Contracting for technology transfer: patent licensing and know-how in Brazil
Catalina Martinez & Pluvia Zuniga
#2016-065
Using contract level data, we study the relation between the inclusion
of know-how in cross-border patent licensing agreements and the
contractual terms used by firms to deal with moral hazard risks. We use
official data on international technology contracts with patent
licensing terms registered by affiliated and unaffiliated parties before
the Department of Technology Transfer of the National Institute of
Intellectual Property (INPI) in Brazil between 1996 and 2012. We find
that contracts between unaffiliated parties involving know-how transfer
show distinctive contractual and technology features compared to the
rest: (i) they involve younger but lower quality technologies (compared
to contracts without know-how); (ii) they are more prone to up front
lump-sum payments than royalty or combined payments (royalty and fixed);
and (iii) they are more likely to be accompanied by the licensing of
other IPRs, in addition to patents, such as trademarks.
Keywords: patent licensing, know-how, trademarks, technology contracts,
Brazil
JEL Classification: OD32, D23, L24