Download Independent Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights

Independent Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights
LI Hua-wei
(School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, P.R.China, 430070)
Abstract: This article mainly presents an analysis of the relationship between independent innovation
and intellectual property rights. First of all, it briefly introduces the theory about innovation and
intellectual property rights separately. Then considers how to define the independent innovation
according to the reality. Though the logical illation, it concludes that there is tightness linkage between
the two.
Key Words: independent innovation; technological innovation; intellectual property rights
1 Introduction
In the era of knowledge-based economy, competence among nations is the real competition of
comprehensive national power (CNP), but the key is the competence of science and technology strength,
and fundamentally speaking, it is the competence of intellectual property rights. The protection level of
intellectual property rights is related to various aspects such as science and technology, law and
economy and so on. It has effect on the status of the nation’s international competitiveness. Specially,
after the entry to the WTO, how to consummate in the aspect of innovation, application, protection and
talent of intellectual property rights deserves paying much attention to.
However, considering the theoretical achievement and the research nowadays, most of the experts
put the emphases on the research of intellectual property rights or innovation, while left behind their
study on the relationship between intellectual property rights and independent innovation directly. In
fact, intellectual property rights just rely on the independent innovation ability.
1.1theory about innovation
Since the nineteenth century there has been three main theories of innovation: the entrepreneur, the
technology-economic, and finally the strategic. Each of these can be linked to a respective stage in the
third, fourth and fifth Kondratiev wave, and paradigm shifts occur at key stages in these waves. As the
fourth Kondratiev wave began, a paradigm shift occurred in economic and sociological writing on
innovation, which put the emphasis squarely on technology as the driving force behind economic
development. This “technology-economic” paradigm, which emphasis technological development as the
instigator of growth and largely ignores the role of the market place in innovation, has been dominant
ever since. However, Sundbo (2001) argues that the strategy theory of innovation is becoming the new
paradigm of innovation, competing with the other two for dominance. Innovation is defined relatively
conventionally as the first business use of something new which results in commercial gain, and
includes produce, process and organizational innovation as well as “a new type of marketing or overall
behavior on the market”.
Such opinion mentioned above is in favor of understanding of “independent innovation”, which
shows in the following text.
1.2theory about intellectual property rights
In the current debate about whether, and to what extent, intellectual property rights should apply to
the information society, many philosophers, non-philosophers, especially law professors working in the
area of intellectual property rights have found Locke’s classic theory of property to support their
respective positions, such as Child (1997), Moore (1997), Gordon and Drassinower’s etc. We all know,
as time goes by, the theory about intellectual property rights is not limited within the narrow area, but
expanded to larger space. Correspondingly, the scholars contend that the consequences of such
expansion will suppress innovation in cyberspace.
The effort to extend property rights has been aptly called the “enclosure” movement. Enclosure
happens when a lengthy proprietary right is assigned to an intellectual work or some other form of
common property so that it becomes unavailable to the public unless they are willing to pay something
like a licensing fee. The extension of property rights to the human genome is often cited as an
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illustration of how common property, belonging to everyone, can become subject to “enclosure”. This
bias toward stronger exclusive rights is both worrisome and a potential threat to our free society.
So, in order to make correct use of intellectual property rights to boost the development of the
society, we need to research on the essence of intellectual property rights, and look on the ones without
fear or favor.
Herein lies the importance of innovation and intellectual property rights towards advancement of
the society and the countless ties between them, some economists analyzes the relationship between
technological innovation and intellectual property rights, but none of independent innovation and
intellectual property rights.
Due to the absence of relevant theory, this study will do further research on independent innovation
and intellectual property rights from the theoretical point of view.
2 Definition of Independent Innovation
2.1 Background
Since reform and opening up, China's economy has been developing rapidly with tremendous
achievements in foreign trade. In 2004, the total import and export volume of China exceeded US$ 1.1
trillion. The country's trade volume jumped to the third in the world, bringing its foreign trade up to a
new level. Speaking of the rate of development, the world trade has increased by 6.4 times from 1978 to
2004 with an average annual growth rate of 6.6%; while China's trade has increased by 56 folds with an
average annual growth rate of 16.8%. Since China's WTO accession three years ago, its import and
export scale has doubled.
