Key Concepts

International technological exchange; commercial and non-commercial forms of technological exchange; tangible and intangible types of technologies; product licenses; know-how; licensing agreements; license fees; engineering; consulting engineering; consulting engineering; terms of engineering services.

Essence and forms of international technological exchange

International technological exchange (technology transfer) is understood as the totality economic relations different countries about the transfer of scientific and technological achievements.

The development of the international technology market (international technological exchange) is due to the acceleration scientific and technological progress(NTP). Expansion of research and development work (R&D) requires huge financial costs, expensive equipment, and highly qualified personnel. This forces firms to participate in the international scientific and technical division of labor. The rapid development of trade in technology, scientific and technical knowledge is largely associated with significant * differences in the technical level of individual countries. In the context of accelerating scientific and technical progress, advanced equipment and technology are concentrated in a small group of industrial developed countries spend a lot of money on R&D. Thus, in the United States, R&D expenditures exceed expenditures for these purposes in Germany, France, England, Italy, and Japan combined. Therefore, most of the advanced scientific research is concentrated in the United States.

Japan makes extensive use of foreign scientific and technical knowledge, which has given it the opportunity to produce new products improved through our own scientific research.

International technological exchange is also successfully used by Germany; with the help of foreign licenses it has modernized production base transport engineering, chemical, electrical industries.

Developing countries, in order to be competitive in the world market, are forced to develop their technical base in the same direction as developed countries.

Purchasing advanced foreign technology is an important means of overcoming technical backwardness, creating our own industry that can meet the needs of the domestic market and reduce dependence on imports.

The deepening of the international scientific and technical division of labor leads to increasing specialization of firms in narrow fields of science and technology.

The exchange of scientific and technical knowledge allows individual countries that do not have sufficient financial resources to conduct R&D to achieve high rates of economic development through the use of advanced technologies from other countries.

In the international technology market, technology transfer is carried out non-commercially and commercially.

Non-commercial forms of technological exchange are:

§ technical, scientific and professional journals, patent publications, periodicals and other specialized literature;

§ databases and data banks;

§ international exhibitions, fairs, symposia, conferences;

§ exchange of delegations;

§ migration of scientists and specialists;

§ internship of scientists and specialists in companies, universities, organizations;

§ teaching undergraduate and graduate students;

§ activities of international organizations in the field of science and technology.

Forms of technology subject to international exchange on a commercial basis include:

I. Material types of technologies:

§ turnkey enterprises;

§ technological lines;

§ units, equipment, tools, etc.

This type of technological exchange is associated with direct investment in the construction, reconstruction, and modernization of firms and industries.

The question of international technological exchange material types technologies refer to international trade industrial goods, the features of which are discussed in Chapter 7

II. Intangible types of technologies:

§ patent - a certificate issued by the relevant government agency the inventor, and evidences his monopoly right to use the invention

§ license - permission issued by the owner of a technology (licensor), protected or unprotected by a patent, to an interested party (licensee) to use this technology for a certain time and for a certain fee;

§ trademark - a symbol (drawing, graphic image, combination of letters, etc.) of a certain organization, which is used to individualize the manufacturer of a product and which cannot be used by other organizations without the official permission of the owner;

§ know-how - provision of technical knowledge, practical experience technical, commercial, managerial, financial and other nature, is of commercial value, is used in production and professional practice and is not provided with patent protection.

III. Services: scientific and technical, engineering, consulting, personnel training, etc.

Based on their purpose, technologies are divided into product technologies, process technologies, and control technologies.

IN modern conditions International technological exchange has the following features:

1. Development of the high technology market. The trend that is considered progressive is not just the growth of the country’s export potential, but its “intellectualization”, that is, an increase in the share of knowledge-intensive high-tech goods in general structure export. This is a factor economic growth. The deepening of the international division of labor leads to an increase in foreign economic innovation resources associated with international technology transfer. International technological exchange can to some extent compensate for the lack of funds to finance the country's scientific and technological development.

There is a direct connection between a country's technological progress and its market competitiveness. Changes in the competitiveness of various countries in the global market for technically complex goods occur simultaneously with similar changes in the respective positions of countries in the development and implementation of new technologies.

The direct connection between the development of advanced technologies in the country and the level of its wealth is evidenced by the indicator of the share of exports of high-tech goods in manufacturing exports.

The generally accepted classification of high technology for export and import of products embodying new and leading technology is the classification developed in the USA, which is used by international organizations to make statistical comparisons between different countries. This classification system allows the study of trade in high technology products in 10 main technological areas:

§ Biotechnology is the medical and industrial application of advanced genetic research aimed at creating new drugs, hormones and other therapeutic products for use in medicine and agriculture.

§ Technologies of human life sciences<астосуваяня научных достижений в медицине (отличных биологических). Например, достижения медицинских технологий в сферах отображения ядерного резонанса, эхокардиографии, новейших химических технологий, связанных с производством лекарств, которые формируют новые продукты, позволяющие лечить и предотвращать болезнями.

§ Optoelectronics - the development of electronic products and components that conduct and respond to light. For example, optical scanners, optical CDs, solar panels, photocells, laser printers.

§ Computers and telecommunications - the development of products that process an increasing amount of information in a short period of time. For example, fax machines, telephone switching devices, radars, communications satellites, servers, computers and related hardware peripherals, as well as software products.

§ Electronics - development of electronic components (without opto-electronic

§ components), such as integrated circuits, circuit boards, liquid crystals and other components, thanks to which the basic functions are significantly improved and developed, as well as the miniaturization of products.

§ computerized production - development of technologies for automation of industrial production. For example, robots, machines and devices with numerical control, automated means of transportation, which can significantly increase production flexibility and reduce human involvement in the technological process.

§ New materials - improvement and creation of materials such as semiconductors, optical fiber cables, video tapes, etc., which improve the use of other advanced technologies.

§ Aerospace technologies - production of most military civil helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft (without communication satellites), jet aircraft engines, flight simulators and autopilots.

§ Armament - the development of technologies for military use for the production of conventional weapons, missiles, bombs, mines, torpedoes, missile launch complexes and the like.

§ Nuclear technologies - development of equipment for nuclear power plants, in particular nuclear reactors and their parts, equipment for isotope splitting, manufacturing of fuel rods, etc. (equipped for medical use is more related to the science of human life).

To assess the volume of technology transferred through trade in high-tech goods, the classification of technological capacity of trade (TET) developed by UNCTAD is used. Technological trade capacity is understood as the share of research and development costs in the total volume of production and trade in goods of individual industries.

The TET indicator is calculated for each country by industry and individual goods, and then the average TET value is determined.

High-tech-intensive products and industries are considered to be those whose TET exceeds the average value for a given country, group of countries or region; average technology-intensive - if TET is close to the average value; low-tech - if TET is significantly below the average value. For example, in OECD countries, trade in aerospace equipment (22.7% of R&D expenditures in total production), office equipment and computers (17.5%) is considered high-tech; middle-tech - trade in cars (2.7), chemicals (2.3); low-tech - trade in bricks, clay (0.9), food products (0.8), paper (0.3%), etc. At the same time, the average TET for high-tech goods is 11.4%, mid-tech - 1.7, low-tech - 0.5%.

2. Monopoly of the largest firms in the technology markets. Scientific research is concentrated in the largest firms in industrialized countries, since only they have sufficient financial resources to conduct expensive research. For example, in the USA, R&D expenses in the total amount of sales per employee at TNCs IBM and Eastman Kozak are 6%, at Boeing and Honeywell - 5%, at Dupont de Nemours and Xerox - 4, in General Motor, Ford Motor - 3%.

Transnational corporations actively involve their foreign branches and subsidiaries in R&D, which are characterized by an increase in the share of expenses for scientific development in the total amount of these expenses of TNCs.

3. Technological policy of TNCs. Recently, there have been changes in the direction of R&D carried out by MNCs. The research shifts to the industries that determine success in production and sales activities:

§ improving traditional types of products for their better adaptation to the requirements of the world market in terms of material intensity, energy intensity, safety, reliability, etc.;

§ creation of fundamentally new products, research of markets where high incomes can be expected;

§ improvement of existing and creation of new technology.

