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In the past, the main purpose of patent registration was simply for a company to protect their invented technologies. In the last twenty years, however, their recognition of patent has changed. Today, Japanese companies are seeing the importance of intellectual property rights and promoting licensing or cross-licensing to lead to further innovation.
In the 1980s, Japanese manufactures dominated the world market with competitive products by their own well-established manufacturing system. Through the introduction of advanced Western technologies after the Second World War, Japan had constructed its own manufacturing base, focusing on large-scale mass production. For decades, this had supported the rapid economic growth. In the 1990s, however, that growth came to an end. Other Asian countries had made big advances. Thanks to lower labor costs, improved production techniques and advanced information technology, they were able to produce products, with reasonable quality at more competitive price, and penetrated into the Japanese market to some extent. As a result, Japan's manufacturers had to relocate their factories to other Asian countries, such as China, which triggered deterioration of Japan's industries in part.
These drastic socio-economic changes brought about the new stream of intellectual property. The lack of encouragement of technological innovation had prevented Japan's continuous economic growth and damaged its international competitiveness. To try to solve this problem, Japan launched its pro-patent policy, as the United States had done in the 1980s. In 1998 Japan enacted the Law Promoting Technology Transfer from Universities to Industry (the TLO law), an umbrella law with 36 TLOs working under it. The government also brought in the Revised Industrial Revitalization Law (similar to the U.S. Bayh-Dole Act), and came out with new programs such as Business Innovation Research (similar to the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research program), and "1000 Ventures Born in Universities." Japan has become aware of the importance of intellectual property, and last year enacted the Intellectual Property Basic Law, to protect creative and intellectual property and to encourage industrial development.
The Organic Waste Recycling System is a good example of JAXA's intellectual property. Moreover, JAXA has many others that have the great potential for immediate commercial application. One example is our "Light-Weight Heat-Insulating Resin Composition", which was invented in the course of the development of a new rocket faring. This material has excellent adhesiveness, strength and heat-resistance, and is expected to be used in electric heaters, other heating apparatus, and building materials. Another example is "Products on Low Density Thermal Protection System". This is quite a new technology that makes it easy to create low-density homogeneous porous thermal insulation structure - which is heat resistant and heat-shock resistant to over 1200 degrees(c) - something that was impossible in the past.
Last October, JAXA's Industrial Collaboration Department formed a special team to promote the use of intellectual property. For more information, please visit the Industrial Collaboration site. (Japanese only)
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Light-weight insulating resin composite outer coating on space machinery
Highly efficient thermal insulation structure which can withstand super-high temperature |
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