A Research on Enterprise Patent Protection and Innovation Strategy

【Abstract】In the 21st century， high-tech serves as the foundation of competitiveness for the whole world， at the same time， intellectual property， especially the patent has become an effective means for an enterprise to participate in the international competition， and intellectual property is also the key strategic resource to gain competitive advantage. In effect， the competition amongst enterprises is mainly concerning the competition of patent technology. Those enterprises with a large number of high level professional powers gain the initiative edge of survival. Therefore， it is vital for the enterprise to adopt the patent protection and innovation strategy， so as to elevate the survival ability and competitiveness of an enterprise.

【Key words】enterprise patent； protection； Innovation Strategy.

Thanks to China's accession to the WTO and the further development of opening-up and reform policy in China ， foreign companies have poured into China， resulting in a cut-throat international competition in the trend of economic globalization. Therefore， enterprises in China should try their best to strengthen their own competitiveness， so as to possess its own position in the market. An enterprise， if and only if it owns its core competitiveness can it gains the initiative edge in the competition， and thus elevating the core competitiveness has become the consensus of enterprises in China. Patent protection is the embodiment of the independent intellectual property rights. Those enterprises with more patents gain more competitiveness.

1. Content of Enterprise Technology Innovation

1.1 The Definition of Enterprise Technology Innovation

Enterprise technology innovation is to introduce new products， new services， new technology and new concept into the market， so as to fulfill the business value. In the process， whether the technology innovation really creates some new value， and whether it is the mode of value accepted by the market， virtually ， it all depends on whether this kind of innovation can be introduced to the market or not.

1.2 Analysis of Enterprise Technology Innovation Ability

Some scholars ， from the perspective of technology innovation resources， regards technological innovation ability as an element or a composition of several elements， and thus economic growth is prompted by the technology innovation as its inner force. Technology innovation ability consists of technology innovation input ability， process capability， enterprise inner and social support， etc. Technology innovation input reflects the competitiveness of enterprise technology innovation activities， and it is realistic reflection of the enterprise technology innovation competitiveness， to a certain extent， it reflects the real level of the technological innovation.

1.3 The Composition of Enterprise Technology Innovation Ability

Enterprise technology innovation ability is an overall function， in that， enterprise technology innovation ability structure elements vary from analysis of different perspectives. From the perspective of organizational behavior ， enterprise technology innovation ability can be regarded as an ability of organization and adaption， innovation and access to information.

2. Analysis of Enterprise Patent Strategy

2.1 Concept and Development of Patent System

Patent System develops with the evolution of commodity production and the emergence and development of science and technology； reasonable legal system is to promote technological progress of the management system. The basic content of this system is ， according to the Patent Law， to make its content public moderately， so as to promote the exchange of information and technology transfer （after the procedure of audition， approval， authorization of a patent of invention） . Patent System has a history of one hundred years ， serving to encourage and protect inventions， prompt industrial and technological progress to play a key role in the world， drawing the attention of all countries. Patent originated from technology development， and at the same time it came into a form with exclusive rights， which is a method adopted by every country.

Based on the analysis of business environment， enterprise technical competition and the internationalization of business activities are the two important characteristics of enterprises； strategic management must go hand in hand with it. Competition is the motive force of enterprise management and the function of the key technology， embodied in the acquisition of the new technology and competitive layer， while the patent is a technology of right transformation.

In the enterprise economic activity， combination of the patent and the enterprise management can accumulate some strategic experience for enterprise patent strategy.

2.2 The Definition of Enterprise Patent Strategy

The patent system gave birth to the Enterprise Patent Strategy， with the popularization and application of international patent system and patent situation of social life. As for the definition of the patent strategy， no consensus has reached yet. Scientific analysis on the patent strategy is to cast a study on the basis of the Patent Capability.

There's a point of view which deems Patent Capability is a kind of patent activity in accordance with the enterprise policy， in that Patent Capability exerts some roles of patent such as strategic attacks， prevention， etc. Therefore， the definition of Patent Strategy can be discussed from the following perspectives：

（1） Patent Strategy is defined as a combination of patent laws and technology， acting as a means to maximize the benefit of the enterprises in the field of technical or economic competition ， with the holistic planning and application.

（2） Patent Strategy is a means of legal protection used by the enterprise in the face of a fierce and cut-throat contact environment； during this process， active use of the patent system is witnessed， and the enterprise also uses other conveniences to protect themselves effectively ； simultaneously， the enterprise uses the patent information to analyze and research the competitors ， intending to promote the development of the patented technology and related patent technology control of the market.

