The global race for leadership in electric vehicles (EVs) has placed batteries at the core of technological innovation and increasingly at the center of intellectual property disputes. What was once a primarily technical domain has evolved into a strategic battlefield, with direct implications for global supply chains, industrial policy, and market access.
Battery-related technologies, including cells, electrodes, separators, battery management systems, pack architecture, and manufacturing processes are now covered by dense and overlapping patent landscapes across multiple jurisdictions. Recent international enforcement trends show that patent disputes in this field are no longer confined to manufacturers alone, but may extend across the entire value chain, affecting integrators, assemblers, and downstream market participants.
A clear lesson emerges from these developments: companies that fail to assess patent risk early face significant exposure, including market access restrictions, unplanned licensing costs, administrative actions, or litigation that may disrupt commercialization strategies.
Following the recent execution of the European Union–Mercosur package, often referred to as the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) or EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, structured around political dialogue, cooperation, and a trade pillar (FTA), the blocs are moving toward deeper economic integration, with sustainability commitments and progressive tariff reductions (including quota- and tariff-based terms in beef, poultry, rice, sugar, and ethanol). Beyond agriculture, this broader integration is increasingly relevant to strategic industrial agendas, including supply chains linked to critical minerals and advanced manufacturing. In that context, Brazil’s combination of resource availability, industrial potential, an expanding consumer market, and rising foreign investment interest reinforces its growing strategic relevance in the EV and battery ecosystem. The country combines resource availability, industrial potential, an expanding consumer market, and increasing foreign investment interest.
This integration, however, brings an essential challenge: innovation without a structured IP strategy significantly amplifies legal and economic risk.
As Brazil becomes more deeply embedded in global EV and battery value chains, companies operating locally, whether in manufacturing, assembly, R&D, or supply are increasingly exposed to patents held by foreign right holders.
In this context, Freedom to Operate (FTO) analyses move from being a defensive legal exercise to a critical governance tool for innovation. Assessing whether a product, process, or technology can be commercially deployed in Brazil without infringing third-party rights is essential to reduce litigation and market disruption risks, guide R&D and engineering decisions, support strategic licensing negotiations and provide legal certainty for investments and industrial partnerships.
In the EV battery sector, FTO must extend beyond the final product and address the full technological stack, from core components to manufacturing and system integration.
Beyond risk mitigation, intellectual property plays an active role as an innovation enabler. Companies operating or planning to operate in Brazil should approach IP as a strategic asset, structuring portfolios that protect local developments and technological adaptations, strengthen negotiating positions in cross-border collaborations, support licensing, joint ventures, and technology transfer, align innovation, commercialization, and market expansion strategies.
A well-designed Brazilian IP portfolio can serve not only as protection, but also as a lever for global competitiveness, reducing dependency on third-party technologies.
International experience shows that intellectual property has evolved far beyond its traditional defensive role. In the EV and battery sector, IP increasingly defines who can innovate, manufacture, scale, and compete.
For Brazil, this is a decisive moment. The expansion of electric mobility, combined with the country’s role in critical mineral supply, demands a mature, technical, and forward-looking IP approach.
Brazilian IP firms play a key role in this landscape by supporting companies in global patent risk assessment, Freedom to Operate analyses, and preventive portfolio structuring, helping ensure that innovation in Brazil is both secure and internationally competitive.
