Managing Intellectual Property assets: a study on Braskem S.A. practices

The objective of this case study is to identify the level of similarity between Intellectual Property Management (IPM) practices by Braskem S.A and the practices suggested by the literature in terms of strategic orientation. There is a lack of studies on IPM company practices, as studies instead focus primarily on countries, regions and sectors, using economic approaches and secondary data. We argue that IP management (IPM) can aggregate value to the business if it is aligned with firms' competitive strategies. This focuses the discussion on the operational and strategic dimensions of IPM in particular companies, taking their competitive strategies as references. Interviews with key-informers, document and IPM database analyses were carried out. We verified that there are no formally adopted policies for IPM, however a few guidelines and norms do exist. Structures dedicated to IPM are geographically centralized in Triunfo (RS), while activities are decentralized into the technology, marketing and legal advice sectors. Intellectual property asset values are not calculated. Braskem S.A. IPM practices are aligned with its business strategy and are influenced by its market structure, only partially matching the recommendations found in the literature review.