PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF MEAD UNDER THE FOCUS OF PATENT DOCUMENT
Mead is a drink produced through fermentation by yeast in a diluted solution of mash made of honey, obtained by adding an appropriate amount of water. Fermented honey-based products are widely consumed around the world. The Mead is rather used in many countries, but in Brazil this product is still little known, perhaps for lack of technological studies. The aim of this prospective study was to analyze the global indices of patent documents related to Mead and related technologies, seeking the participation of Brazil in developing of technologies related to this product and also the possibilities of investment in Research and Development (R & D) because of the abundance of honey in Brazil. The survey was conducted in April 2013, based on EPO-Office's Espacenet database and selected 78 patent documents. The years of 1994 and 2010 had the highest rates of Mead patents deposited in the database of the Office's Espacenet database, China the country that stands out in this world panorama with 33 patent applications and with strong growth, coming to represent in 2001 91% of patent applications. The beverage industry and requests for deposits made by independent inventors were also highlighted in this study. The beverage industry and requests for deposits made by independent inventors were also highlighted in this study.Despite the beekeeping activity be quite practiced at home and be among the 11 largest honey producers in the world, Brazil does not hold patents related to technological processes of Mead in the Office's Espacenet database.