While achieving quantitative growth, we have also improved substantively the quality of foreign
trade. Since the implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating trade through science and technology in
1999, the trade in high-tech products has been developing rapidly, with the import and export volume
registering an average annual growth rate of 37%. The share of export of high-tech products in the total
foreign trade has climbed to 28%, more than doubling that of 1998. This year, the total import and
export of high-tech products is expected to reach US$ 400 billion. A number of well-known brands and
enterprises with proprietary intellectual property such as Huawei, Haier and Changhong have emerged
quickly, and the export scale and scope of high-tech products is widening with every year. The constant
development of China's foreign trade in high-tech area has not only promoted development in the
high-tech sector, accelerated industrial restructuring and technological progress, but also opened an
enormous new market to the rest of the world.[1]
In such circumstances, how to enhance the independent innovation ability and gain the intellectual
property rights advantage bulked important in the aspect of sustainable development day by day.
From above, apparently, “independent innovation” is such a conception put forward by our country
according to the development of economy and the society. It is quite different from the notion
technological innovation.
2.2 Discussing about Definition
The contents of independent innovation defined in the State Medium-Long Term Science and
Technology Development Programming include original innovation, integrated innovation and
importing-digesting-absorbing re-innovation.. Independent innovation refers to pay much attention to
digest and absorb the imported technology, at the same time, following and participating in original
innovation or integration innovation.
At the certain degree, the definition above is just the combination of independent innovation and
imitation innovation in traditional technological innovation theory in fact. It enlarges the intension of
primary independent innovation, emphasizes independent principle. And the key of independent
principle is to stick to give priority to me, take pivotal technology in hand, while command the authority
of control and initiative. Such a inimitable meaning mainly comes from “independent”, that is to say,
“who is the executor of independent”, “how to independent” and “the degree of independent”?
First, “who is the executor of independent”? From the state aspect, the executor of independent
should be the Chinese citizen (natural person) or Chinese-funded enterprises, or considering the capital
structure, should be the legal person or impersonal entity that foreign capital does not occupy dominant
——
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status. Second, “how to independent”? On one hand, it includes the innovation activity leaded by the
executor of independent and the achievement brought by the innovation. On the other hand, it includes
the innovation achievement of foreign natural person, legal person or impersonal entity purchased by the
independent domestic natural person or legal person. While it should avoid the effect brought by
primary possessor and realize the commercial value of innovation achievement. Finally, how to
understand the degree of independent? The problem of the degree of independent refers to whether the
innovation achievement relies on the country itself or depends on foreign supply. Since the trend of
economic globalization and technology globalization leads that each country cannot satisfy itself in
innovation achievement on the base of one’s strength entirely, the dream that the country want to rely on
oneself to achieve innovation achievement will be difficult to realize. International comparative research
shows that, different phrase of economy development has different demand of science and technology,
especially science and technology of one’s own country. (As shown in table 1)
Table 1 Phrases of Technological Innovation
Industrialization
phrase
Average GDP
R&D/GDP
Innovation
phrase
Before-industrialization
phrase
First-industrialization
phrase
Second-industrialization
phrase
After-industrialization
phrase
<300 dollars
300 2000 dollars
2000 4750 dollars
>4750 dollars
2%
giving priority to
creating technology
>2%
giving priority to
creating technology
<1%
giving priority to using
technology
～
1%～2%
giving priority to
improving
technology
～
At present, China is in the process of first-industrialization phrase, and demand of science and
technology should come into the phrase of giving priority to digesting, absorbing and improving
technology. Therefore, when emphasizing independent innovation, we should avoid endowing it with
innovation nationalism, or pursuing self-dependence on the knowledge creation, pervasion and
application while denying specialization of the country in knowledge creation, further more, denying
reliance within each country in innovation capacity. Besides, nowadays, technological development and
production mode is turning into module technology and module production day by day. Thus, it brings
infinity opportunity to developing country. For one thing, because the design and improvement of each
module can be conducted separately, each country will bring their own advantage into play in order to
realize module innovation and obtain business profit. For the other thing, the country also can obtain
business profit through module combination mode innovation. Accordingly, the degree of independent
innovation should contain three kinds of innovation: original innovation, integrated innovation and
importing-digesting-absorbing re-innovation.
From above, we can conclude that independent innovation refers to Chinese citizen (natural person),
legal person or impersonal entity seise and control the innovation achievement through the innovation
activity dominating by itself. The innovation achievement not only includes the one which imported by
foreign country, then digested, absorbed and re-innovated by ourselves, but also includes the one
integrated by different innovation achievement and satisfying our demand. Moreover, it means the
innovation activity carried by the enterprise, area, industry or country to gain long-term competitive
advantage through making great efforts to achieve innovation achievement and entire or part dominant
property rights. Whether the definition of independent innovation put forward according to the situation
of China is exact, it needs to be proved.
