.  In reality, pre-1998 saw negligible participation from Brazilians in US/WIPO patenting activity in terms of total numbers.  That seems to be changing - in a big way.  Following trends, it is likely WIPO filings will pierce 1,000/year very soon (with US filings not far behind).

Like our analysis on China, it is striking how the trend lines match up with GDP growth (around 2003, GDP growth curve tips up more steeply).  Taking a quick glance at these two graphs and figures, one might also draw the conclusion that technological innovation is more of a focus or driver of economic growth (present and future) in China than Brazil - but that is a massively complex question and more food for thought than anything else.  One thing is clear - and that is the so-called "BRIC" is (and will increasingly be) an absolutely gargantuan part of the world economy - and that trend is increasingly true with participation in the international IP community.