§ TNCs use new approaches to the transfer of scientific and technological achievements:

§ sale of licenses at the initial stages of the product life cycle, in order to have time to recoup part of the R&D costs with income from the sale of their results;

§ establishment of monopoly high prices for patented products and restrictions on the production and release of new products by license buyers;

§ concluding agreements between TNCs to obtain exclusive rights to blocks of patents for the most important inventions. Agreements are concluded between individual TNCs to form patent pools. Rights to inventions are obtained by all pool participants through the issuance of mutual licenses. The use of new inventions created outside the pool is stopped;

§ the use of patents to control the development of technology or to slow down this development;

§ depriving TNC subsidiaries of independence in choosing equipment and technology. They should be guided by the general licensing policy within TNCs;

§ transfer of licenses to TNCs on non-commercial terms to their branches and subsidiaries, puts the latter in a preferential position. market, helps to increase the competitiveness of their products. Internal corporate technology exchange allows foreign branches to quickly establish the production of new goods and organize their sales; bypass customs barriers and currency restrictions of other countries; reduces the degree of risk when concluding transactions and guarantees non-disclosure of industrial secrets to third countries.

Intra-corporate trade is the main direction of international technological exchange. Thus, among all license receipts from developed countries, the share of intra-corporations receipts is more than 60%, incl. in the US, the share of proceeds from the sale of licenses to subsidiaries is about 80%, in England - 50%.

An important place in the technological policy of TNCs is occupied by international scientific and technical cooperation through the creation of strategic alliances between TNCs from different countries for the joint solution of scientific and technical problems. Within the framework of strategic alliances, TNCs conduct joint R&D, exchange scientific achievements and industrial experience, and train qualified personnel. By creating strategic alliances, TNCs reduce the time for R&D, which is very important in the context of rapid technological development and a reduction in the life cycle of goods and technological processes; distribute significant costs among firms in joint R&D, gain access to the scientific and technological achievements of an alliance partner, and share the risk of failure in R&D.

4. Relationships between TNCs and developing ones. TNCs are trying to create a structure of international division of labor that would ensure the economic and technical dependence of developing countries. Thus, in these countries, TNCs create enterprises to produce components supplied to subsidiaries in other countries. By transferring technologies for the production of intermediate products to countries with cheap labor, TNCs thereby reduce the cost of their goods.

Often, TNCs move to developing countries the production of goods whose life cycle has expired and the profit from the sale of which is gradually decreasing. They receive these goods at low prices, and then sell them to their distribution network under their well-known brand, receiving increased profits.

The technology that is transferred to developing countries is usually poorly adapted to their capabilities, since it is designed taking into account the level of development and industrial structure of developed countries.

Developing countries account for about 10% of international technological exchange, which is explained by the small capacity of their technology market.

5. Participation in international technological exchange of “venture” firms (small and medium-sized firms with up to 1 thousand employees). The advantage of these firms in the technology market lies in the narrow specialization. By producing a limited range of products, these firms gain access to highly specialized global markets; do not incur additional costs for market research, advertising; pay more attention to the direct solution of scientific and technical problems.

The sale of licenses is the most competitive form of technology transfer for venture firms, because they cannot compete with large corporations either in the scale of export of high-tech products or in the export of entrepreneurial capital.

6. Development of international technical assistance. This assistance is provided by developed countries, developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the field of transfer of technical knowledge, experience, technology, technological products, and personnel training. International technical assistance programs aimed at improving the technical level of recipient countries and are carried out on a multilateral basis, including through international organizations (for example, the IMF, World Bank, OECD, etc.) or on a bilateral basis. Technical assistance is provided in the form of free technology grants for a developing country to obtain technologically advanced goods, financial resources for the purchase of technology, personnel training, as well as in the form of co-financing, that is, the recipient of assistance in accordance with the agreement not only organizationally ensures its receipt, but and partially finances, although its share of financial participation in the total cost of the project is insignificant.

The main buyers in the technology market are:

§ foreign branches or subsidiaries of TNCs;

§ separate independent companies.

The transfer of the latest technologies by TNCs to their foreign divisions is due to the fact that:

§ the contradiction between the need for widespread use of the latest technical developments in order to obtain maximum profit and the threat that arises in connection with this of losing the monopoly right to scientific and technical achievements is overcome;

§ unit costs for R&D are reduced;

§ leakage of production secrets outside TNCs is excluded;

§ the profit of the parent company increases (since in many countries payments for new technology received are exempt from taxes).

Independent companies, as a rule, sell technologies from those industries in which a small share of R&D expenses (metallurgy, metalworking, textiles, clothing industry).

When selling technology to independent companies, the selling company loses the monopoly right to use it, while the buyer of the technology can become a serious competitor if it has significant scientific and technical potential. Therefore, when transferring technology, the seller company, in order to compensate for the loss of monopoly rights, seeks to obtain a share in the equity capital, combine the transfer of technology with the supply of its equipment, and achieve maximum revenue from the sale in order to compensate for the loss of monopoly rights.

Introduction

1 Features of the global technology market

2 Main forms of international technology transfer

2.1 Licensed trade

2.2 Franchising

2.3 Engineering

2.4 Consulting

2.5 Turnkey contracts

2.6 Management contracts

2.7 International technical assistance

3 State regulation of the intellectual property market

Conclusion

List of sources used

Introduction

The scientific and technological revolution and the development of productive forces are leading to an ever greater deepening of the international division of labor. Under these conditions, trade and economic relations between countries are characterized by the rapid expansion of scientific, technical and industrial cooperation, the significance of which is much greater than the commercial effect obtained from the transfer or acquisition of technology on certain commercial terms.

It is through technological exchange that it is possible to solve the issues of increasing the technological level of certain industries and the national economy as a whole, the tasks of accelerated technological re-equipment of the economy, expanding export opportunities and reducing imports, developing technical and economic relations between countries on the basis of specialization and cooperation in the production of various types of products .

The sphere of technological exchange involves all the most important forms of human activity (science, technology, production, management), starting from the theoretical laws of knowledge of nature (science), the experience of its transformation (technology) and to the creation of material means and goods (production) with the improvement of rational methods actions in solving production and other problems (management). At the same time, all four forms of human activity, as well as any combinations of them, can be included in the exchange.

If we separate from the field of trade and economic relations the exchange of raw materials and food products, which are in one way or another connected with geographical, climatic conditions and the presence of minerals, then the remaining part of foreign economic relations in today's world will be a consequence of the international division of labor, based on the uneven development of various types of technology , the level of which determines the competitiveness of goods on the market, their quality and cost, and, consequently, the profit received upon sale.

If we exclude consumer goods, then the remainder of the international economic exchange will be an exchange of technology either in its “pure form” - in the form of knowledge, experience and scientific and technical information, or “embodied” in materials, machines and equipment. This part of foreign economic relations represents a vast area of ​​exchange, the ultimate goal of which, on the one hand, is to increase the technical and technological level of production, and on the other, to generate profits.

In the age of high technologies and revolutionary inventions, this branch of international economic relations is becoming increasingly relevant, including for the Russian economy, a country that has a very significant potential for intangible assets, although it does not yet have an effectively established system for trading technologies and know-how with foreign partners, since in the foreseeable past this area of ​​activity was completely under the undivided jurisdiction of the state. However, there are quite clear prospects for development and there is reason to believe that Russia will gradually reach the same level as the most developed countries in the field of international export and import of licenses, because this is simply necessary for the full development of the country’s economy.

The purpose of this essay is to consider strategies and forms of international scientific and technical cooperation in the global economy.

1. Features of the global technology market

In the international economy, technology is usually viewed as a developed factor of production, characterized by high international mobility, and the concept of “technology” itself is interpreted as a set of scientific and technical knowledge that can be used in the production of goods and services.

The acceleration of scientific and technological progress led to the creation in the 2nd half of the 20th century. a new world market - a technological one, which operates along with the world labor and capital markets. The material basis for the emergence and functioning of this market is the international division of technologies, which represents the historically established or acquired concentration of this product in individual countries.

