Post-WTO China : competition and technology transfer laws in the 'new' socialist market economy

China has been the focus of much academic and business scrutiny of late. Its economic climate is changing and its huge new market opportunities seem quite tantalizing to the would-be 'technology entrepreneur'. But China's market is a relatively immature one; it is still in the process of being opened up to real competition. The corollary of this is that, at this stage of the transitional process, there is still significant State control of market function. This article discusses Chinese competition law, the technology transfer system, how the laws are being reformed and how the technology entrepreneur fares under them. The bottom line is that while opportunities beckon, the wise entrepreneur will nevertheless continue to exercise caution.

More legislative traffic on the 'Doi Moi' superhighway : technology transfer, IP and competition law in Vietnam

Since 1986 Vietnam has been engaged in the transition from a centrally-controlled economy to a socialist-oriented market economy (the 'doi moi' renovation). The process for global economic integration has been slow given the magnitude of necessary reforms. Consequently technology entrepreneurs often discount Vietnam as a possible commercialization base which means that it is not realising its economic potential as a hub of technology transfer in the Asia-Pacific region. Three significant factors in the current uncertainty are Vietnam's laws on competition, intellectual property and technology transfer. Another problem is the lack of literature on these laws. This article first discusses the conceptual relationship between competition, intellectual property and technology transfer. Hopefully the article will provide some guidance for the technology entrepreneur considering foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam. The bottom line is that these laws still need further reform to bolster entrepreneurial confidence.

Licensing technology : negotiating and drafting technology transfer agreements [3rd ed.]

Part I of this book covers the commercial and contractual background to technology licensing agreements. Part II discusses the European Community's new regime on the application and enforcement of Article 81 to technology licensing agreements. EC Council Regulation 1/2003 replaced the Council Regulation 17/1962 and repealed the system under which restrictive agreements and practices could be notified to the EC Commission. A new Commission regulation on technology transfer agreements, Regulation 772/2004. These two enactments required consequential amendments to the chapters in Part III where the usual terms of technology licensing agreements are analysed and exemplified by reference to decided cases.

Technology transfer evaluation in the high technology industry : an interdisciplinary perspective

The underlying objective of this study was to develop a novel approach to evaluate the potential for commercialisation of a new technology. More specifically, this study examined the 'ex-ante'. evaluation of the technology transfer process. For this purpose, a technology originating from the high technology sector was used. The technology relates to the application of software for the detection of weak signals from space, which is an established method of signal processing in the field of radio astronomy. This technology has the potential to be used in commercial and industrial areas other than astronomy, such as detecting water leakages in pipes. Its applicability to detecting water leakage was chosen owing to several problems with detection in the industry as well as the impact it can have on saving water in the environment. This study, therefore, will demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary technology transfer. The study employed both technical and business evaluation methods including laboratory experiments and the Delphi technique to address the research questions. There are several findings from this study. Firstly, scientific experiments were conducted and these resulted in a proof of concept stage of the chosen technology. Secondly, validation as well as refinement of criteria from literature that can be used for „ex-ante. evaluation of technology transfer has been undertaken. Additionally, after testing the chosen technology.s overall transfer potential using the modified set of criteria, it was found that the technology is still in its early stages and will require further development for it to be commercialised. Furthermore, a final evaluation framework was developed encompassing all the criteria found to be important. This framework can help in assessing the overall readiness of the technology for transfer as well as in recommending a viable mechanism for commercialisation. On the whole, the commercial potential of the chosen technology was tested through expert opinion, thereby focusing on the impact of a new technology and the feasibility of alternate applications and potential future applications.

Technology transfer offices as boundary spanners in the pre-spin-off process: The case of a hybrid model

Over the past decades, universities have increasingly become ambidextrous organizations reconciling scientific and commercial missions. In order to manage this ambidexterity, technology transfer offices (TTOs) were established in most universities. This paper studies a specific, often implemented, but rather understudied type of TTO, namely a hybrid TTO model uniting centralized and decentralized levels. Employing a qualitative research design, we examine how and why the two TTO levels engage in diverse boundary spanning activities to help nascent spin-off companies move through the pre-spin-off process. Our research identifies differences in the types of boundary spanning activities that centralized and decentralized TTOs perform and in the parties they engage with. We find geographical, technological and organizational proximity to be important antecedents of the TTOs’ engagement in external and internal boundary spanning activities. These results have important implications for both academics and practitioners interested in university technology transfer through spin-off creation.