（3） Patent Strategy is an approach of applying both the patent system and information to accomplish optimal economic benefits ， in terms of management and competition.

（4） Patent Strategy is an action plan for the enterprise ， with the greatest degree protection provided by the patent system ， to accelerate its own technical update process and to find a long-term development path， aiming to ensure a safe place in the market competition.

2.3 Features of Enterprise Patent Strategy

（1） Long-term and comprehensiveness

Long-term and comprehensiveness are a feature of enterprise intellectual property strategy. Comprehensiveness refers to the fact that enterprise intellectual property strategy is the comprehensive principle and scheme of the enterprise intellectual property work， in that it carries out the innovation， protection and management of intellectual property rights for enterprises.

（2） The law trait

Intellectual property right is different from intellectual results in that it has to be confirmed by law. Knowing the property rights strategy， an enterprise moves strictly with the legal norms， especially bound by intellectual property law. At present， the internationalization of intellectual property right has become increasingly obvious， and thus has become a weapon in the market competition of all enterprises. Those countries and enterprises controlling the intellectual property right have become more powerful. Enterprise strategy of intellectual property law reflects the effective legal protection of intellectual property strategy and execution of its construction. In fact， the enterprise intellectual property strategy and the protection of intellectual property right is the interactivity of intellectual property right strategy： intellectual property rights strategy protected by law can also allow businesses to be under more effective protection of intellectual property right.

（3） Confidentiality

The implementation of the enterprise intellectual property right strategy involves enterprise economy， science and technology information analysis， market forecast， new trends， and a strategic thinking period of time； if the enterprise has been controlled by its competitors， it will bring bad influence to itself. Therefore， the enterprise intellectual property strategy also has the characteristics of the internal private nature of the business confidentiality.

2.4 Data Analysis

Take Chinese private enterprises as an example， the patent strength of individual enterprise varies from enterprises. According to the relevant statistics ， it is shown that 43% of the Chinese private enterprises had put forward only one relevant patent application， the proportion of which accounts for 57% of all the Chinese enterprises which had put forward only one relevant patent application. There are only 100 or so private enterprises which had put forward professional patent applications for more than 100 cases. The situation is shown by the table below：

Table 1 Number of private companies in each province of

China &the proportion of professional patent

No.of Private companies No.of patents Enterprises proportion of professional patent

Shanghai 4899 23676 17.1%

Guangdong 3456 20122 16.2%

Jiangsu 4678 19503 15.3%

Zhejiang 3246 20748 16.7%

Beijing 2346 3577 3.2%

Shandong 2011 5711 5.1%

Tianjin 890 2489 2.0%

Fujian 1047 3298 3.0%

Chongqing 245 6190 4.9%

Sichuan 832 6177 2.2%

Hubei 908 2641 2.2%

Hunan 678 2999 2.3%

Hebei 563 2756 1.3%

Liaoning 435 1675 1.2%

Henan 532 1432 1.1%

Heilongjiang 421 897 0.6%

Anhui 398 1023 0.9%

Jilin 568 889 1.2%

Shaanxi 356 843 0.7%

Guangxi 432 789 0.5%

Inner Mongolia 156 785 0.4%

Guizhou 232 456 0.4%

Yunnan 210 568 0.2%

Jiangxi 190 786 0.2%

Xinxiang 302 289 0.3%

Shanxi 231 321 0.3%

Ningxia 102 345 0.3%

Gansu 56 101 0.1%

Hainan 52 154 0.1%

Qinghai 13 21 0.1%

Tibet 12 23 0.0%

3. The Role of Patent Protection in Promoting Enterprise Innovation Strategy

3.1 The Significance of Drawing up the Policy of Enterprise Patent Protection

（1） To Meet the Demand of the Sustainable Development

After its entry into the WTO ， China’s enterprises entered into the world environment， leading to the combination between the enterprise market and the international community； China’s enterprises have to pay more attention to expand the international market so as to adapt to the brand new situation. Under the new circumstances， the price war is no longer a strategy for China’s state-owned enterprises to succeed in the international market ， instead ， China’s state-owned enterprises should focus on cultivating the enterprise's core patent and well-known trademarks. This is due to the fact that in the era of knowledge economy ， the success of an enterprise is no longer about labor and capital， rather ， the advantage of patent technology plays a decisive role. The international market development for an enterprise cannot go smoothly without the patent protection.