The uneven development of scientific and technological progress creates significant technological differences between individual countries. Therefore, the international movement of technology smoothes out technological differences between countries.

The concept of international technological exchange in a broad sense means the penetration of any scientific and technical knowledge and the exchange of production experience between countries, and in a narrow sense - the transfer of scientific and technical knowledge and experience related to the reproduction of specific technological processes.

Technological exchange in a broad sense is carried out, as a rule, in non-commercial forms:

– scientific and technical publications;

– holding exhibitions, fairs, symposiums;

– exchange of delegations and meetings of scientists and engineers;

– migration of specialists;

– training of undergraduate and graduate students;

– activities of international organizations for cooperation in the field of science and technology, etc.

Technological exchange in a narrow sense is carried out, as a rule, in commercial forms:

– transfer, under the terms of licensing agreements, of the rights to use inventions (patents, know-how, registered trademarks, industrial designs), technical documentation;

– supply of machines and various industrial equipment;

– provision of technical assistance;

– engineering services;

– export of complete equipment;

– training and internship of specialists;

– management contracts;

– scientific, technical and production cooperation, etc.

The transfer of technology in commercial forms implies that the technology is a specific commodity. The buyer of a new technology receives at his disposal scientific and technical developments and/or created production and technological processes. The use of such developments and processes as elements of productive capital makes it possible to produce commercial products with increased competitiveness and to receive additional profits over a long period due to their uniqueness or lower production costs per unit of finished product.

The increased competitiveness of products produced using new technology is inversely related to the scale of distribution (availability) of this technology. Additional profits disappear as soon as technical improvements become the property of the majority of enterprises in the industry or even more advanced technology appears. The higher the degree of monopolization of scientific and technical knowledge and production and management experience, the stronger the position of the owner of the technology in the product market. Thus, it is quite understandable that countries and individual firms that have achieved a high technical level want to maintain their monopoly on new technologies.

At the same time, technology as a commodity has a very high cost, determined by the large costs of R&D and their implementation. The transfer of this cost to the final product occurs gradually, after huge costs have already been incurred. The owners of a new technology are interested in reimbursing the costs incurred, which can be achieved either by expanding their own production of goods based on it, or by selling this technology before it becomes obsolete. All this pushes them to utilize it as much as possible, both in their own production and by selling similar goods to other manufacturers. Technologies are transferred to two main groups of buyers:

– foreign branches or subsidiaries of TNCs;

– independent companies.

New technologies are mainly provided by TNCs to their branches or subsidiaries. For example, in the 80s, this group of buyers accounted for about 4/5 of the total technology sales of American TNCs. This is due to the fact that as a result of technology transfer to branches:

– the contradiction between the need for widespread use of new technology in order to obtain maximum profit and the threat of loss of monopoly ownership of scientific and technical achievements that arises in connection with this is largely overcome;

– specific R&D costs are reduced and at the same time, leaks of classified information outside TNCs are eliminated;

– the profits of parent companies increase, since in many countries payments for new technology received are exempt from taxation. Host countries often restrict imports of goods and foreign direct investment in various forms. When selling technology, there is an opportunity to penetrate the closed market of another country, since the technology is followed by goods and services entering the host country.

Selling technology to independent companies means losing the monopoly right to use it. In addition, a technology buyer with significant scientific and technical potential may subsequently become a serious competitor. By selling technology to independent companies, sellers seek to obtain equity, combine technology transfer with the supply of their equipment, and compensate for the loss of a technology monopoly by maximizing the proceeds from the sale.

All forms of technological exchange do not exist on their own, but are determined by the content of technology and reflect the dialectical process of its origin, flourishing, aging and replacement with a new one. The following types correspond to the stages of the technology life cycle:

Stage 1 – unique;

Stage 2 – progressive;

Stage 3 – traditional;

Stage 4 – obsolete.

Unique technologies include inventions and other scientific and technical developments that are protected by patents or contain know-how, which makes it impossible for them to be used by competing organizations. These technologies are novel, have the highest technical level, and can be used in production under the conditions of an exclusive monopoly. Such technologies are created as a result of R&D and inventive activities of specialists. When determining the price of a unique technology on the market, its ability to create maximum additional profit for its buyer is taken into account.

Progressive technologies include developments that have novelty and technical and economic advantages compared to analogue technologies used by potential buyers of the new technology and their competitors. Unlike unique technology, the advantages of advanced technology are relative. The progressiveness of a particular technology can manifest itself within the borders of individual countries, different companies, and in different conditions of its application. These technologies are not protected by patents and do not have pronounced know-how, but the fairly high production advantages provided by such technologies guarantee their customers additional profits. Progressive technologies can be created as a result of not only the scientific, technical and inventive activities of scientists and engineers, but also the “evolution” of unique innovations that gradually lose their novelty.

Traditional (conventional) technology represents developments that reflect the average level of production achieved by the majority of product manufacturers in the industry. This technology does not provide its buyer with significant technical and economic advantages and product quality compared to similar products from leading manufacturers, and one cannot count on additional (above average) profits in this case. Its advantages for the buyer are the relatively low cost and the opportunity to purchase technology tested in production conditions. Traditional technology is created, as a rule, as a result of obsolescence and large-scale dissemination of advanced technology. Such technology is usually sold at prices that compensate the seller for the costs of preparing it and obtaining an average profit.

Morally obsolete technology refers to developments that do not ensure the production of products of average quality and with technical and economic indicators that are achieved by most manufacturers of similar products. The use of such developments perpetuates the technological backwardness of its owners.

The technology market is segmented. In that part of it where trade in licenses, patents, know-how, etc. takes place, technology acts as an independent factor of production. In other segments of this market, where technologies are materialized in technologically intensive products, skilled workers, and high-tech capital, the international movement of technologies merges with the intercountry movement of goods, labor and capital.

The most important prerequisite for the emergence and functioning of the technology market is the legal protection of scientific and technical knowledge and intellectual property. Legal protection is intended to provide scientists, inventors, and developers of new technologies with the exclusive right to dispose of the results of their work for a certain period and to exclude the possibility of gratuitous use of these results by third parties. The most common instruments for legal protection of technologies are patents, licenses, copyright, trademark or mark.

A patent is the recognition by the state and registration of the rights of a legal or natural person to authorship and control of the invention of a completely new product or production process or a significant improvement of an existing product or technology in the form of a document issued by a competent government agency to the inventor, which certifies his authorship and priority, and also gives him a monopoly right to use the innovation for a certain time (usually 15–20 years). To obtain patent approval, an inventor must submit to the patent office complete information about the invention, as well as evidence that the product contains original, completely new features, and demonstrate its industrial application.

The purpose of the patent system is twofold: first, to encourage invention and inventors to bear the risk and expense of discovering new paths in science and production, which is compensated by temporary monopoly rights to all profits from their work. Secondly, it promotes the dissemination of advanced technology for the benefit of the entire society.

The patent protection system allows society to have complete and regular information about new inventions and helps accelerate the introduction of new technologies into production.

However, the abuse of a patent monopoly can also lead to the exact opposite result - an artificial inhibition of scientific and technological progress. The history of technology development contains many examples of this kind.

Registration of a patent and its maintenance require the payment of high patent fees. Therefore, individual inventors and small experimental firms are often forced to sell patents to those firms that are able to commercialize the invention. When a patent is sold, title to a commercial invention passes to the buyer, most often large companies.

Patents registered in one country may be valid in other countries if that country is a member of a reciprocal agreement (for example, EU member states).

Globally, patent applications are reviewed by the World Intellectual Property Organization under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which allows inventors to file a one-time application for registration in member countries of the treaty.

The need for the rapid dissemination of new technologies creates the need for repeated use of the invention during the life of the patent, both by the owner of the technology and by other firms. In this regard, licenses emerged as forms of legal protection of new technologies.

License is the permission of the licensor, i.e. the owner of the technology or industrial property rights, whether protected by a patent or not, which is issued to the licensee, i.e. interested party acquiring technology or corresponding rights to use technologically applicable knowledge in production for a certain period and for a specified fee. Such permission allows the licensee to organize production using inventions, technical knowledge and production experience, production secrets, commercial and other information that are the subject of the issued license.

