Suchergebnisse

Mestrado em Ecoconomia ; After the 1970s recession we have been observing in the 1980s several sharo changes in the structures of our societies. The emergence of a new wave of technologies, the intensification of international competition and the relative change of the governments roles in the post-Welfare State era some of these transformations. In this new context the traditional role of universities (suppliyng graduates, production and reproduction of knowledge) has also been changing. The responsiveness of universities to the needs of the comunity has been increasing and the colaboration with the business world has meant a relative "industrialization" of higher education institutions. How can these changes affect the Portuguese University? What impacts can we expect in a small semi-industrialized country, witn an economy lergely dependent on external markets? Through a case-study of one of the largest Portuguese universities (the Technical University of Lisbon) an examination will be made of the possible role of the University in the new context, how the country specific features may mean new opportunities for a intentional action, on the part of the University. Thios action has two basic directions: (i) transfer of tecnhology to upgrade the technological level of industry; (ii) cultural intervention, changing minds and attitudes in a low-risk proxe environment ; N/A

As innovation becomes an ever more central issue for the development of firms and world economies, so the need for improved assessments of innovative performance grows more urgent. This paper suggests that trademark analysis can contribute in capturing relevant aspects of innovation phenomena and the process of industrial change. We propose trademarks as a complementary indicator in the portfolio of available empirical tools of innovation studies and industrial dynamics. Our empirical exploration is based on a study of Community Trade Marks, an intellectual property right granted in the European Union, and draws on recent research on trademarking trends in Portugal. Quantitative as well as qualitative data, including survey data from a representative sample of Portuguese manufacturing and services firms, are used to identify the advantages and limitations of this indicator.

Local increasing returns associated with static and dynamic scale effects, knowledge spillovers, polarisation effects and the distance that separates different regions are among the most important driving forces behind the dynamics of economic and technological convergence. This paper puts forward a computational simulation model that seeks to integrate these factors. The modelling exercise was designed to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between the aspects underlying the specific trajectories of regional technological accumulation and the aggregate convergence/divergence patterns stemming from these trajectories. Analysis of the simulation's results allows us to draw several conclusions. Firstly, it is shown that the opportunities for interaction and the resulting knowledge spillovers are a necessary but not sufficient condition for convergence. Moreover, up to a certain point, an increase in the opportunities for interaction between regions may lead to further divergence. Secondly, when spatial friction in the interactions is either relatively low or high, regions which could be "losers" for a given initial distribution of technological capabilities may become "winners" for another one ("history matters"). Conversely, for intermediate levels of spatial friction leading to central polarisation, history is largely irrelevant - irrespective of the initial space distribution of technological capability and sequence of chance events, a polarised centre-periphery pattern emerges. Finally, when spatial distance imposes high friction on interactions between regions, and when they do not have to be very similar in their levels of technological capabilities in order to learn from each other, regions in the core of "continental masses" benefit in terms of increased technological capability ("space matters").

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the patenting activity of the Brazilian academic sector vis-à-vis the domestic business sector, taking into account the recent evolution of Brazil's industrial policies. The paper differentiates between "university academic patents", which are owned by the universities, and "non-university academic patents", which despite being invented by academic staff are not owned by the universities.


Design/methodology/approach
The authors' cross-checked information regarding the names of all inventors with Brazilian addresses in PCT patent applications in the Espacenet database with the names of researchers in the CVs available on the Lattes Platform of CNPq. The analysis specifically focussed on patent applications published in the PCT with Brazilian priority for the 2002-2012 period.


Findings
It was found that the Brazilian academic patents concentrate on science-based technology areas, especially in the Pharma Biotechnology domain. For a total of 466 patent applications with Brazilian priority in this field, 233 have academic inventors. Of those 233 academic applications, 66.1 per cent have universities as their owners, while the remaining 33.9 per cent are not owned by universities. Further, it was found that there are more Brazilian academic patents in the biotechnology sub-domain than those filed by the business sector.


Research limitations/implications
This research was based on the intersection of patent databases and the content available on the official curriculum base of Brazil (Lattes Platform, CNPq). Once the curricula information are voluntary, there are risks inherent reliability of this information.


Practical implications
This study allows us to identify more accurately which is the effective role of the Brazilian Academy in patents generation, revealing that a significant unaccounted deposits with personal inventors or companies' ownership really have a academic contribution.


Originality/value
This paper shows that the academic sector plays a key role in Brazil's international patenting activity, particularly in science-intensive technology domains, and it highlights the specific contribution of academic patents not owned by universities.