Sep 21, 2005

Articles in journals

Mendonça, S.

10

5

Intellectual property management has become a centrepiece in global corporate strategy. A key characteristic of large innovating firms today is the diversified nature of their technology portfolio. Patents in new generic technologies such as information & communication technologies, drugs & biotechnology and new materials have soared since the early 1980s. This is also true for unrelated industries, a phenomenon known as technological diversification. This paper focuses of the empirical patterns evolution of patenting by the largest industrial companies from Europe, Japan and the US. Implications of this multi-technology trend for IP offices and small and medium-sized firms from catching-up countries are explored.