The RN Mais Vacina system, responsible for managing the vaccination process against Covid-19 and Influenza in Rio Grande do Norte, received its intellectual property registration this week, granted by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). It is the 15th patent or registration of software and computer program assigned to the Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (2021) in 2021 alone.

The document certifies the authorship of the system, developed in partnership between LAIS, the Advanced Center for Technological Innovation (NAVI) and the Information Technology Management Board (DIGTI) of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), in addition to the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, through the State Department of Public Health (SESAP).

RN Mais Vacina was one of the pioneering systems in the country developed specifically for the management, control, inspection and execution of the vaccination campaign against covid-19. The system, which has specific interfaces for both common users and managers, also makes it possible to monitor in real time the progress in the application of immunizers throughout the state. The platform was also the first to be fully integrated into the Federal Government’s National Immunization Program Information System (SI-PNI).

For the executive director of LAIS, Professor Ricardo Valentim, the charter is an important step in the recognition of RN Mais Vacina. He highlighted the fact that the platform integrates a technological ecosystem, composed of 12 other tools, all aimed at managing and coping with the coronavirus.

The system also had a scientific article published, entitled “The relevance of a technological ecosystem in the face of Covid-19 in the Unified Health System: the case of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil”, authored by LAIS researchers.

“The software registration and the article reinforce the transdisciplinary and scientific character of the platform, covering the entire scientific technological path, from innovation, with the deposit of the patent that resulted in the registration, to the publication of the article. It is also the recognition scientific peers that this is an important work of applied intervention that is allowing to improve work processes throughout the immunization process”, explained Valentim. “The RN Mais Vacina is the result of a partnership between LAIS/UFRN, IFRN, SESAP, in addition to the Public Ministry of the RN, the municipal governments, and also the fundamental collaboration of society and the press, which add with their suggestions for improvement of the platform”, he added.

LAIS has 121 computer programs registered with the INPI
In total, LAIS currently has 121 software registrations with the INPI, including patents, software and other computer programs. In 2021 alone, LAIS registered 15, counting the RN Mais Vacina.

In 2020, 58 computer programs were registered by UFRN at the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI), the best annual number in the history of the institution. LAIS stands out in particular, being responsible for the development of 43.62% of computer programs last year.

The importance of registration
The Copyright Law (Law nº 9.610/1998) and, alternatively, the Software Law (Law nº 9.609/1998) grant protection to the computer program itself, that is, to the literal expression of the software, that is, its lines of source code. Registering a computer program with the INPI is a way of guaranteeing ownership and obtaining the necessary legal certainty in order to protect your business asset, including, for example, in the event of a lawsuit to prove authorship or ownership of the program.

Platform in other states
The same technology used in RN Mais Vacina is also being used in the state of Espírito Santo. The Secretary of Health of ES will make available to municipalities, on an optional basis, the adoption of a portal for online scheduling of vaccination against covid-19. The system will be available for membership at any time, requiring a request from the State Immunization Program to start the process.

Vacina e Confia is, in addition to a scheduling portal, the new State Information System aimed at immunization and vaccine management in Espírito Santo. The expectation is that the next vaccination campaigns and routine vaccines will be incorporated into the system and platform.

With the aim of automating the capixaba immunization system, it is through this platform that municipalities and state immunization management will have integrated access to processes ranging from the scheduling itself, passing through the registration control of the dose received, stock, distribution and application of immunizers incorporated by the Unified Health System to the National Vaccination Operational Plan by the Ministry of Health.
Vacina e Confia is the result of a partnership between the Government of the State of Espírito Santo and the Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).