Consequently, along with patent licenses (patent license), there are non-patent licenses, i.e. licenses for the right to use scientific and technical achievements and technologies that are either non-patentable or not patented for any reason. Patentless licenses, as a rule, act in the form of know-how (know-howlicense). At the same time, free licenses in the quantitative aspect prevail over patent ones.

Know-how usually includes technical experience and production secrets, information that has commercial value. Know-how can be represented by software and mathematics, mathematical formulas and algorithms, production techniques and skills, diagrams, drawings, descriptions, etc. an item of know-how, when used in production, creates certain advantages, although it is not provided with patent protection. In practice, a patent license is often sold and at the same time the transfer of know-how and the provision of technical assistance in setting up production.

Copyright in the global technology market, along with patents and licenses, is protected by copyright, which literally means the right to reproduce. Copyright protects from copying mainly works of art and literature - books, films, radio broadcasts, etc. however, it often extends to knowledge used in production in the form of sketches, layouts, drawings, drawings, etc.

And finally, a tool for the legal protection of technologies is a trademark (trademark), usually placed on a company’s products in the form of a drawing, the initials of the founder (owner) of the company, an abbreviation, a graphic image, etc. a trademark is registered both at the location of the company and abroad, and it is prohibited for other companies to use it without official permission.

As already noted, technology as a factor of production is characterized by a high degree of international mobility. Experience shows that the costs of technology transfer within national economies are noticeably lower than when technology is transferred to foreign firms. In this regard, one would expect that the sale of technologies on the domestic national market will exceed their sales on the world market. However, in practice, exactly the opposite processes are observed.

In most developed countries, large companies are more willing to sell technologically applicable knowledge to foreign firms than to domestic ones, and foreign technology markets are significantly larger than domestic ones. The reasons for this phenomenon are quite diverse.

Firstly, there are fewer barriers and restrictions on the international movement of technology compared to the movement of goods and capital. Therefore, external expansion is easier to achieve by selling a license abroad than to achieve development of a new market by exporting products produced using new technology or with the help of foreign investment. In other words, the transfer of new technology abroad acts as a form of struggle for foreign commodity markets, allowing one to bypass customs and other barriers.

Secondly, multinational companies prefer to sell new technologies to their foreign branches or subsidiaries rather than to independent firms, even domestic ones. This is explained by the fact that in such sales a multinational company does not lose its monopoly right to use new technologies, and the possibility of leakage of production secrets and the buyer becoming a serious competitor is excluded.

Thirdly, the sale of technologies abroad is often accompanied by additional supplies of raw materials, equipment, semi-finished products, etc. Consequently, the technology seller has the opportunity to increase production for export. The benefit derived by the company selling new technologies is called the escort effect.

Fourthly, often only by selling new technology abroad can a company gain access to the innovation it needs, which is available to a foreign partner. Such counter or cross licensing is typical for companies that carry out large-scale research and development work and are leaders in the development of some direction in the development of science and technology. Typically, such firms operate in industries with frequently changing technology and producing many types of products (for example, the chemical and electrical industries).

These are the most important reasons why the owner of new technologies seeks to implement them not on the domestic, but on the foreign market.

The interest of the seller coincides with the interest of the buyer, since in the international technology market the total supply of new technologies collides with the total demand for them. The motives that encourage buyers to purchase new technologies on the global market are also diverse.

First, by importing new technologies, the buyer usually achieves significant cost and time savings compared to independent development in this area. Large-scale research and development work requires significant financial expenditures, they take a long time, and their expected results are not always certain. Therefore, it is often easier to buy than to make it yourself.

Secondly, by acquiring new technologies, the buyer gets the opportunity to quickly eliminate his technical gap in a particular area. And although not everything that is sold on the technology market is the latest scientific and technical achievements, nevertheless, purchases on the technology market provide access to innovations of a high technical level.

Thirdly, the acquisition of imported technologies is usually accompanied by relatively low costs for mastering the production of products. This is explained by the fact that practically proven technologies are usually put on sale. In addition, the buyer can count on the help of the licensor in mastering new technological processes.

Fourthly, practice shows that products produced using foreign technology are highly competitive. Therefore, part of the production of new products is sent to the foreign market, increasing the export capabilities of the buyer of the new technology.

Economic agents in the global technology market, as a rule, are developed countries. They account for the predominant part of the turnover of the global technology market. The world leader in this market is the USA. They annually export high-tech products worth about $700 billion. The USA is followed by Germany ($530 billion) and Japan ($400 billion).

2. Main forms of international technology transfer

2.1 Licensed trade

The main form of international technology transfer is licensed trade, which is carried out on the basis of licensing agreements. The term “license” translated from Latin means permission to perform any action. In relation to technological exchange, it means permission to use licensed items under certain conditions, which are:

– patented inventions,

– industrial designs,

- trademarks,

– know-how, i.e. valuable confidential information that does not enjoy legal protection.

An invention is a technical solution that is novel. A technical solution is broadly understood as a practical means of satisfying a specific need.

A technical solution does not necessarily have to be accompanied by a theoretical justification. It is considered new provided that its essence has not been previously disclosed in a given country or abroad to the extent that its implementation became possible. Disclosure of the solution may occur through either publication, demonstration, or open application. In all these cases, it becomes possible to copy the solution, which entails the loss of its novelty.

A technical solution is recognized as having significant differences if it is characterized by a new set of features that give a positive effect, for example:

a) all signs are new;

b) some of the features are new, and some are known;

c) all the features are known, but their combination is new.

Similar homogeneous inventions are called analogues, and the closest of them to the proposed new technical solution is called a prototype. Minor differences in a new technical solution do not allow it to be considered an invention, for example, the use of equivalent means.

An industrial design is a new artistic and design solution for a product that determines its appearance. With the help of an industrial design, a monopoly is established on the form (ornament) of the products of labor. Patents are issued for industrial designs, as well as for inventions.

Trademark (trademark) is a designation registered in accordance with the established procedure, which serves to distinguish the goods of some enterprises from similar goods of other enterprises. Trademarks usually have a letter or graphic image. Service marks are used to identify services.

Patents for inventions and industrial designs, certificates confirming the registration of trademarks and service marks, protected by the Paris Convention of 1883, are industrial property.

Copyright (copyright) applies to any creative works, regardless of the form, purpose and merits of the work (lectures, reports, articles, brochures, books, technical descriptions, operating instructions, illustrations of any kind, drawings, posters, photographs, etc. ). This right means that, without the consent of the author or his successors, no one may in any way reproduce or otherwise use the objects protected by the right. Copyright is protected by national laws and internationally by the Berne Convention of 1886 and the Universal Convention of 1952.

Along with patent licenses, there are also non-patent licenses for know-how (non-patented scientific and technical achievement and production experience of a confidential nature), the owner of which has a natural monopoly, unlike the owner of a patented invention. This term was first used in the USA.

Unlike a patented invention, know-how does not enjoy special legal protection, so the best form of protection for such knowledge is a trade secret. Know-how may include:

- items - product samples, non-patented industrial designs, machines, devices, spare parts, tools, devices, etc.;

- technical documentation - formulas, calculations, drawings, diagrams, non-patented inventions, etc.;

- instructions - explanations regarding the design of production or application of the product, the production process, production skills, practical advice; information about the organization of work and data that help in solving economic issues.

In international practice, the most common patent licenses are the simultaneous transfer of know-how and the provision of technical assistance in setting up production. The second place is occupied by licenses for know-how, and only the third place is occupied by purely patent licenses that do not provide for the transfer of know-how. This is explained, in particular, by the fact that at the current level of technological development, the development of most inventions without the provision of know-how, i.e., experience and knowledge available to the selling company, is either completely impossible or leads to unproductive expenditure of time and money . Therefore, know-how is the main object not only of licenses, but also of other forms of technology transfer.

