Barriers to Local Use of Publicly Funded Knowledge: Cognitive Appropriation and Technology Transfer in Argentina

Santiago Liaudat; Mariano Zukerfeld; María Sol Terlizzi

doi:10.4067/s0718-27242025000400060

Authors

Santiago Liaudat Facultad de Trabajo Social, Universidad Nacional de la Plata; Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Facultad Regional La Plata. Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3128-5144
Mariano Zukerfeld Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad, Universidad Maimónides; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8547-842X
María Sol Terlizzi Programa de Derecho y Bienes Públicos, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, sede Argentina; Departamento de Humanidades y Artes, Universidad Nacional de Lanús; Departamento de Salud, Universidad Nacional de la Matanza. Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9609-5993

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-27242025000400060

Keywords:

Cognitive Appropriation, Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, Invention Patents, Economic Development

Abstract

This paper examines the limited domestic utilization of publicly funded scientific knowledge in Argentina, focusing on patentable innovations generated by public researchers. The analysis investigates how, and by whom, these innovations are transferred. The study proceeds in three stages: (1) identifying patent applications filed by scientists with public funding and determining their ownership; (2) surveying those inventors about licensing and commercial use; and (3) conducting in-depth interviews with selected inventors to explore barriers to local transfer. The results indicate that very few public inventions are exploited domestically: only 12% of patents have been commercially used and 28% licensed—figures comparable to those reported in other countries. Moreover, more than half of the patents are not owned by Argentine institutions, and 22.9% are owned by foreign entities, most of which are filed abroad. This pattern points to a significant “cognitive appropriation” of knowledge by external actors. On the basis of these findings, a typology of constraints on technology transfer is proposed, and policy implications are discussed to ensure that publicly funded research more effectively supports national development.

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