Technological information from patents as a competitive intelligence instrument for innovation in Brazil

Abstract

Contemporary technological innovation develops in environments characterized by rapid technological change, increasing technological complexity, and the need to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty. In this context, patent documents constitute a relevant source of technological information, not only because of their industrial property protection function but also because of the technical, bibliographic, and institutional information they disclose. This article analyzes the potential of technological information contained in patent documents as a competitive intelligence instrument to support research, development, and innovation processes in Brazil. A qualitative approach, applied nature, and exploratory-descriptive character are adopted through a narrative literature review complemented by documentary research. The corpus comprises scientific studies on competitive intelligence, technology intelligence, patent analysis, and innovation, as well as institutional documents from the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The analysis shows that patent documents can support technology monitoring, trend identification, actor mapping, technological trajectory analysis, and the identification of opportunities for research, development, licensing, and cooperation. However, transforming patent information into intelligence does not occur automatically and depends on defining the decision-making problem, search strategies, data processing, analytical methods, and contextual interpretation of results. The study concludes that patents constitute a privileged, but not exclusive, source of technological and competitive intelligence and should be combined with other information sources to support innovation decisions.