Trade wars in the TRIPS Council: Intellectual property, technology transfer, and climate change

This Chapter considers the geopolitical conflicts in respect of intellectual property, trade, and climate change in the TRIPS Agreement 1994 under the World Trade Organization (WTO). In particular, it focuses upon debates in the TRIPS Council on the topic of patent law and clean energy in 2013 and 2014. The chapter highlights the development agenda of a number of developing countries who are keen for access to clean energy to combat climate change and global warming. It also considers the mixed contributions of members of the BRICS/ BASIC group – including Brazil, India, China, and South Africa. This chapter highlights the intellectual property maximalist position of a number of developed countries on intellectual property, climate change, and trade. Seeking to overcome this conflict and stalemate, this Chapter puts forward both procedural and substantial reform options in respect of intellectual property, trade, and climate change in the TRIPS Council and the WTO. It also flags that the TRIPS Agreement 1994 could well be displaced by the rise of mega-regional trade agreements – such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Comparison of North American universities with and without medical schools and their technology transfer initiatives

Empirical research available on technology transfer initiatives is either North American or European. Literature over the last two decades shows various research objectives such as identifying the variables to be measured and statistical methods to be used in the context of studying university based technology transfer initiatives. AUTM survey data from years 1996 to 2008 provides insightful patterns about the North American technology transfer initiatives, we use this data in our paper. This paper has three sections namely, a comparison of North American Universities with (n=1129) and without Medical Schools (n=786), an analysis of the top 75th percentile of these samples and a DEA analysis of these samples. We use 20 variables. Researchers have attempted to classify university based technology transfer initiative variables into multi-stages, namely, disclosures, patents and license agreements. Using the same approach, however with minor variations, three stages are defined in this paper. The first stage is to do with inputs from R&D expenditure and outputs namely, invention disclosures. The second stage is to do with invention disclosures being the input and patents issued being the output. The third stage is to do with patents issued as an input and technology transfers as outcomes.

Standardizing Patent Data Cleaning in a University Technology Transfer Office

There are multiple goals of a technology transfer office (TTO) based in a university system. Whilst commercialization is a critical goal, maintenance and cleaning of the TTO's database needs detailing. Literature in the area is scarce and only some researchers make reference to TTO data cleaning. During an attempt to understand the commercial strategy of a university TTO in Bangalore the challenge of data cleaning was encountered. This paper describes a case study of data cleaning at an Indian university based TTO. 382 patent records were analyzed in the study. The case study first describes the back ground of the university system. Second, the method to clean the data and the experiences encountered are highlighted. Insights drawn indicate that patent data cleaning in a TTO is a specialized area which needs attention. Overlooking this activity can have legal implications and may result in an inability to commercialize the patent. Two levels of patent data cleaning are discussed in this case study. Best practices of data cleaning in academic TTOs are discussed.

Aquaculture research: technology transfer for rural development in Nigeria

Conventional aquaculture has been promoted in Nigeria for the past five decades with minimal impact on rural communities: from the findings of Maclearen (1949) where he popularized the use of culturable fish predators Lutjanus sp; Pomades sp; Tarpon adanticus; Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus in earthen ponds near Onikan-Lagos, Nigeria; to the finding of Zwilling, 1963, who reported common carp, Cyprinus carpio propagation and culture in Panyan Fish Farm, near Jos; to the findings of FAO, 1965, when the potential culture of marine mullets culture in brackish water ponds in Buguma, Rivers State was presented. The work of other researchers Sivalingam, (1970; 1973), Ezenwa (1976), development officers and extension officers contributed to the development of aquaculture in few rural areas of the country and informed on public and private owned fish farm infrastructures. Despite a moderate long history of aquaculture research and development in Nigeria, an annual production level of 25,000 metric tons was recorded in 1999. This situation calls for a more sustainable approach for a stronger link between aquaculture research and technology transfer for the development of rural communities of Nigeria. This paper therefore examines some of the issues involved in the continuous flow of the new aquaculture technology in the improvement of fish protein output, standard of living of rural farmers and prevention of urban migration by the youth

Aquaculture technology transfer to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Southern Africa

Details are given of activities conducted in Zomba, Malawi, in order to demonstrate new aquaculture technologies and encourage their use by smallholder fish farmers. The following technologies were introduced: napier grass as a pond output; use of a reed fence for harvesting fish; developing a high-quality compost as a pond input; vegetable-pond integration; chicken-pond integration; smoking kiln; pond stirring; and rice-fish integration. The reactions of the farmers to these technologies and their testing by the farmers are outlined briefly.

The impact of government policy on technology transfer: An aircraft industry case study

This case study explores the interaction between domestic and foreign governmental policy on technology transfer with the goal of exploring the long-term impacts of technology transfer. Specifically, the impact of successive licensing of fighter aircraft manufacturing and design to Japan in the development of Japan's aircraft industry is reviewed. Results indicate Japan has built a domestic aircraft industry through sequential learning with foreign technology transfers from the United States, and design and production on domestic fighter aircraft. This process was facilitated by governmental policies in both Japan and the United States. Published by Elsevier B.V.