Patent transactions with China in a new era: a European perspective
Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China
ISSN: 1756-1418
Article publication date: 5 July 2011
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a timely description of the experience and intentions of EU firms regarding patent licensing and/or selling to China in a new era, where EU firms are taking a more open approach toward innovation and the Chinese institutional environment has been recently changed.
Design/methodology/approach
The timing of this study provides opportunities to observe up‐to‐date perceptions of EU firms regarding their intentions and concerns about patent transactions to China right after the new Chinese Patent Law took effect in 2009. Firms from 12 European countries in various industries were surveyed through an online questionnaire.
Findings
The paper finds that large and small EU firms are different regarding the openness of innovation measured by patent transactions; for those EU firms that are not interested in licensing or selling patents, most of them are not employing an open innovation model and IP infringement is still the primary concern. EU firms are most interested in selling obsolete technologies and licensing state‐of‐art technologies to China.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to the small sample size, it is difficult to identify the differences in strategies and concerns across industries in the EU and to observe and statistically present the relationships between variables.
Practical implications
This study renders practical guidance for both EU and Chinese firms that are already engaged in or will be interested in patent trade in the future.
Originality/value
The timing of the research and the uniqueness of data ensure the originality of this paper, which contributes to the open innovation literature by addressing several important issues in international technology transfer to China.
Keywords
Citation
Li, Y., Meijer, E., Duysters, G. and de Rochemont, M. (2011), "Patent transactions with China in a new era: a European perspective", Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 136-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/17561411111138973
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited