A produção de patentes na Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais: uma análise bibliométrica

Abstract

Science and technology play an important role in today societies and it is understood that in order to transform knowledge into innovation, an environment with legal certainty is necessary. Laws have been enacted in Brazil to promote this security, in order to enable an environment of innovation for the knowledge produced in the country. It is understood that Brazilian public universities play an important role in the production of knowledge, both scientific and technical. In this respect, patent documents are important sources for the transmission of technical and scientific knowledge, and it is seen as necessary to map the production of both technical and scientific patents at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. It is understood that Information Science is an area that can encompass reflections, research and studies of this nature, since its domains provide fertile ground for dealing with the issue of the production of both technical and scientific documents. It is considered, however, that the subject of patents has had little space on the Information Science research agenda. Therefore, the general objective of this study is to analyze bibliometrically the distribution by area of knowledge of technical production at UFMG, using patent documents. The specific objectives are focused on identifying the patents granted to the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; mapping the inventors, research groups and academic units that hold the most patents granted at the University and analyzing the evolution of patent production, by period, after the Intellectual Property Law. The research is descriptive and documentary in nature, using the methodological route of a bibliometric study of the patent documents that have already been granted to UFMG. The information needed for the research was collected from the database of the National Institute of Industrial Property, the Directory of Research Groups of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and the Lattes Curriculum Platform. The research data was grouped and systematized using the Google Spreadsheets tool. Analysis and discussion of the results show that the University was granted a total of 505 patents between 2000 and 2023. The most prominent researchers come from the Institute of Exact Sciences, followed by researchers from the Institute of Biological Sciences and, in third place, a researcher from the Technical College. Among the research groups, the ones with the most researchers holding patent documents are those from the Institute of Biological Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Institute of Exact Sciences. The most productive academic units are the Institute of Biological Sciences, the Institute of Exact Sciences and the School of Engineering. The analysis over time shows that there was a considerable increase in patents granted to the Federal University of Minas Gerais after the Innovation Law was passed on 2 December 2004.