Exploring the survival of patent licensing: some evidence from French foreign agreements

This paper aims to determine the factors that impact on the duration of technology licensing contracts. Using a transaction costs framework, we derive some propositions related to the influence of the contractual safeguards and of institutions on the failure rate of such agreements. We conduct an empirical investigation based on a new dataset of 250 contracts from the French National Institute of Intellectual Property. We show that the actual duration of licensing agreements (a) is positively associated to their profitability and to the level of technological competition, (b) is positively associated to the presence of a renegotiation clause, and (c) is independent of other contractual or institutional safeguards.     

Conjoint analysis of R&D contract agreements for industry-funded university research

Since the late nineteenth century, universities have been regarded as useful sources of technological development to stimulate economic activity. Therefore, many governments have encouraged research collaborations between universities and industries. A consequence of such collaboration in Korea, however, is that university researchers have difficulty claiming ownership of their technological developments. Typical contracts used in academia in Korea have biased benefits for industries. Research and development contract agreements that decrease negotiation efforts between the sectors of academia and industry are essential to increase the efficiency of industry-academia collaborations. In order to determine an optimal contract design, we use conjoint analysis of four attributes, including policies of ownership and compensation, indemnity responsibility, patent application and maintenance fees, and publication restrictions. The resulting preferences take into account the perspectives of both industry and academia. We expect our approach to contribute to increasingly healthy collaborations between industry and academia, which in turn will benefit industrial competition as well as the Korean economy.     

Research expenditures,technology transfer activity,and university licensing revenue

In this paper we relate university licensing revenues to both university research expenditures and characteristics of the university and the university technology transfer office. We apply the Hausman–Taylor estimator for panel data with time-invariant explanatory variables and the Arellano–Bover dynamic panel model to unbalanced panels for the years 1991–2003 and balanced panels for the years 1995–2003. We find conflicting evidence regarding the short-term impacts of research expenditures on licensing revenues. On the other hand, both early initiation of technology transfer programs and staff size increase expected licensing revenues. Staff size and early entry appear to be substitutes, however. One-year lagged licensing revenue has strong predictive power for current licensing revenue. Further research is necessary to analyze changes in technology transfer office efficiency over time and the contribution of technology transfer to larger university missions.     

The effectiveness of licensing

Suggesting that licensing may not only fail to accomplish its intended purpose, but may be counterproductive, the author asserts that licensing may not improve the quality of professional services, that licensing boards fail to discipline unethical or incompetent practitioners, and that actions taken against the unlicensed are more often aimed at eliminating competition, not incompetence. In addition, licensing laws may have negative side effects, including an increase in the cost of professional services, the creation of shortages and maldistributions in supply, ineffective use of paraprofessionals, and impediments to needed reforms in education, training, and services. He concludes that equally effective alternatives may be available that are less expensive and have less negative impact, and advocates a system of registration for all practitioners, as well as making other suggestions to improve the overall functioning of licensing boards. Finally, because of political realities, the author proposes a compromise between his ideal model and the current system.     

The strategic value of new university technology and its impact on exclusivity of licensing transactions: An empirical study

Commercialization of new university technology within the new product development process is an important tool by which established firms can expand their innovative capabilities. The strategic importance of the university technology to the firm, however, can vary considerably. An exclusivity agreement is a useful tool to protect the firm’s investment and help ensure that value is appropriated through the commercialization process. An empirical study of 66 technology transfer projects in the information and communications technology industry reveals that licensing transactions are usually secured by some form of exclusivity agreements when the product innovation enabled by the new university technology is new-to-the-firm or new-to-the-market and the firm’s perception of the strategic value of the new technologies is high.      

The effectiveness of international environmental agreements

Many argue that international environmental agreements (IEAs) can alter states’ cost-benefit analyses by providing crucial information about the costs of environmental degradation. Thereby, IEAs may help to effectively curb environmental pollution. However, previous attempts to empirically measure institutional effectiveness found it difficult to provide credible estimates because they have missed to produce convincing counterfactuals. This study empirically estimates the effectiveness of one prominent example of an international environmental institution, the Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution agreement (LRTAP). It sets forth a transparent identification strategy in light of latest advancements in the causal inference literature and presents evidence for the non-effectiveness of the LRTAP in changing member states’ behavior in terms of anthropogenic emissions of two substances (NO _x and SO₂). By deriving and illustrating the use of difference-in- differences (DID) design in the context of IEAs, this study provides a general methodological tool kit to drawing causal inferences about the effectiveness of international environmental institutions.     

Unwanted cohabitation agreements

Given the predominant role in American law of cohabitation agreements in protecting cohabitants, this Article presents an informal study that measured attitudes toward such agreements. The results confirm the literature findings that people generally are not inclined to want cohabitation agreements upon cohabitation. Further studies might explore the reasons for the unpopularity of cohabitation agreements and the ways to improve the protection of cohabitants, and this Article offers potential considerations.     

III ‐ International agreements

Constitutions guarantee certain rights and freedoms. The formulation of these rights and freedoms are predicated on society. Prior to colonisation, Maori (the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand) had effective legal, social and political structures, premised on Tikanga Maori (Maori custom), which determined their ‘constitution’. Upon colonisation the existing ‘constitution’, determined by Tikanga Maori, was not recognised and, arguably, colonisation contributed to the break down of the Maori social fabric. Critics advocate that the disproportionate social statistics, indicating that Maori are over represented in the criminal justice system, are a manifestation of colonisation. The National-led government is engaging in a review of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements. In light of New Zealand’s recent endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is timely to consider whether the implementation of, and return to, Tikanga Maori is a constitutional right.