（2） To prevent the loss of state-owned assets

Enterprises lack of patent consciousness， combined with the obstacles between scientific research system and patent system， resulting in some companies’ failing to transfer scientific research achievements into patent results， and this phenomenon is very common. Therefore， it is of realistic significance to draw up related patent protection system to optimize the enterprise scientific research.

3.2 The Role of Patent Protection in Promoting Enterprise Innovation Strategy

Innovation Strategy Technology refers to the research and development of new technology and new products； its purpose is to seize the market， to get a new high economic value. Enterprises are the key carrier of technology innovation， in which technological inventions crop up continuously. The essential characteristics of the proprietary and patented technology are being the company's intangible assets， and so is the enterprise core competitive ability. Enterprise patent， acting as a part of the whole， is also closely related to the innovation strategy， playing a positive role on technology innovation.

（1） To Stimulate the Creation and Invention

In the era of knowledge economy， the competition between enterprises is the competition of science and technology. Only those companies with the technology innovation strategy can keep the position in the market competition， otherwise they are unable to survive. Therefore， in order to stimulate the creativity of the staff， promoting the technology innovation is a “must”. The patent system serves as a motivation means for important inventions. Thanks to the patent system， the inventors in the market economy can make good use of the patent right ， in accordance with the law， to continue to engage in creative work with a greater proportion of revenue from patent right.

（2） To Allocate Technological Innovation Resources in a Reasonable Manner.

Technology innovation resources include research and development funds， equipments as well as human resources. In order to implement the policy of innovation technology， enterprises should establish resource foundation of innovation； with the efficient allocation of resources of science and technology patent protection system， enterprises can improve the level of the starting point of research and development and thus avoid waste. Patent system can effectively avoid the low level repeated construction by development of effective technical resources. Innovations in the patent development， on the other hand， maintaining and promoting the effective allocation and multiplexing technology resources are the result of industrialization， to a certain extent， leading to the increase of the production efficiency of research and development investment.

（3） To Patentize the Technology

The patent protection of new technology， through the review， can give the patent law protection in some related aspects. This power can be embodied in the following two aspects： first， the protection of the invention itself； Second， to protect and occupy the market. No matter it’s a patent application or a patented technology， this kind of technology is under the protection of the law， regardless of its form in the public. Similar products with a patent have the exclusive right in the market and thus without the patentee’ approval or authorization， anyone can not produce or shall enjoy the rights of selling these patented products. Therefore， patent casts a very important role in market protection.

（4） To Capitalize the Scientific and Technological Achievements.

Patents ， similar to tangible property assets， is a kind of intangible assets， and both of them can be traded and capitalized. Furthermore ， patent ， in the knowledge economy environment， is not only an asset， it can also create more assets. In developed countries， there are a lot of the companies' intangible assets account for more than sixty percent of total assets， leading to the fact that the competition between the enterprises has transferred into the competition of multiple patents. In agricultural economy， the society values were both land and labor， whilst in the industrial economy ， the society values equipments and skilled labor； in the knowledge economy， society is based on and thus values a great deal the patents and intellectual brains.

4. Analysis on Innovation Strategy

4.1 The Technology Innovation Strategy

Enterprises should carry out the development for market-oriented demand together with access to a multitude of researches. At first ， patent document retrieval is very essential. Based on their related field ， enterprises should track， understand， and then fully understand a new technical field of patent technology development， so as to carry out the development of feasibility analysis， including the follow-up development and expanding the value of the work. The application of the patent document provides the following three aspects： first， the material-analysis-technology centered system， which provides a technical problem： What are the alternative technologies？ Second， with the inventor and applicant as a center， technical development and organizational form can be rendered， and also， multiple enterprise's development and the status can be provided as well. Third， the time-centered analysis can be provided for the origin and development of a technology. The comprehensive analysis of the material system can， to a certain extent， not only improve the accuracy of information control， but also lift their productivity with the new technology and new ideas.