When concluding agreements on know-how, patent protection does not apply, therefore, in this type of licensing agreements, conditions on non-disclosure of know-how both during the validity period of the license agreement and after its expiration are of particular importance. In this regard, the agreement sometimes stipulates the procedure for familiarizing the licensee's employees with the know-how.

The most typical terms of licensing agreements that limit the licensee’s use of know-how are:

– do not transfer acquired knowledge and experience to a third party during the term of the agreement and on average up to 5 years after the end of this period;

– do not provide sublicenses for know-how, as this may entail its loss.

In addition to patent and non-patent licenses, there are independent (“pure”) and accompanying licenses. Self-licensing involves the transfer of technology or technical developments, regardless of their material carrier. The accompanying licenses are independent in nature and are provided simultaneously with the conclusion of a contract for the construction of an enterprise, the supply of technological equipment, and the provision of consulting services.

The sale of licenses allows you to significantly speed up the process of developing a new market and at least partially reimburse your own research and development costs. Sometimes it is more profitable, instead of supplying finished products, to sell a license for the right to produce them, for example, in cases when problems arise related to the sale of finished products due to insufficient volume of domestic production or entering the foreign market. The development of your own production can be hampered by many reasons - from a lack of raw materials to the lack of highly qualified personnel and production space.

An obstacle to the export of products is often the protectionist policy of the government of the country to which they are expected to be supplied: high customs duties, import quotas, encouraging the import of disassembled products (in order to develop national industry).

In all these cases, selling licenses is one of the ways to enter the local market, as well as creating a branch of an exporting company in a given country. It should be noted that when selling a license, the supply of materials, components and parts for the production of products is usually provided. Thus, licensed trade turns out to be an effective incentive for selling their own products.

Depending on the scope of rights granted by the license agreement to the buyer and seller, simple, exclusive and full licenses are distinguished. A simple license reserves the right for the seller to grant similar licenses to a third party. An exclusive license gives the buyer a monopoly right to use this technology, and the seller can neither independently use the patented technology nor transfer it to third parties in the given territory. In the case of a full license, the seller is completely deprived of the right to use the licensed object.

Since the main flow of new technologies flows from developed countries to developing countries, the governments of the latter sometimes intervene in the pricing process by limiting the upper limit of the price under the licensing agreement.

Many technologies are sold by the licensor to controlled entities - foreign branches of multinational companies or their subsidiaries. The latter, acting as a legally independent entity, ensures protection of intellectual property when ownership becomes shared, and also allows one to avoid restrictions on the size of payments or currency.

However, even in this case, the problem of pricing is complex and controversial. On the one hand, multinational companies are criticized for declaring their profits in countries with low tax rates through such sales. On the other hand, developing countries themselves, where tax levels are low, often argue the exact opposite: in their view, multinational firms artificially reduce their profits in order, for example, to move their funds to countries with more reliable currencies. Therefore, government control over pricing when selling technical innovations of multinational companies to their controlled affiliates is strengthening both in the home country and in the host country.

The remuneration to the licensor, paid by the licensee for the use of new technology, can be carried out in different ways. Most often, it is paid in the form of royalties, i.e. periodic payments (usually quarterly or annual installments) set as a percentage of the actual profit or sales volume from the commercial use of the license. Payment documents are accompanied by consistent accounting data.

The use of royalties presupposes close cooperation between the licensor and the licensee, creating a mutual interest in the effective use of the licensed object. However, the amount of royalty payments may fluctuate, sometimes quite significantly.

Unlike royalties, a lump sum payment is a lump sum payment, the amount of which is firmly fixed in the contract. Sometimes lump sum payments are made by breaking them down into several payments in accordance with the stages of practical implementation of the license - after signing the license agreement, completing the supply of equipment, providing know-how, etc. but in any case, lump sum payments are set in advance based on expert assessments of the possible economic effect and expected profit.

Partners are driven to this form of payment by various factors: uncertainty about the possibility of making periodic transfers abroad, the desire to avoid the seller’s control over the subsequent use of the technology, poor knowledge of the partner’s state of affairs, the connection of the technology with a specific set of equipment, etc. Moreover, as practice shows, the amount of the lump sum payment turns out to be less than the amount of remuneration if the latter were carried out under the terms of a royalty.

Along with the above types of payments under a license agreement, it is sometimes practiced to receive remuneration in the form of participation in profits or participation in property. In the first case, the seller receives a certain percentage of the profit from the commercial application of the technology; in the second, the seller receives compensation in the form of a portion of the shares of the company using the new technology.

2.2 Franchising

The next form of international technology transfer is franchising, which is a contract for the transfer of a trademark. The seller not only transfers the right to use the trademark to the buyer, but also provides him with ongoing assistance in doing business. This assistance is expressed in the provision of technical services, training and advanced training, enterprise management for a fee, etc.

Essentially, the seller and buyer in this case act as a vertically integrated company, whose branches are interconnected and produce part of the goods and services for the consumer. This is especially typical for complex franchising, which provides for the full provision of the dealer, including marketing, management of the operation of the enterprise, standards and product quality control.

The history of franchising dates back to the 19th century. and is linked to the US, where about a third of retail turnover is franchising. Along with American firms, foreign firms are engaged in franchising. Their field of activity is the restaurant business, food products, car sales, gas stations, bottling soft drinks, etc.

Franchising is rapidly spreading around the world. The following method of penetration of a franchisor into another country is widely used: a local company is selected as the main franchise, to which the rights to use the trademark are transferred.

In some cases, several retail outlets are opened abroad that perform advertising functions, attracting local potential buyers. An example is the McDonald's company, which operates in 109 countries and opened 2,110 new restaurants in 1997 alone. The company's net income in 1997 increased by 8% and reached $1,642.5 million, and international sales amounted to $33,658.3 million.

2.3 Engineering

An important form of international technology transfer is engineering, which covers a wide range of technical activities aimed at increasing the efficiency of foreign investments and minimizing the costs of implementing projects for various purposes. It includes a variety of services that the buyer needs when purchasing, installing, mastering and operating new equipment.

Within the framework of engineering, services can be provided, primarily for the preparation of new production. These include the preparation of a feasibility study for the project, the development of master plans and drawings, construction management and supervision, and acceptance work. After the completion of the construction of a new facility and its commissioning, engineering comes down to the provision of services for organizing the production process and enterprise management. Sometimes it extends to the sales of manufactured products. Forms of payment for engineering services can be different. This could be time-based wages for consulting engineers, reimbursement of actual costs incurred plus a known remuneration, payment as a percentage of the cost of construction of the facility.

2.4 Consulting

Consulting has also become widespread in the MRIT field. Consulting refers to a wide range of consulting services provided by a consulting firm to any consumer.

2.5 Turnkey contracts

Turnkey contracts (turnkey projects) as a form of international technology transfer involve the conclusion of an agreement for the construction of a facility, which, after it is fully ready for operation, is transferred to the customer. Such projects are usually implemented by large construction companies and industrial equipment manufacturers, between which the corresponding markets are divided.

With this form of international technology transfer, the customer receives a facility that is completely ready for operation, without experiencing difficulties in mastering new technology. All responsibility for the construction and commissioning of the facility is assigned to one legal entity. Therefore, such facilities are built very quickly and begin producing competitive products in a short time.

Almost the only problem for the customer is the high price. The cost of implementing turnkey projects is usually significantly higher compared to constructing a similar facility on its own. As for the contractor, the implementation of such projects is also beneficial for them, as evidenced by the competitive struggle that accompanies the receipt of orders of this kind. If the contracting firm does not have a monopoly in a given area of ​​technologically applicable knowledge, and the production process is known to other firms, then the number of competitors seeking a contract can be quite significant.

Only large companies from developed countries act as contractors. In recent years, firms from Turkey, India, and South Korea have been very active in implementing a number of projects. They are quite competitive in comparison with firms from developed countries in the implementation of construction projects that require the use of cheap labor.

2.6 Management contracts

Management contracts are a specific form of international technology transfer, the essence of which is that a company in one country sends its managers to a foreign company to perform management functions for a certain period of time and for a certain fee.

