Protection of Cultivars in the Inter-University Network for the Development of the Sugar-Energy Sector

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the intellectual property in Brazilian agriculture, taking as reference the protection of sugarcane cultivars of the Inter-University Network for the Development of the Sugar-Energy Sector (RIDESA). At first, a review of the literature was carried out with the objective of situating the problem of the protection and registration of cultivars, especially in the Brazilian case, as well as the procedures and stages of mapping and technological prospection of cultivars. Using a descriptive and exploratory methodology, guided by the multiple case study, information was systematized regarding the data obtained in documentary analysis and technological prospection that allowed the construction of a characterization of each of the ten federal universities participating in the network: Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Federal University (UFG), Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Federal University of Sergipe (UFMT), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Federal University of Goiás , Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and Federal University of Piauí (UFPI). The results allowed to visualize the objective conditions of research of the Network, performing a mapping of the cultivars registered by each one of the institutions, in the last 15 years, and that, therefore, they are still legally protected. Although the results presented by RIDESA reflect the state of the Network as a whole, it was considered that the need for more in-depth analyzes on the inequality of conditions and resources, as well as resources and technical capacity, which could possibly have a direct influence on the results in terms of intellectual property, observed for each of the institutions that make up the Network.