Next, to identify technological trends and technology development, we investigated the valuable technologies of socialist countries for which patents were applied for at international patent offices. Figs. 2–5 present the trends in patent numbers published or registered at the four large patent offices.
These trends are based on the time the individuals, organizations, or companies applied for the patents. Notably, compared to the other three countries, Cuba has been more active in publishing patents at every patent office.
Moreover, Cuba also started publishing patents much earlier than the other three countries, showing Cuba’s innovation capacity is significantly stronger than that of other socialist countries. This indicates that the Cuban government was aware of the importance of IP since the early 1980s, and that some of its technologies were advanced enough to be exploited.
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We identified the leaders in innovation and technology development in socialist countries by investigating applications for patents. Table 4 lists the applicants for each socialist country. In Cuba, patents were rarely applied for by individuals. Most applications were submitted by centers or laboratories.
Among all Cuban applicants, the Center for Genetics Engineering and Biotechnology (Centro de Ingeniera Genetica y Biotecnologia) represented nearly half the number of patents. This center has been Cuba’s most important biological and biomedical research institute for the past several years.
Next came the Center of Molecular Immunology (Centro de Inmunologia Molecular), National Center for Scientific Research (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas), Dalmer Laboratories Inc. (Laboratorios Dalmer S.A.), and the Chemical Bioactive Center (Centro de Bioactivos Quimicos). These centers and laboratories accounted for 70% of applications and were all founded by the country, indicating that the Cuban government has concentrated its innovation strategy on the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering.
It can be seen that technological innovation was led by the state rather than the private enterprise under Cuban socialist economic model.