ABSTRACT
Multinational corporations have traditionally been noted for their predilection for industrial secrecy and jealously guarded patents. They have gradually reconciled themselves to paying for Western licences, treating it as a reasonable contribution to covering a portion of the research and development involved. The total number of licence contracts concluded annually is about 40,000, valued at $2,000m., and trade in licences has been rising about three times as fast as merchandise trade. However, the Socialist countries’ trade in licences has been growing 3-4 times faster than their visible trade. In Poland nearly one-tenth of industrial output is produced on the basis of Western licences, and experience has shown that expenditure on licences yields export earnings 4.6 times larger. Furthermore a good deal of publicity is given in Socialist literature to the sale of licences to capitalist firms, particularly if well-known Western multinational corporations are involved.
