Research On Relationship Between Patent Strategy And Core Competence

In the knowledge-based times, the competition of intellectual property rights is the highest form in the existence and development of high tech enterprises. Presently, multinational firms overseas occupy the superiority of intellectual property rights. They gain huge economic benefit through inventing, holding, licensing and transferring the intellectual property rights. Moreover, product not moving and patent advancing has become the core strategy of multinational firms in contesting for the global market. Under the background of economic globalization, intellectual property rights take the strategic core position in the global system of WTO. WTO links Chinese and the whole world closely and Chinese market has become one part of the global market.At present Chinese economy develops fast. China has become one of the most important manufacturing industry bases in the world. But Chinese enterprises have poor patents in quantity and quality. Unforturately, they neglect the research of patent strategy because of busing in the price war. Therefore, Made in China mostly lies in the lower industry chains. They not only gain lower profit, but also at times face the patent trap of foreign comparies. Multinational firms are circling fast in Chinese patent field, which reduces the technology innovation space of Chinese enterprises and constructs the technological monopoly and market control. This will cause the restriction of the intellectual property rights from developed countries to the structure adjustment and technological development Chinese enterprises. If Chinese enterprises continue to pace up and down in elementary stage of patent strategy, th y will almost have no space in market competition. Chinese enterprises must have independent intellectual property rights and strategic competition ability relying on technology innovation.Patent strategy and core competence are both the hots ots in the field of theory. Developed countries such as Europe, U.S.A and Japan have achieved much in the research of patent strategy management. Chinese scholars have studies in regional (state) patent strategy, the importance and the implementation of patent strategy. The practice and theory circle have raise high tide in the research of core competence from the viewpoint of knowledge, resource, technology, organization, system and culture. Patent strati gy focuses on theexterior industrial environment of enterprises while core competence pays attention to the interior special resources and ability construction. They reveal different parts of competitive advantages respectively. Joint application of the two theories may overcome their conflict and respective one-sidedness and is helpful to comprehensive analysis of competitive advantages. This is also important theoretically and practically to construct the patent strategy based on core competence.This paper analyzes and probes into the relationship between patent strategy and core competence from the viewpoint of legal system, technology innovation and market management. The author thinks that patent strategy is a kind of overall planning to enhance innovation ability and core competence of enterprises and to maximize the benefit faced with market demand and technological tendency of competitors. Patent strategy must utilize the legal, economic and technological resource advantages related with patent and united with competitive strategies. The implementation of patent strategy is a systematic engineering. Therefore, patent strategy should also be one important part of overall development strategies of enterprises and the important guarantee of technology innovation. Resource and ability are two elements to forming core competence of patent strategy.Patent law strategy endows the enterprise with some kind of competitive advantage of monopoly status. What is its essence? What patent law endows right holders is both right and power. The monopoly of patent lies in protection pattern and the scope of validity of the patent. Patent law is the balance mechanism of the price of the public technological method. Patent monopoly occurs based on the use of technological method. From the economic angle, patent monopoly may be looked on as the exclusive economic control advantages depending upon patent and patent management. Monopoly is the prerequisite of innovation. Competition can achieve optimal condition only when competition and monopoly is connected. Enterprises must fully utilize the characteristic and functions of patent and patent system to gain the biggest market benefit and regulate competitors.Enterprises can have their own core technology through utilizing platform strategy. They can maintain the continuous innovation depending on the basic patent, which core technology brings. Patent platform strategy is referred to the long-term development planning of patent and relative technology supporting product platform and technology platform in order to better satisfy customerdemand and gain sustainable competitive advantages. It will olay a significant role in the development of enterprise's strategy, managemei t and technology innovation. It is one of the most powerful technology inn< vation strategies. Patent platform strategy not only has the competitiveness of low-cost and differentiation of mass customization but has the competitive ^ss of innovation based on time: sustainable, leading and fast competitive advar ages in the R&D. It will also have the competitive advantages based on space in the technology innovation and technology transferring.Enterprises' patents obtain the widespread use along with the popularization of standard. The promoters and formulators of patent stan* ard may possibly become the market monopoly of highest degree, greatest scop* and biggest scale. Patent standard strategy is referred on as the overall plannin to seek favorable positions and to maximize benefits in the competition of tech ology and market. Jt unifies the competitive advantages of patent and standar 1. And enterprises always need to consider customer demand and their own dev lopment strategies in the utilization of patent standard strategy. The competi ive advantages of market entry of patent standard strategy are showed by or taining technology monopoly and technology regulations. Obtaining increased benefit of demand scale through network externality shows its competitive ad vantages of market scale. Qualcomm of USA is a good example.Modern patent strategy management should be one dnd of brand-new management idea and method. The integration management means that the idea and method of integration are innovatively applied to the pr< cess of enterprises' management. It includes the ideas and methods such as itrategic strategies, management pattern and organization way as well as the tec hnological methods supporting the former. It is the organic synthesis of i leas, methods and technological methods. Integration management of patent str;tegy is looked on as the integration of function strategies such as legal, manageri il and technological strategies related with patent strategy. Its key is the integi ation of innovation elements of patent technology. It will make the overall functi tn of patent strategy come up with a leap in quality. Technology, competiti ?n, innovation and knowledge-based economy bring about the formation of inte ^ration management of patent strategy. Its core competence stems from the a ality of knowledge innovation based on knowledge strategy management of enter >rises.