CULTIVAR PROTECTION AND ECONOMIC APPROPRIABILITY IN BRAZILIAN SEED MARKET

Abstract

This paper discusses the possible effects of a Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) on the Brazilian seed market in view of other formal and informal appropriative mechanisms. To attain this goal, a theoretical discussion is made on intellectual property and its role as a mechanism of economic efficiency, attempting to show the differences between the various sectors, industries and markets, as well as how it is complemented with other mechanisms and instruments of appropriability. A field study was made focusing on how the enterprises appropriate the results of R&D in genetic improvement in the Brazilian seed market. As a reference to the possible impacts of PVPA in Brazil, the experiences of several countries which have already adopted this type of legislation are utilized. It is concluded, consistent with the neo-Schumpeterian conceptual framework adopted, that the PVPA should have a differentiated impact on the Brazilian seed market, varying in accordance with the characteristics and nature of the technologies and of the market competition. Another relevant conclusion deals with the complementarity between the PVPA and other legal and informal mechanisms, as well as the similarity between the patent system and the protection of cultivars.