The patent system was created to guarantee protection of the inventive activity, to encourage its production and to allow economic exploitation by the holder of the patent title.
With the increasing predominance of intangible assets in the value of companies today, using and having knowledge on the subject is essential for the progress of any business, including international ones.
In this respect, based on the principle of territoriality, the protection conferred by the patent is valid only within the territorial limits of the country granting the protection. To achieve protection in other countries, the interested party must apply for registration in the target country, also respecting priority rights, or use the PCT system.
In Latin America, according to WIPO, 57,600 patent applications were filed in 2017. These numbers continue to increase, especially with the large participation of foreign players. For that reason, and based on the latest data registered with WIPO, check out the Latin American countries with the highest number of patents in force:
10. Ecuador
Number of patent applications (2018): 51
Patents in force: 65
PCT applications (2018): 31
PCT Top Applicants: Cananvalley Flowers, Forschungszentrum Jülich and Grupasa Grupo Papelero
9. Costa Rica
Number of patent applications (2018): 115
Patents in force: 925
PCT applications (2018): 13
PCT Top Applicants: Establishment Labs and Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica
8. Cuba
Number of patent applications (2018): 148
Patents in force: 727
PCT applications (2018): 7
PCT Top Applicants: Centro de Inmunología Molecular, Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología and Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de Medicamentos
7. Panama
Number of patent applications (2018): 183
Patents in force: 1.338
PCT applications (2018): 186
PCT Top Applicants: AGP America, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá and Wirelesswerx International
6. Peru
Number of patent applications (2018): 135
Patents in force: 3.098
PCT applications (2018): 37
PCT Top Applicants: EXSA, Farmacologicos Veterinarios and Industrias Fibraforte
5. Colombia
Number of patent applications (2018): 637
Patents in force: 7.403
PCT applications (2018): 159
PCT Top Applicants: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universodad EAFIT and Universidad EIA
4. Argentina
Number of patent applications (2018): 755
Patents in force: 13.115
PCT applications (2018): 42
PCT Top Applicants: CONICET, YPF Tecnologia and CITES
3. Chile
Number of patent applications (2018): 946
Patents in force: 13.795
PCT applications (2018): 241
PCT Top Applicants: Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad de Chile and Universidad de Santiago de Chile
2. Brazil
Number of patent applications (2018): 6.859
Patents in force: 31.977
Número de aplicações sob PCT (2018): 616
PCT Top Applicants: Petrobrás, Brasken and Natura
1. Mexico
Number of patent applications (2018): 2.695
Patents in force: 113.286
PCT applications (2018): 273
PCT Top Applicants: Centro de Enseñanza Técnica Industrial, Active Financial and Centro de Investigación em Química Aplicada
Source: WIPO (2020)
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