The newly revised Patent Law was formally implemented, and the patent open license system was included in it for the first time, which clarified the principle of voluntary, paid and revocable patent open license, and provided a specific path for the transformation of high-value patents owned by universities. China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued "Several Opinions on Improving the Patent Quality in Colleges and Universities and Promoting the Transformation and Application", which clearly stated that it is necessary to strengthen policy guidance and innovate the licensing model of patent transformation in colleges and universities. Under this background, South China University of Technology took the lead in trying to promote patent open licensing in Guangdong Province, and actively explored and practiced new paths of patent transformation in colleges and universities by holding patent open licensing conferences and project roadshows.
Innovative model for solving problems
In my opinion, there are two main reasons for the low patent conversion rate in colleges and universities. One reason is that there is an information barrier between universities and markets. Patents are the product of scientific research, and universities with scientific research as their main purpose often know less about the needs of enterprises; Enterprises with economic benefits as their core goal need new technologies to improve productivity. Universities don't know what kind of patented technology enterprises need, and enterprises don't know what adaptive patents universities have. There is an obstacle between supply and demand.
Another reason is that the patent conversion process in colleges and universities is complicated. The process of patent transformation involves evaluation and pricing, negotiation of legal terms, listing of related party transactions, etc. However, the protection mechanism of state-owned assets adopted by colleges and universities often makes the patent transformation time-consuming and complicated. At the same time, most researchers focus on scientific research and have insufficient awareness of patent transformation. University researchers apply for patents for research results. For most researchers, patent authorization means that the patent process has been completed. Therefore, unless enterprises actively consult about patent conversion, researchers rarely promote patented technology to the market.
The implementation of the patent open licensing system has solved the above problems to some extent. Patent open license refers to the patentee's clear patent license fee and voluntary declaration to license any unit or individual to exploit its patent. In order to improve the enthusiasm of scientific researchers to implement patent transformation, China's patent law also makes it clear that during the implementation of the open license, the annual patent fee paid by the patentee will be reduced accordingly. This innovative licensing model directly narrows the distance between enterprises and universities, and effectively improves the feasibility of patent transformation between enterprises and universities.
Open licensing has unique advantages.
The author believes that in order to stimulate the internal vitality of high-value patents, solve the problem of low patent conversion rate and raise the awareness of intellectual property protection, we should start from the following four aspects and give full play to the advantages of patent open licensing system.
The first is to adopt online mode to improve communication efficiency. In the past, the biggest problem of patent transformation in colleges and universities was the lack of communication with the market, and the lack of matching channels for mutual understanding of patents between schools and enterprises was quite troublesome. The biggest advantage of online mode is the fast communication speed. By issuing the special edition of open license in official website, enterprises, as demanders, can quickly understand the effective information of university patents, accurately delimit the patent scope and reduce the communication cost. At the same time, colleges and universities, as suppliers, can understand the market demand for patents through special editions and collect patents in related fields in a timely and targeted manner. As a result, the interaction channel between supply and demand between schools and enterprises has been opened, and the efficiency of patent matching between the two sides has also been greatly improved.
The second is to increase the number of patent licenses and reduce license fees. Compared with other licensing methods, the price of open licensing is lower, even free in stages. 202 1, Zhejiang made the first exploration on the free patent open licensing system. The first batch of 36 oauth2.0 patents issued by South China University of Technology, the licensing price is about one-sixth or even lower than other licensing models. This is because, on the one hand, the patent law clearly stipulates that during the implementation of the patent opening license, the annual patent fee paid by the patentee will be reduced accordingly, which compensates the economic interests of the patentee to some extent; On the other hand, patent open licensing is open to a wider range of potential enterprises, and its licensing times can far exceed other licensing modes. If the patent adopts other licensing modes, it may only be licensed to a few enterprises. However, through the open licensing model, the number of licensed enterprises may increase greatly, and the exchange of quantity for price can equal or even exceed the benefits brought by other licensing models. At the same time, it helps to reduce the trial and error cost of enterprise technological innovation, and plays a great role in encouraging small and micro enterprises to innovate and upgrade their industries.
Third, adopt e-commerce mode to simplify licensing procedures. Patent open license adopts a thinking mode similar to e-commerce, that is, once an enterprise meets the patent and pays the license fee as required, it is regarded as an automatic transaction between the two parties and can enjoy the rights and interests of open license. Compared with other licensing models, open licensing does not require multiple rounds of negotiations and consultations on contract terms, nor does it need to be audited by multiple institutions and departments. For enterprises and universities, this model greatly simplifies the procedure from intention to transaction; On the other hand, because the contract terms are unified and clear, the probability of intellectual property disputes between the two parties is reduced, and the efficiency of solving intellectual property disputes will be greatly improved. At the same time, for researchers in colleges and universities, this "trusteeship" trading model has alleviated the worries and anxieties of researchers about patent transformation in the early stage.
Finally, enhance the awareness of intellectual property protection and avoid the risk of intellectual property infringement. For a long time, the low patent conversion rate is one of the important reasons for the weak awareness of intellectual property protection. On the one hand, researchers in colleges and universities must pay an annual fee to maintain the validity of patent rights. The longer the service life, the higher the annual fee. If the patent is not transformed for a long time, researchers will often be forced to give up the patent when the patent is difficult to maintain, and the direct consequence is that the patent will become invalid and lose protection. On the other hand, enterprises, especially small and micro enterprises, often fail to do a good job in patent layout because of various practical problems, such as difficult matching patents, high patent conversion costs, complicated conversion procedures and so on. In the process of growing up, enterprises face the risk of being sued for infringement because of their weak patent base. Therefore, upgrading patent transformation is an important measure to promote the awareness of intellectual property protection between schools and enterprises. The patent open licensing system can solve the problem of maintaining patent fees for researchers to a certain extent, reduce the risk of potential intellectual property disputes in the future, and enhance the awareness of intellectual property protection in the whole society.