468.   I would like to thank the co-sponsors for presenting this agenda item on IP and Innovation. Our delegation welcomes the debate for its contribution to deepening the understanding of the intellectual property system related to the achievement of the objective of Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement. In fact, we identify complementarity between this agenda item and the one on IP and Public Interest. They both highlight the complex relation of the IP system with the concrete reality routinely faced by policymakers and stakeholders. This is one of the reasons why Brazil is a cosponsor of both documents IP/C/W/648 and IP/C/W/649. 469.   There is a range of regulatory measures that can be used by Members to support new business. For instance, our patent office provides fee reductions for micro and small enterprises as well as to individual inventors. Since 2016, the patent office offers accelerated examination of patent applications from SMEs. One of the reasons for these initiatives is that start-ups begin relatively small and rely on the patents to attract investments. A fast and affordable patent application process will undoubtedly improve their competitive conditions. 470.   Furthermore, we are active in promoting awareness-raising activities on the importance of IP protection for innovation, disseminating a better understanding for the strategic use of IP by companies and allowing the culture of IP to flourish. In order to bridge the gaps between start-ups and funding, Brazil has a start-up programme implemented by FINEP, a governmental agency. FINEP grants investments of up to USD 1 million to start-up companies. 471.   Brazil is also interested in developing studies that allow us to evaluate existing mechanisms for supporting innovation. Last month, in partnership with the OECD we initiated a review of SMEs and entrepreneurship in Brazil. The goal is to assess the structure and performance of Brazilian SMEs, map policies and programmes that support their entrepreneurship and strengthen policy design and implementation. We hope to present the results of that work in future sessions of the Council. 472.   I would like to present two cases of success of Brazilian start-ups. The first one is a company called Integra, a University spinoff originated from the University of Brasília. Integra developed a genetically-modified yeast that can be used to convert residues of the biodiesel industry into bioplastic. Protected by four patents, the company received investments of more than BRL 1 million that allowed it to do further research on technologies to convert agroindustrial residues into products of high added value. Integra's goal now is to achieve a turnover of BRL 40 million by 2020, underlying its success. 473.   TNS Nanotechnology is a company that won a start-up prize promoted by the BrazilGermany Chamber of Commerce for an antibacterial that can be used to clean air conditioners and washing machines. The company also developed a biological sensor for diagnosing salmonella in food products. The sensor allows the detection of salmonella in up to five hours, in comparison with the seven days required by the previous technology. Those inventions are protected by patents and allowed the company to receive investments from Germany and Italy. The company currently exports its products to ten countries in South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. 474.   Our discussion should also take into account other barriers to the dissemination of the use of the IP system by innovative companies. For instance, those companies may have limited resources for spending with lawyers. Patent search is another costly area for smaller companies. Lastly, enforcement measures and the need for surveillance of possible infringements of their IP assets often require much resources. A broad discussion on the subject cannot overlook those obstacles. Members would greatly benefit from exchanging experiences on the solutions found. 475.   As also stated by other delegations, it is important to highlight that patents are not the single element driving innovation, but rather one element among different tools. Having the right infrastructure for innovation, collaboration and research are fundamental ingredients of innovation. Earlier this week the WTO organized a seminar on IP and knowledge flows, in which a recurrent idea mentioned by speakers was the need for providing an ecosystem that fosters innovation. This includes not only appropriate and effective IP protection, but also other mechanisms such as adequate funding for start-ups, tax measures and free trade agreements that enhance integration to global value chains. The absorptive capacity of countries is another important aspect mentioned by speakers. 476.   I would like to conclude by stressing the efforts that Brazil has been undertaking to improve our internal innovation environment. The process of accession of Brazil to the Madrid Protocol is ongoing in Congress and we hope that it will provide an additional opportunity for companies interested in internationalizing their businesses. In the meantime, INPI initiated preparatory procedures, such as hiring additional trademark examiners and adapting IT infrastructure. Those initiatives allowed us to substantially reduce the trademark backlog and pendency time: we expect that by the middle of next year the examination of trademark applications can be concluded in eight months counted from the date of filing. 477.   There are also ongoing efforts by INPI in patents. We have hired 210 new patent examiners in the last two years, almost duplicating the office's capacity to process patent applications and allowing us to slash the patent backlog by 10% in the last eighteen months. We hope we can continue the trend of reducing the patent backlog and pendency time, benefiting applicants and competitors alike through faster examination and enhanced legal certainty. 478.   Brazil is deeply committed to continue encouraging and rewarding innovation and its widespread dissemination in the economy and society.