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Patents have historically been considered the prime catalogs of innovation [1]. More recent studies have also used patents as important indicators of the level of research activity [2], collaboration between companies [3], and technological specialization of a country [4]. Patent data provide fairly detailed descriptions of the most up to date and technically feasible technologies, including information on the assignees, inventor names, dates, location, and invention claims rarely found elsewhere [5]. Patents are also classified according to standardized schemes worldwide (eg, IPC), which in turn facilitates the analysis of specific technological aspects [6]. Finally, patent data allow large-scale analyses [7], enabling researchers to perform studies of industrial trends and research collaboration over extended time periods [8].

In the case of Latin America, studies on intellectual property and research collaboration are often …