America’s main source of competitive advantage in the 21st Century
the new government opportunities to the U.S. looking out of the recession guide, it would be well advised to pay attention to innovation and intellectual property. A press release I recently found on MarketWatch describes the position of the strength of the U.S. in the field of intellectual property and why the Obama Administration should focus on strengthening the property rights of IP. There are some interesting consequences for countries and companies compete in the global knowledge economy.
In the statement, Mark Blaxill and Ralph Eckardt, two experts on innovation and intellectual property strategy (and authors of a forthcoming book) argue that America is the most valuable asset of its innovation and IP-reserves and that this is probably the main source of U.S. economic strength and competitive in the 21st Century has become. Importantly, the authors warn that these benefits are easily over-zealous attempts to patent reform go too far and misdirected calls to weaken the rights of patent holders at risk.
backbone of competitiveness
After Blaxill and Eckardt, America’s vast storehouse of IP resources are the backbone of the country’s global competitiveness. While businessmen and politicians can not be underestimated and overlooked these reserves, they are the fuel that powers the economy in good times and helps him back from bad times. The story continues:
American IP range, which provides all of itself, one of the largest surpluses in the agricultural trade balance accounts: In 2007, America’s IP exports (ie license fees) billion – three times larger than Japan’s IP exports, which came in second to billions. America’s IP surplus in 2007 was eight times the size of Japan and twice the size of the combined surplus of any country in the world, reported an IP excess.
harsh realities
With the U.S. in a position of relative strength in relation to intellectual property power, proper management at national and enterprise level should help the country out of recession faster and further than perhaps in other countries. A promising scenario to be sure, but U.S. companies are now faced with weak quarterly results, declining revenue, lower stock values, forcing budget cuts that sometimes come at the expense of protecting valuable IP assets.
Less is more
While companies to function within the economic realities, it is equally important to get to them and improve their future competitive advantage. For obvious reasons , we have the need for an integrated approach to supported business IP strategy (and, indirectly, the IP management software, a favored could be used to facilitate this integration), we also believe that companies can do both at the same time. (In fact, we have recently, some studies suggest that the possibility to reach a positive ROI of IP management software in less than 12 months releases -. During the same time, about the IT foundation for longer-term strategic IP management)
Start Doing It Now
While companies in North America and Europe struggle with these competing claims, on the other side of the world, more countries and companies to make significant investments in their Innovation Foundation. A recent article in The Oregonian titled “China chips in our high-tech advantage” to help executives and politicians aware of the growing threat from competition (in the purest capitalist sense) from that country:
China’s expansion into the world of innovation to test America’s reputation and the know-how. To look into China’s largest free free trade zone, Tianjin, is to sense the country’s carefully calculated fate: High-tech industries, modern research facilities and ambitions, the home of the world’s most innovative companies have become. China no longer wants the world’s factory for cheap products. Under pressure to create better paying jobs and to clean up its environment, is the nation to get hold of blue chip companies, trying to swear against intellectual property theft and formation of a new class of managers.
This is Strategic Alignment of Business and IP
China is good for the future well-positioned as their IP ambitions are aligned and consistent with the national level and at company level. On one level, there are politicians such as Prime Minister, has declared 2004 “The future of the world will compete for rights to intellectual property.” And on the corporate level, there are managers like Michael Jemal, President and CEO of Haier America, which recently declared that patents are innovation and his company’s lifeblood. ” “Haier is valid for two patents on every single day, every day of the year. In fact, there is more.”
For those of you who have not heard of Haier, I bet you will come to the name in the near future to see. When it entered the U.S. market for nine years, the company sold three products. Now he sells 3,000. You name it, Haier is everything from small dorm refrigerators to air conditioners, washing machines for flat-screen TVs. “Haier is the number one brand in China,” said Jemal. “In Asia we are in the top ten. The goal here is to build in the U.S. with a market share in the first three in the U.S. are”
So what is a New Administration
We have discussed what can companies do better to protect its intellectual property in multiple entries in the Financial Aspects of Intellectual Property . Blog So now, let’s stay with the issues at the national level, we go back to the press release on MarketWatch.
Blaxill and Eckardt argue that “. Today is the chief export of the U.S. economy, innovation is the American inventor have a strategic reserve of intellectual property to be built each as well as our strategic domestic energy reserves. “The U.S. national interest requires that we protect these strategic reserves, according to the authors:
” Contrary to American multinational companies that can innovate across the world, grow the American economy itself must be domestic innovation, “said them. (In many cases, the interests of the U.S. economy and multinational companies have actually separated.) The new government has to defend both the volume and price of domestic U.S. IP assets on the world market. Aggressive development of innovation and IP to improve asset both the trade balance and the terms of trade for the U.S.
Policy Recommendations for Care Innovation
After Blaxill and Eckardt. “In practice, IP rights, the incentive that the markets, talent and invention brings together in order to monetize our innovation and provide benefits, the nation together for much of its history, the American economy has the unique ability, all of these pieces to benefit to create out of his innovations had. ”
Argue that,” At this time of great national need, we have to rely on the spirit of American innovation, and as we in the past, we have to see the foundation of American invention by us this latest crisis to draw. “They recommend a national” innovation policy “, which includes:
The protection of the U.S. patent system and the renewable strategic reserves, which generates Sustaining America’s terms of trade and defense of the pricing of invisible assets of America’s by regulation and legislation. . The adaptation of the USPTO to the needs of the modern patent development process. Building Talent live locally through quality science and engineering education. incentives for ingenuity and work in the United States in science and technology, financially rewarding careers. support is on invisible investment.
Hope we are the gang in Washington to act in this direction.
