“Quicklook” Assessment of Greater Adelaide's Assets & Challenges ...

• To get access to the EU, you have to have a plant there.
• One company bought entry into the market by buying a US company.
Case Study
Example:Aspect computing: developed a software product that was built primarily for
IBM mainframes and was built to be used with IS400 computers, so a large part of their
business was global (because it wasn’t used in Australia), last year they formed the
offshoot company called Lancer. A number of cases have been where Australian
companies have built great software, but it is very quick to saturate the market in
Australia. Need to sell a lot of software to remain solvent. Biggest market in the world is
the US. If the Australian company builds a company in US, the product tends to get
dictated by the US company. The effect of globalization is that the control tends to leave
Australia and go to the US. If you have something in place to maintain the control, it
makes it easier to keep control in Aus.
Middle eastern companies are now starting to require a unique solution that serves
them.
IP: As an importer of goods, IP is an ongoing problem, particularly with source code.
Local adaptation because our threat is unique to the world. The government will want the
ability to modify and maintain the system. Legal framework is in place.
• One of the problems is that the legal structure is long and expensive to test it out.
They tend to give out source code – they are not allowed to sell it or license it to
anyone else.
• Government doesn’t want to own IP, just have rights to it.
• They want to support and maintain it for the next 30 years. In order to compete
support, they want the right to unsupply your IP to a 3 rd party and most companies
say ‘no’
• Australian government is fairly timid on pursuing IP issues – even when it is done,
it is done far too late.
• It is politically sensitive in that there are bigger issues to worry about – like free
trade, so there is not an emphasis on IP in new technology areas.
• US companies have to get approval to export their IP from Australia.
• Aus has to get export approval just like US, but they are a smaller nation and it is
a lot easier – you can almost walk it through the department.
• Project: concept was developed by the group here, went back through US to
ensure that this was allowed to be exported, part of the process was to determine
it was OK for Aus to sell it, but the US did not want to be seen selling it.
• Defense and aerospace industries tend to not really push to get IP
Facilitators
• Their member organizations work cooperatively to gain business – they form
‘clusters’
• Work closely with industry and trade
• Provide background scenarios so that members can network – enabling members
to win business that they might not have on their own
• It is less expensive to do business in Adelaide (as opposed to Sydney/Melbourne)
• Engineers are world class and get a broad base of experience
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