The need for management contracts arises from a number of situations in international business. First of all, it arises in the case when there is an urgent need to achieve a significant increase in the operating efficiency of an existing enterprise, and local managers are not able to cope with this task. Foreign managers and specialists, as experience shows, are able to quickly and effectively provide the necessary assistance and achieve the desired result.

Further, management contracts are sometimes associated with foreign direct investment. When a new industrial facility is created abroad or an existing enterprise is reconstructed, the supplier of new technological equipment is required to provide assistance in the form of management services.

Finally, management contracts are sometimes awarded when foreign investment is nationalized and the former owner is asked to continue running the business as long as local staff are able to handle the job.

Management contracts typically last between 3 and 5 years, and foreign managers are paid either a fixed amount or based on production volume.

2.7 International technical assistance

A specific type of international technology transfer is international technical assistance (technical assistance), programs for the provision of which have been quite widely implemented by the world community since the late 1970s.

These programs, implemented on a bilateral or multilateral basis, are designed to provide technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the areas of processes, products and management. Technical assistance programs are developed and implemented by the UN, IMF, World Bank, OECD and other international organizations.

Technical assistance is defined as the transfer of know-how through activities such as training, policy implementation, consultation, partnerships and research. It is provided in the form of free technology grants and joint financing projects for technology development.

If we apply the World Bank criteria to assess the effectiveness of technical assistance, then it should contribute to an influx of investment in an amount 10 times greater than the volume of technical assistance provided.

Through all the types of activities discussed (licensing agreements, franchising, engineering, turnkey contracts, etc.), firms in one country gain access to technology and management created in other countries. Therefore, international technology transfer helps improve the competitiveness of firms in domestic and global markets. The more perfect the market mechanism for technology transfer, the more efficient the distribution of this factor of production in society and the greater the benefits for both the seller and the buyer of technologically applicable knowledge.

3. State regulation of the property market

intellectual property

In the modern development strategy of states, a key role is given to the creation and management of intellectual property (IP). The importance of IP becomes even more apparent when examining all aspects associated with its commercialization. And the point here is not only in the growth factor of trade in licenses (which exceeds several times the annual growth of international trade in general), but also in the opportunities arising from international regulations that allow entities with significant scientific and technical potential to ensure effective protection of rights on objects of intellectual industrial property, increase the competitiveness of their products.

Intellectual property objects in world practice include:

– know-how, patents, design and other documentation;

– technology, technological complex or its individual components;

– components and assemblies, finished products (based on the results of pilot production);

– technical and technological documentation for the creation of technical objects and the production of industrial products;

It is known that the competitiveness of a product on the market is largely determined by its qualitative components, the key of which are the patent and legal characteristics of a particular product. Therefore, most subjects of the world economy consider patent and licensing policy as an extremely important factor in ensuring economic growth. It should be emphasized that the development strategy of all successful companies involves their active position in IP management both in their own country and abroad.

In the competition between states, corporations, and enterprises, the leaders today are no longer those who managed to successfully implement individual innovations, but those who were able to develop and implement appropriate policies in the field of IP management and obtain maximum profits based on patent protection and monopoly development of high-tech products. . Based on the importance of IP and its management in ensuring the competitiveness of products, industrial countries today provide not only state support for the research sector of the economy, but also use the entire range of incentives for the creation and use of industrial property objects in production and trading activities.

An analysis of the relevant experience of foreign countries and its comparison with existing national practice allows us to assess the state of affairs in the field of IP creation, management, as well as in the field of patent and licensing regulation.

International statistics show that in most countries of the world the number of registered patents used by non-residents significantly exceeds the number of patents used by residents. Only in Japan, South Korea and the USA is this ratio in favor of residents, which, in particular, explains the sustainability of economic growth in these countries (Table 1).

The second conclusion that can be drawn based on the analysis of international statistics is that the higher the level of economic development of a country, the higher the total number of patents used in sectors of the national economy. In Australia this figure exceeds 43 thousand, for European countries - more than 60 thousand, in South Korea - 114 thousand, in the USA - more than 220 thousand and in Japan - more than 400 thousand.

The patent and licensing policy of Japan, which ranks first in the world in terms of the number of patents used, deserves special attention. The success of its economic development, the export opportunities of the automotive industry, and the electronics industry are predetermined, on the one hand, by measures aimed at limiting the activities of international corporations in the Japanese market. This made it possible to avoid the diversion of national resources for their maintenance and to ensure the concentration of internal resources on priority production. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the policy for purchasing licenses and stimulating invention. Thus, over the course of thirty years, starting in 1950, Japan entered into more than 32 thousand licensing agreements for the purchase of technologies, spending about 9 billion dollars on this, despite the fact that most of the licenses acquired by Japan from the United States provided for a ban on the export of products produced with their using products in North America, this allowed us to avoid more significant costs for the development of corresponding in-house technologies.

Table 1 – Number of patents used in leading countries in

The Japanese IP rights protection system has a number of features. Thus, the world's highest cost of patenting (for example, consideration of an application for an invention, issuance of a title of protection and maintenance of a patent in force during the entire period of its validity is 70-80 thousand US dollars), as well as the time required to register a patent , contribute to the implementation by Japanese subjects of control over the domestic market. A consequence of Japan's industrial property policy is that foreign applicants account for only about 4% of the total number of patents granted in Japan.

The relevant subject of Japan pursues an active policy in compulsory licensing, i.e. assists local companies in acquiring patented designs of other companies, including foreign firms, and also assists subjects in developing a strategy for foreign patenting. Its main principles are determined by the possibilities of patenting and are based on the fact that patenting, providing legal protection for an object, allows the patent holder to monopolize industrial property rights and, as a result, dictate prices and influence the state of a particular market. Those. The presence of a patent must also be considered as a barrier to entry into the market of goods, which can hinder the introduction of innovation, promote the monopoly position of a product in a particular territory, and protect it from uncontrolled competition. The overseas patenting strategy aims to prevent "attacks" by foreign companies when Japanese firms enter foreign markets. All this is done on the basis of an appropriate patent and license policy, ensuring the legal protection of available inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks. Japan accounts for the largest share of patents registered in the US in such areas as computer technology, communications, microelectronics, and the automotive industry, which, among other factors, ensures a positive foreign trade balance. Along with this, the activity of Japanese firms in foreign patenting is an integral part of the ongoing government policy to concentrate efforts on increasing the export of licenses, which reflects the ongoing trend of turning IP into an integral part of international trade.

In 1998, R&D spending in the United States amounted to about $150 billion, with almost half of this amount coming from the budget. At the same time, trade in intellectual property is a priority part of US foreign trade, and revenues to the US treasury from the export of patents and licenses are commensurate with the share of the textile or tobacco industries in GNP. Foreign trade transactions with IP in the US are dominated by intra-corporate trade - 80% of exports and 74% of imports, which reflects the desire of companies to maintain and, if possible, expand their sales markets based on the ownership and management of IP. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the average age of technologies of American firms at the date of their first transfer to a branch in a developed country is about 6 years, in a developing country - about 10 years, when licensed to third-party firms and joint ventures - more than 13 years.

The special power of patents is manifested in the activities of large firms, when the mutual use of patents and licenses becomes the basis for the creation of many international alliances, unions, corporations. As a result, transnational corporations account for the bulk of intellectual property and transactions with them. Thus, in recent years, investments by a number of firms in research and development have reached amounts comparable to the gross domestic product of individual states. For example, the costs for these purposes are about $7 billion for General Motors, $5.2 billion for Ford Motor, and $3.4 billion for IBM.

Practice shows that inventions created in the process of research and design work are patented, first of all, in the states of the intended export channel, marketing of products in which IP objects are used in one form or another, as well as in countries where the level of technological development of the relevant industry the highest. This not only ensures a stable position of goods in the sales markets, but also allows you to influence the leading enterprises that produce products that are competitive on world markets.

The United States has a well-thought-out mechanism for selling science-intensive products abroad, according to which this becomes possible only after a comprehensive study of all aspects of the proposed transaction, ensuring patenting, and protecting the IP used in the export product in the importing country.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of its investments in fundamental and applied research and the protection of the IP created as a result of it, the United States applies trade and economic leverage to its partners - increasing import duties, reducing quotas, creating non-tariff barriers to trade, and curtailing cooperation and assistance programs.