4.2 The Imitation Innovation Strategy

Enterprises with relatively poor technology tend to prompt the growth by means of introducing patented technology. Companies， by virtue of buying patent technology of others， elevate the comprehensive competitiveness of enterprises and their very own innovation ability. Imitation innovation refers to blending some new researches into the development of the purchased patent technology so as to make its further perfect， yet it is not allowed to completely apply other’s original technology. The matter is that Imitation Innovation is intended to polish the products and the technical features of the different characteristics of the original patent technology， in other words， to polish the product layers flash. Enterprises can improve some technical characteristics of patent application， or they can sign a contract with the other party， in that both of the parties agree that this patent can be used with no charge. Therefore， the imitation innovation is a slow and gradual innovation behavior. Both imitation innovation and technology development have a very strong pertinence， and they also have certain risk aversion competition， in fact， the independent innovation strategy is appropriate and suitable for enterprises， whilst the risk of the imitation innovation strategy is relatively lower.

4.3 Strategic Innovation of New ， Small Style

Innovation strategy reflects the enterprises’ economic growth， and it serves also as a kind of embodiment of sustainable development. The issues of how to carry out innovation and where the starting point located is should be based on a detailed and specific analysis， according to the actual circumstances of the enterprise. It follows， therefore， the “combat readiness” of technological innovation， does not necessarily mean some “decent” or “state-of-the-art” high-tech or know-how. It goes without saying that those important influence on the process of human development is a kind of innovation， but nonetheless， a kind of new， small innovation is also a reform of innovation type， which is combined with the enterprise comprehensively and its focus is ， as a business， how does an enterprise find the key point， so as to meet the needs of the market. Enterprises can actively explore and exploit some application developments by means of those public patents. Other than that， enterprises can create small patents based on others’ technology， so as to form a cross licensing asymmetric situation. And more importantly， this method can break through the technological monopoly so as to force the competitors’ basic patent technology loses their patent technology development edge in the outer peripheral.

4.4 Independent Innovation

The creation of new technology and new knowledge is not only the need of the emerging of social development， but also a “must” for those enterprises which intend to survive in the competition and development， and more importantly ， the invention of new technology and new knowledge lay a solid foundation for the market advantage and technical advantage of an enterprise. This means that an enterprise should foster a mindset of a strategic technology based on the product development innovation thinking way. First of all， China’s enterprises should give up the thinking mode of imitating technique way and maximize the investigating into the content of the innovation and have a thorough understanding of the current technology， so as to find out the existing problems and address them accordingly. Furthermore， the qualitative thinking towards existing technology should be avoided， and only by doing this ， the new technical solutions can be come up with. China’s enterprises should also pay attention to the benchmark in that they should manage to lift their own starting point， striving to improve technology and technological innovation. It is significant that these enterprises should progress hand in hand with the latest technology and technological innovation ， by virtue of making the best use of their own advantages and technological edge. Apart from that， China’s enterprises should accelerate the development and innovation process of science and technology， so as to accomplish their very own independent intellectual property rights， as well as the patent technology with market competition ability， and only by doing so can the enterprises obtain and maintain a certain market share in the domestic， and even in the international market. Finally， China’s enterprises should attach great importance to technological innovation. As a matter of fact， technology innovation of an enterprise should pay attention to the originality， not only gratify the actual needs of the enterprise in the future competition， but also， at the same time， when fulfilling the technology innovation， the enterprises should pay attention to the alternative of other path. Ultimately， avoiding the homogeneity of technology is the essence of technology innovation.

5. Conclusion

A conclusion can be drawn based on the above analysis and exploration that enterprise's patent protection is a brand new mechanism linking the imitation mode and the patent protection mode. Along with the increase of the technical innovation ability， especially the increase of basic research and development ability， this sort of imitation innovation mode of patent protection system are anticipated to be reformed step by step. Secondly， the latitude of patent protection， to a certain extent， should be expanded so as to elevate the level of the upstream innovation technology protection. Thirdly， China’s enterprises should ensure the promotion of basic research and development， as well as the original major technical innovation. Last but not least， the requirements for the level of the patent protection innovation should be highly elevated at the same time， in other words， enterprises should lower the protection scale for those practical new patents with low requirements level of innovation， so as to encourage the enterprises to carry out the innovation strategy， leading to the patents better protected through the technology advance.

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Category of Subject： the national teachers' scientific research fund “twelfth five-year” planning of national key subject education scientific research

Project Name： safety prevention of the campus accident； research for problem processing and addressing

Project Number： GD0066

Unit of the Subject： Guangzhou College of Technology and Business

Study leader： Wang Zhen-gang Zeng Sumei

Author introduction： name： Zeng Sumei， date of birth： 1974-12-27， gender： female， native place： Hunan， Degree： Master， the current job title： lecturer， research direction： economic law （intellectual property）， working place and zip code： Guangzhou College of Technology and Business， 510850