ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to clarify the evolution of corporate patent management in Japan, which is one of the institutional frameworks for international technology transfer. It has been recognized that an intellectual property rights system is essential for international technology transfer, 1 especially for countries which hope to adopt foreign technologies. 2 We should appreciate however, that the institutionalization of laws is different from their materialization. The intellectual property system of each country is substantially embodied within the corporate patent management of that country, and its mechanisms and features vary according to the manner of economic development, the adoption and outflow of technology, the extent of competition, corporate strategy, economic friction, and so on (see Figure 3.1). Here, we are able to open up an approach to a global business history through the analysis of corporate patent management. 3 In the case of Japan, the corporate patent management system was transferred as an institution for, and coincidentally with international technology transfer, by multinational enterprises (MNEs).