This applies to countries that violate the rights of American subjects to said property. An analysis of the patent and licensing policies of a number of leading countries allows us to talk about the multifaceted use of a patent as an effective tool of competition. Moreover, its role in a particular market is largely determined by the purpose of patenting. In one case, a patent ensures the presence of a certain product on the market, in the other - the protection of its monopoly position. The presence of a block of patents in one company in a certain direction of a particular state becomes a ban for other enterprises to produce and sell goods in the territory of a given country using an already patented object of industrial property. Such a prohibition can only be eliminated by acquiring the appropriate license, which for a number of reasons is not always possible, since a monopoly position on the market for a particular product guarantees excess profits from its sale.

The relevant policy pursued in the European Union is largely aimed at creating joint developments and a single European market. This is largely ensured by the costs of European industry for patenting, which, for example, in 1994 amounted to about 5 billion German marks.

Germany's third place in the world market of science-intensive products is largely explained by the verified innovation policy of the government of this country, the increase in funds for the needs of the research sector and the protection of industrial property. A consequence of this approach is the fact that in 1997 alone, firms sold the following number of patent applications with effect in Germany: Siemens - 2573, Bosch - 1508, BASF - 1263, Bayer - 952.

In the production and export of equipment designed to protect the environment, Germany is the world leader: as of 1992, German firms accounted for 28% of the world's patent stock in this area.

Based on the key role of IP in ensuring the competitiveness of national industry in the world market, the most developed countries, along with government funding of research work, actively stimulate the creation and use of industrial property in production and trade. An analysis of existing practice in the field of patent and licensing regulation suggests that this tool for ensuring the quality and competitiveness of products is actively used by leading developed countries to conquer markets and protect them from competition from other entities.

Ultimately, the possibilities of regulation, ensuring competitiveness based on IP management, on the one hand, as well as the potential available to transnational corporations in this area, on the other hand, predetermined the adoption by the most developed countries of one of the fundamental documents of the WTO - the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights property (TRIPS).

The experience accumulated by developed countries and transnational corporations in creating competitive advantages for their subjects on the basis of patent and licensing regulation allows us to assume the following. Enterprises of those countries that, due to limited necessary resources, lag behind in the creation and development of new technologies and do not have significant experience in involving IP objects in economic circulation, when bringing (without appropriate reservations) national legislation into compliance with the provisions of this Agreement, will all be in to be increasingly pushed to the periphery of global economic development. Such consequences can only be avoided if there is proper government policy in this area.

In Belarus for 1993–1997. The patent office received 3,585 applications for inventions from national applicants, and 2,857 from foreign applicants. During this period, 1,362 and 805 patents for inventions were registered and issued to these entities, respectively.

Of the foreign applicants, the subjects of Germany (845), the USA (471), and Switzerland (187) are the most active in filing applications for protection certificates of the Republic of Belarus for inventions, which largely reflects their desire to ensure the protection of the components of products supplied to the Belarusian market, to prevent, in conditions of fierce competition and due to the patenting of its components by competitors, significant economic costs and loss of one or another benefit. An analysis of the industry focus of submitted applications indicates that foreign applicants mainly patent inventions in the field of chemistry. Thus, at the end of 1997, 58% of all registered, according to the International Patent Classification, patents in the field of chemistry were owned by foreign applicants. And if in the field of biochemistry, genetic engineering, production of alcoholic beverages, and iron metallurgy, the ratio of patents issued to foreign and domestic entities was approximately equal, then in the field of organic chemistry, about 90% of patents were granted to foreign entities.

Such information should be taken into account when determining priority areas of scientific, technical, industrial and foreign economic development. Because Western companies have the opportunity to use patents of the Republic of Belarus as a tool for blocking the development of a particular production or market sector, preventing entry into it or ousting possible competitors from it.

In contrast to world practice, one third of the patents issued to subjects of the Republic of Belarus over a five-year period belonged to individuals. The consequences of this situation can be easily predicted. Indeed, in this case, the patent holder is unlikely to have enough financial, organizational, managerial, and other resources for the proper use of IP; moreover, there is a weakness in the relevant mechanisms and institutions that facilitate its effective use.

An analysis of licensing agreements for inventions, know-how and agreements on the transfer of rights to a patent for an invention registered in the republic during the period under review shows that the main sellers are private legal entities and individuals (55%). At the same time, the share of individuals among licensors was 28%, and among licensees – 6%. Among the registered agreements for agreements under which the licensor is a foreign entity and the licensee is a representative of the Republic of Belarus, the number is negligible. This situation is a consequence of both the insufficient capabilities of Belarusian enterprises, which, by the way, is reflected in the protection of domestic IP objects abroad, and the patent and licensing policies of foreign states and foreign companies. The latter effectively use this regulatory instrument, primarily with the aim of ensuring entry into a particular market and implementing an appropriate competition policy on it.

The state of licensed trade in the republic shows that when it is carried out by national entities, not all possibilities of patent and licensing regulation are used and taken into account. At the same time, based on the limited domestic market and the need to strengthen cooperation ties with Russian enterprises, the most alarming is the lack of activity on the part of the constituent entities of Belarus in “linking”, on the basis of patent and licensing regulation, enterprises of the two countries into a single technological complex.

An integral part of the state regulation system is the country's participation in the work of international organizations dealing with problems of regulating the global market for intellectual property. The Republic of Belarus has been participating in the activities of WIPO since the ratification by the former USSR of the Convention establishing WIPO in 1968 (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 19, 1968). Currently, cooperation is expressed in improving the legislation of the republic in the field of industrial property and copyright and related rights in accordance with WIPO recommendations and agreements developed within the organizations.

Improving invention law includes two areas:

1) accession of the Republic of Belarus to international conventions in force in this area;

2) development and adoption of domestic laws and regulations aimed at implementing the general principles contained in international conventions.

Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 141 of March 11, 1993 approved the Declaration on International Treaties of the Republic of Belarus in the field of industrial property. This declaration formalized the legal succession of the republic in relation to the three most important multilateral agreements in this area, to which the former USSR was a party: the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.

In the field of copyright and related rights, Belarus has acceded to the Berne Convention of 1886, the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952, the WIPO Copyright Treaty of 1996, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty of 1996 and some other documents.

Based on this, the Republic of Belarus currently participates in the unions of the WIPO system (Paris, Madrid, Berne, etc.).

Cooperation of the Republic of Belarus with WIPO consists in improving national legislation according to the standards developed by this organization. The main direction of cooperation in the future should be the creation of organizational and institutional prerequisites for the implementation of this legislation, so that Belarusian business entities and citizens of the republic have the opportunity to effectively exercise their intellectual property rights, and also have effective means of protecting such rights, including at the international level. In this regard, we will give some examples.

A significant issue when an enterprise enters a foreign market is the foreign registration of its trademark, which identifies the goods of this enterprise and is a means of promoting sales. However, registering trademarks with the national registration authorities of foreign countries is associated with high costs and some technical difficulties. Therefore, it is much more advisable to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and contact the International Bureau of WIPO in order to obtain an international certificate of registration valid in all countries party to the Madrid Agreement. This practice is not yet widespread among Belarusian enterprises, which is explained by the underdevelopment of national exports. In the future, Belarusian exporters should take advantage of this opportunity.

A similar example can be given in connection with the registration of inventions. A Belarusian enterprise or an individual inventor who wants to patent his invention in several foreign countries (for example, for the purpose of further selling the license abroad) may not submit applications directly to the national patent offices of these states, but use the services of WIPO on the basis of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In this case, the application is submitted to the International Bureau of WIPO. Although the agreement does not provide for the issuance of a single international patent (the applicant will receive several independent national patents as a result), and the fee for international search and preliminary examination of the application is proportional to the number of national patents received, the costs of such registration will be lower, and the registration itself will be completed faster .