3 Relationship between Independent Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights
Independent innovation is the comprehensive activity of technology and economy. It is not only the
definition in the range of simple technology, but also the definition emphasizing particularly on
economy. The stress is commercialization from technology to new product. Intellectual property rights
refer to the rights that the persons own by law towards their creationary brainwork fruits. No matter the
protection of trademark, copyright, patent, or technology secret, it is the problem that who own the
innovation achievement, how to use and how to distribute the benefits. Independent innovation needs
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the protection of intellectual property rights, while to gain intellectual property rights advantage also
needs the promotion of independent innovation activity. The two accelerate with each other.
3.1 Independent Innovation Brings along Intellectual Property Rights
3.1.1 Independent innovation and its achievement are the core and basic of the linkage between
independent innovation and intellectual property rights.
Considering the logic relationship, it is that the knowledge innovation comes into being firstly, then
the intellectual property rights. On one hand, in the linkage between independent innovation and
intellectual property rights, the former is the core and basic. On the other hand, the behavior that
intellectual property rights system protects the independent innovation achievement is for the sake of
promoting independent innovation in the final analysis. Thus it can be seen that independent innovation
brings along the development of intellectual property rights system and the acquirement of advantage.
The first patent in human history appeared in Venice in 15th century. The government decided to award
originator a certain monopoly in order to promote the technological development and protect its
advanced industry and commerce. For example, the government authorized a man who invented the lift
pump. Here, the lift pump is the achievement of independent innovation, while the monopoly is
intellectual property right. When conduct the relationship between independent innovation and
intellectual property rights, we must pay much attention to the former, for it is the main aspect of the
contradiction
independent innovation VS intellectual property rights.
3.1.2 Independent innovation and its achievement enrich and enlarge the content and form of intellectual
property rights.
For instance, because the semiconductor integrated circuit developed rapidly, USA took the leading
in formulating the law about the protection of layout of semiconductor integrate circuit. Besides, the
protection of computer program, reprography equipment and etc. also came into being going with the
development of science and technology. USA has already used copyright law to protect computer
program early from 1980. Independent innovation becomes the mostly power of economic increasing
day by day due to extending influence of science and technology, therefore, many new right carrier and
fortune headspring emerged. The achievement of independent innovation enriches the intellectual
property rights resources and expands them to the new field. It is just in favor of the formation of
intellectual property rights resource advantage.
3.2 Intellectual Property Rights Promotes Independent Innovation
3.2.1 Intellectual property rights system is the power and guarantee of independent innovation.
Intellectual property rights system has effect on the process of independent innovation. Intellectual
property rights system leads the innovation so as to collocate innovation resource effectively; it impels
relative innovation executors to observe the innovation rules in order to ensure their benefits; it
promotes the executors to obtain new knowledge, new technology and new technics so as to realize
industrialization of the innovation achievement; and it inspires the enthusiasm of independent
innovation. As we all know, different intellectual property rights system has different impact. Among
them, encourage investment type of intellectual property rights system is propitious to independent
innovation even more.
3.2.2 Intellectual property rights resource is the start and end of independent innovation.
Intellectual property rights resource is provided with three functions towards independent
innovation. Conformity function: Independent innovation not only needs great capital devotion, but
also needs cooperation of the group. Independent executors can make full use of the advantage taken
from intellectual property rights resource to form the participating benefit-pattern and ensure the
progress of innovation activity.
Inspiriting function: The advantage brought by intellectual property
rights resource will inspirit much more invention radically. This becomes the effective inspiring, thus
innovators will be likely to enhance quality, improve service, and pay much attention to new
technological R&D, so as to create new intellectual property rights resource advantage to form good
cycle circumstances.
Steering function: Intellectual property rights resource goes through the whole
process of independent innovation, leading independent innovation activity to win new advantage.
——
①
②
③
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4 Conclusion
After studying meanings of both the independent innovation & the intellectual property rights, we
can conclude that there is a linkage between the two aspects, which refers to producing continual
relations and mutual impact between them. The relationship between the independent innovation & the
intellectual property rights shows below:
IP
system
promote
IP
resource
independent innovation
Bring along
Figure 1 Relationship between Independent Innovation & Intellectual Property Rights
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