Patent management: the prominent role of strategy and organization

PurposeThe purpose of this article is twofold; to verify the existence of different profiles of firms based on the level of sophistication of their patent management core processes and to test the impact of the interplay between two patent management supporting dimensions, namely patent strategy and organization for patenting, on the level of sophistication of patent management core processes.Design/methodology/approachThe method consists of a survey study, collecting data from a set of European patent management professionals. These data are analyzed with factor analysis, cluster analysis and regression analysis to test several hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that patent strategy positively and significantly impacts patent management sophistication, and that the patent organization positively moderates this relationship. In other words, a patent strategy, supported by a well-developed patent organization and culture, will positively influence the processes of managing a firm's patent portfolio.Originality/valueThis study is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first one to provide quantitative evidence that supports the notion that it is important to take a strategic and organizational perspective of patent management.

Effects of Top Management Team Characteristics on Patent Strategic Change and Firm Performance

Patent strategy is increasingly recognized as a vital contributor in promoting core competitiveness of an enterprise. A top management team (TMT) has been indicated as one of the key factors driving changes in patent strategy. Based on upper echelons theory, this study examines how TMT characteristics, including, team diversity, emotional intelligence, and safety climate, influence enterprise patent strategic change and, hence, the business outcome. The data from 930 top managers in 228 enterprises showed that the changes in patent strategies are significantly influenced by the characteristics of top managers. These aforementioned internal TMT factors have diverse effects on the speed and scope of the enterprise patent strategic change, which in turn affects firm performance in a positive and negative way, respectively.

ALGORITHMIC EMPOWERMENT OR IMPERIALIST WARFARE? DARK SKIN, AI CAMERA, AND A CHINESE COMPANY’S PATENT STRATEGY

Through document analysis and participant observation, this paper examines the patent strategy of Transsion, a Chinese company that dominates Africa’s smartphone market and a leading innovator in facial recognition technologies optimised for darker skins. We identify two major narratives surrounding Transsion’s facial recognition patent strategy. First is the “empowerment” narrative, in which Transsion argues that there are “blind spots” in conventional AI camera technologies and interprets its AI camera as not just a fix to existing blindness but also an empowerment tool for dark-skinned users by “seeing” and capturing their beauty. While the “empowerment” narrative is more externally oriented, Transsion uses a “warfare” narrative to interpret its patent strategy internally. This may have to do with cut-throat market competition, patents race, and the rapid pace of innovation, which gave Transsion a strong sense of crisis. Other major Chinese brands are also entering the African market. Transsion thus considers its facial recognition patents as “competitive weaponry” in preparation for a future clash in Africa’s smartphone market. This study makes three contributions. Empirically, through document analysis and participant observation, we examine a relatively less known Chinese smartphone company that has made huge impact in the Global South. Theoretically, we shed on the possibility of algorithmic empowerment against racist facial recognition systems, although developing AI as a weaponry, in the Chinese-African contexts, may also lead to new forms of imperialism. Thematically, echoing this year’s AoIR conference theme, this study reveals the politics and geopolitics of independence through patents.

OPTIMAL PATENT PROTECTION AND EXPECTED UTILITY MODEL: A TRANSITION ECONOMY EXAMPLE

This paper aims to critically appraise optimal patent protection using the expected utility model from the perspectives of governments to balance the motivation and social use of the intellectual property. In order to achieve this aim, the report has presented the working mechanism of governments towards patent protection; use of utility model by governments; past and present academic investigations on the topic; strategizing behavior of governments towards patents and as a brief example, a case of the transition economy. The expected utility model has provided an effective and efficient framework for the development of patent strategy by governments. The essay has noted that due to the differences between industries and their dynamics, it is expected that diverse patent regimes should be followed to balance the social utility and economic utility of the economic actor to engage in research and development.

Will rivals enter or wait outside when faced with litigation risk? Patent litigation in complex product industries and international market entry

A spiral of patent infringement litigation among rival firms is a phenomenon often observed in complex product industries, where products comprise numerous separately patentable elements. Theoretically grounded in the awareness–motivation–capability framework of competitive dynamics, this article contributes to the literature on patent strategy and international market entry by looking at how, in a complex product industry, the intensity of patent litigation in a country affects a firm’s decision to enter that country. Our results show that the intensity of patent litigation in a country is a deterrent for potential entrants and has a negative effect on a firm’s likelihood of entering that country. We also show that a firm’s previous experience with patent litigation ( awareness component), the share of a firm’s current patent applications in a target country ( motivation component), and the size of a firm’s patent stock ( capability component) moderate the relationship between a country’s patent litigation intensity and a firm’s likelihood of entering that country. We thus shed light on the joint effect of macro- and micro-level patent-related variables on a firm’s market entry decisions. We test our hypotheses with a comprehensive panel of patenting and entry strategies of 84 mobile phone vendors and their patent litigation battles in 45 countries, from 2003 to 2015.

Study on Patent Strategy of Emerging industry in China

Patent strategy has become an important strategic means to elevate independent innovation capability and international competitiveness of emerging industry. Thus, based on connotation analysis of patent strategy of emerging industry, the paper designs influencing factors analysis framework for industry patent strategy, and puts forward industry patent strategy position, and then builds promoting process of industry patent strategy around patent development, application, use and protection, so as to provide theory and method support for patent strategy management of emerging industry.

Intellectual Property Right in India- A Review

The CDSCO prescribes standards and measures for ensuring the safety, efficacy and quality of drugs, diagnostics, cosmetics and devices in the country. Pharmaceutical research and development is an expensive, time consuming and uncertain process that may take 8-10 years to complete. Patent clock starts much before a new drug is approved for marketing and significant amount of time may be lost in the review and approval process by regulatory bodies. So in order to recoup the considerable time and resources invested in the drug development and approval process, the pharmaceutical companies depend on exclusivity provisions granted by the regulatory bodies. Patent strategy provides a check list for developing comprehensive patent strategies for the company.