Benchmarking National - PRO INNO Europe

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BENCHMARKING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SMES IN THE FIELD OF INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
The Japanese TLO system seems to have achieved respectable success since it has
been implemented: Patent applications increased from less than 300 in 1999 to
1054 in 2005; the amount of license revenue created increased almost by a factor
of 20. There seem to be, however, differences in the perception of experts on how
far reaching the success of the TLO actually is. Kneller, for example, maintains that
it has to be kept in mind that the figures still fall short in absolute terms when
compared to the US (Kneller, 2007). The recruitment of able staff is in his view
most likely a challenge in Japan: “…TLO personnel will have to come up the learning
curve in terms of being able to communicate with university researchers and market
inventions.” (Kneller, 2007). By contrast, other experts interviewed in the course
of the underlying benchmarking study see exactly the TLO´s performance in
attracting expert staff as the big success story of the Japanese TLOs.
Literature indicates that in terms of support aimed directly at SMEs, a number of
institutions have been pegged for putting the national IP strategy to practice. Table 8
lists the main actors mentioned and their respective major activity and field of
support. Noteworthy are the existence of a national centre for IP training and the
large portfolio of services of the Japanese Patent Office.
The European experience has shown that webpages, services descriptions or
strategy papers alone offer relatively little insight into the actual performance of the
services, and that hard fact evidence is needed. In this context, opinions about how
well certain services offered in Japan are doing varied considerably.
Table 8 Public institutions in Japan mentioned in literature to provide IPR
support services to SMEs
Institution Abbreviation
Organisation for Small and
Medium Enterprises and
regional Innovation
Japan Institute of Invention
and Innovation
Activity fields for support services
offered for SMEs
SMRJ Advice on strategic IP management
JIII Consultation services on IP issues
Awareness raising seminars/workshops on
IP
Patent information search services
Application advisors (working throughout
the country)
Licensing advisors (working throughout
the country)
National Centre for
NCIPI Consultation services on IP issues
Industrial Property
Information and Training
Awareness raising seminars/workshops on
IP
Japanese Patent Office JPO Consultation services on IP issues
Awareness raising seminars/workshops on
IP
Patent information search services
Application advisors (working throughout
the country)
Licensing advisors (working throughout
the country)
Exemptions for SMEs concerning patent
filing costs
Patent Offices of the
Regional Bureaus of
Economy, Trade and
Industry, and SMRJ
Source: Sathirakul, 2006
— Consultation services on IP issues