Prospective study of dental implantology related patents in Brazil

Abstract

Technological innovation and the development of new products is what currently boost the competitiveness between enterprises and moves the economy. The technical-scientific advances in Dentistry grow each day and there are great investments by research centers and universities in new materials, especially in dental implantology. The objective was to evaluate the patents deposited and granted in implantology at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in Brazil. This is a prospective study with searches performed during March 2020 on patents in dental implantology deposited and granted in the INPI. The research was carried out in titles and abstracts of reports on patent applications from the first deposit through to the most current using the search terms "dental implants" and "implantology". The information was extracted from documents and organized into tables and graphs. From 1988, the date of the first deposit, through to 2019 there were 139 patent application deposits. Among the deposited patents, 54% (75) were classified as utility model patents and 25% (35) as invention patents, the others 21% (29) have been in analysis. Brazil holds 80.6% (112) of deposits, and the others are from countries in Latin America, North America, Europe and Africa, and virtually all patents are of type A, which refers to products of human needs. Most deposits of patents for use in implantology in the INPI relate to implant and prosthetic component accessories, indicating greater investment by industry in Brazil in this sector. However, in 30 years there were only 134 deposited patents, suggesting that the importation of products in the area is still great, which consequently makes the products of this area more expensive. Thus, investments in patents play an important role in technological and economic development of a country.