The article discusses the institutional arrangements and forms of organization of agricultural research in Brazil and Argentina. The analysis focuses on Embrapa in the Brazilian case and INTA in the Argentinian case. Emphasis is laid on the two institutions’ policies regarding intellectual property and technology transfer. The aim is to contribute to the debate about how to conceptualize the co-evolution of organizations considering the technical, scientific, legal, regulatory, economic and other contexts in which they operate, reinforcing the idea of learning and that economic institutions do not just evolve but co-evolve.The article discusses the institutional arrangements and forms of organization of agricultural research in Brazil and Argentina. The analysis focuses on Embrapa in the Brazilian case and INTA in the Argentinian case. Emphasis is laid on the two institutions’ policies regarding intellectual property and technology transfer. The aim is to contribute to the debate about how to conceptualize the co-evolution of organizations considering the technical, scientific, legal, regulatory, economic and other contexts in which they operate, reinforcing the idea of learning and that economic institutions do not just evolve but co-evolve.O artigo discute os arranjos institucionais e a forma de organização da pesquisa agrícola no Brasil e na Argentina. A análise é focada na atuação da Embrapa, no caso brasileiro, e do INTA, no caso argentino, com destaque para a política de propriedade intelectual e de transferência de tecnologia das duas instituições. Pretende-se contribuir com o debate referente às concepções de co-evolução das organizações considerando os contextos técnico-científico, legal, regulatório, econômico, dentre outros, em que estão inseridas, reforçando a idéia do aprendizado e que as instituições econômicas não apenas evoluem, mas co-evoluem.