Title: The wealth of knowledge: converting intellectual property to intellectual capital in co-opetitive research and technology management settings

Authors: Elias G Carayannis, Jeffrey Alexander

Addresses: Management of Science, Technology and Innovation Program, Department of Management Science, School of Business and Public Management, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. Vice President, Washingon Core, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA

Abstract: The emerging global trends in intellectual property (IP) commercialisation and intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement and harmonisation, such as technology globalisation, ||niching||, and licensing strategies, the diffusion of IPR standards and the divergence of IPR enforcement practices, are components of an emerging view of the importance of intellectual capital in corporate and national competitiveness. This paper presents the role of IPR enforcement and harmonisation and IP commercialisation strategies in a global, intra and inter firm and industry context. IP management is examined from the perspectives of the knowledge management and technology management fields, paradigms that facilitate rather than impede research collaborations in co-opetitive, technology-driven environments. Intellectual property rights (IPR) are shown to be the emerging currency of the global, knowledge-based economy and the intellectual property (IP) audit is a key strategic competitive ||weapon|| for firms.

Keywords: intellectual property rights; intellectual capital, knowledge management; knowledge economics; co-opetition; trust; technology management; technology strategy; research collaboration; harmonisation of intellectual property rights; protection standards.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1999.002769

International Journal of Technology Management, 1999 Vol.18 No.3/4, pp.326-352

Published online: 06 Jul 2003 *

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