In the event of disputes between Belarusian citizens or business entities, on the one hand, and their foreign counterparties, on the other, regarding the use of their intellectual property rights, the parties can apply for resolution to the WIPO Arbitration Center (operating since 1994). this gives the parties all the advantages of arbitration proceedings over state legal proceedings - speed of proceedings, lower costs, less formality of the process, confidentiality, and the opportunity to resolve the dispute to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.

The presence of great scientific and technical potential and a focus on the development of knowledge-intensive industries gives grounds to conclude that cooperation with WIPO in the future will become an important element of the republic’s international relations.

Thus, strategic planning and successful competition policy of the state cannot be carried out without taking into account all aspects of the creation, protection and management of intellectual property. Solving problems in this area seems to be successful only if a verified patent and licensing policy is implemented, primarily in the most promising, priority areas. It is in these areas that all internal resources should be concentrated, appropriate conditions, mechanisms and infrastructure created for the development of technical creativity, innovation, and effective regulation of relations in the field of intellectual property.

Conclusion

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The world community has come to understand the need to unite the efforts of various countries in order to use the best scientific achievements in the interests of humanity, including to prevent global threats arising in the process of development of science and technology, to determine the priorities of scientific research and mechanisms for their implementation.

The objective process of internationalization of the modern economy determines the intensification of international scientific and industrial cooperation. At the same time, the phenomena occurring in this area are heterogeneous; they are characterized by certain contradictions that require organizational, legal and economic regulation at the interstate level. On the one hand, international cooperation is rapidly expanding in the field of fundamental sciences, on the other hand, applied developments are becoming increasingly closed, their results are considered as a national treasure of strategic importance for ensuring the economic security of an individual state or group of countries.

Considering the significant role of science in solving the socio-economic problems of the century, an increasing number of countries around the world (Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, India, etc.) are using a plan-oriented model for the formation of scientific policy and the development of scientific and technical potential. The governments of these countries use both directive centralized and indicative planning methods. Directive planning is used to compensate for the shortcomings of the market system in financing large-scale R&D with a high degree of risk, the formation of new industries and technological modernization of traditional basic industries. This is carried out primarily through direct government appropriations, the state market in the form of guaranteed government purchases of new high-tech products, as well as tax and customs benefits.

International scientific and technical cooperation (ISTC) is one of the important elements of the country's scientific and technical policy, the preservation and expansion of Russian scientific and technical potential (STP). In our country, it has always been assumed that ISTS is of an auxiliary nature, promoting the development of domestic science and technology and, in turn, depends on the state of scientific and technical progress.

Happened in the 90s. XX century fundamental changes in political and military-strategic realities in the modern world, socio-political and economic transformations in Russia, the CIS member states and other countries of the former socialist camp have significantly influenced the development of processes of international scientific and technical cooperation. These factors cannot but be taken into account when forming the strategy and tactics of the ISTS. Russia is faced with the task of being fully present in the global scientific and technological community, relying on the still preserved domestic scientific and technical potential and using the extensive scientific and technical ties formed during the Soviet period with various regions of the world, both at the state level and directly at the level of scientists and specialists .

So, as a result of the work done, the main conclusions can be drawn:

The global market for information and technology is a complex system for exchanging the results of intellectual activity in tangible and intangible forms;

In the process of innovation, scientific and technical developments that have found their buyers are transferred from one country to another through various channels and forms of commercial and non-commercial exchange;

The leading place among the forms of exchange is occupied by the acquisition of patents and licenses, and recently engineering, franchising and consulting have appeared at MRIT.

List of sources used

1. Dadalko V.A. World Economy: Textbook. allowance. – Mn.: “Urajay”, “Interpressservice”, 2001. – 529 p.

2. Teor T.R. World economy. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2002. – 192 p.: ill. – (Series “Short Course”).

3. Chebotarev N.F. World Economy: Textbook. – M.: Publishing and trading corporation “Dashkov and K.” – 2007. – 332 p.

Plan.

1. "Technology" as an object of international trade.

2. Channels and forms of technology transfer.

International licensing agreements.

Terms and concepts.

International technology exchange, idea commercialization, know-how, implemented technologies, patent, leasing, engineering, consulting, technical piracy.

Summary.

In international economics, the concept "technology" is interpreted as a body of scientific and technical knowledge that can be used in the production of goods and services.

The concept of “technology” includes:

1. Technology itself, understood as a set of design solutions, methods and processes for the production of goods and the provision of services.

2. Material technology embodied in machines, equipment, etc.

According to UNCTAD experts, international technology transfer refers to transactions based on “Agreements between parties, regardless of their legal form, which pursue as an objective or one of their legal objectives the assignment by license or transfer of their rights to industrial property, sale or any other type of transfer technical services".

Not every technology becomes a commodity. Technology becomes a commodity that can be sold only under certain conditions - if it approaches becoming a commodity at a certain stage of the “idea-market” movement, namely, when the real possibility of commercializing the idea is realized, examination, screening, possible areas of use. But even in this case, the product-technology must have a marketable appearance, i.e. meet standard product requirements. In this form, technology as a commodity can take the form of patents, production experience, know-how, experimental or industrial models of equipment, apparatus, other equipment, as well as technology in the narrow sense - as methods for the production of technological processes and secrets.

Having acquired a marketable form, the technology becomes the subject of transfer. Technology-goods go through a certain life cycle from the moment of appearance to disappearance.

The economic feasibility of exporting technology is that it is:

1. A means of increasing income. If there are no conditions for the implementation of a new technology in the form of production and marketing of a particular product, one should at least implement the technology as an independent product.

2. A form of struggle for the product market. Buyers abroad will already be familiar with the product, which was previously produced under license.

3. Ways to circumvent the problems of exporting goods in material form (transportation, marketing, customs barriers).

4. A means of expanding commodity exports.

5. Method of establishing control over a foreign company.

6. A way to provide access to another innovation.

7. Possibility of more effective improvement of licensed objects.

The economic feasibility of importing technology is that it exists:

1. Access to high-tech innovations.

2. A means of saving R&D costs, including time.

3. A means of reducing the cost of commodity imports.

4. The condition for expanding the export of products manufactured using foreign technologies.

This determined the emergence and intensive development of the global technology market, which has a peculiar structure and features.

The heterogeneity of the global technology market has led to the formation of such segments as:

Patent and license market;

Market of high-tech technological products;

High-tech capital market;

Market of scientific and technical specialists;

The global technology market has a number of features. This is one of the most rapidly developing global markets in recent decades. . The global technology market is better developed than the national one and has a two-level structure:

High technologies circulate mainly between industrialized countries;

Medium and low technologies may be new to the market of developing and transforming countries and the subject of technological exchange between them and within these groups of countries.

The global high-tech market is characterized by a uniquely high concentration of resources in a small number of developed countries.

40% belongs to the USA, 30% to Japan, 13% to Germany. The main competitors in the global high-tech market are the USA and Japan. The degree of monopolization of the global technology market is much higher than that of the global goods market.

There are the following main ways of technology transfer:

1.On a non-commercial basis:

Information arrays of specialized literature, computer data banks, reference books, business games, etc.;

Conferences, symposiums, seminars, clubs;

Foreign study, internship, practice of students, scientists and specialists, carried out on a parity basis by universities, enterprises, organizations;

Cross licensing;

Activities of international organizations for cooperation in the field of science and technology;

International migration of scientists and specialists, including “brain drain”.

2. On a commercial basis:

Sale of embodied technologies;

Direct foreign investments and accompanying construction, reconstruction and modernization of enterprises, firms, and production facilities;

Sale of patent and know-how licenses;

Joint R&D through the creation of joint teams, work of specialists abroad;

Coordination and cooperation of R&D;

Providing technical assistance;

Export of complex equipment;

Engineering;

Consulting;

Portfolio investments, including the creation of joint ventures, if they are accompanied by a flow of investment goods;

Scientific, technical and industrial cooperation.

In addition to the two main ways of technology transfer, there are also illegal technology transfer in the form of industrial espionage and technical piracy - mass production and sale of imitation goods by shadow structures.

The result of the international licensing exchange is the provision licenses– permission to use an invention, scientific and technical achievement, technical knowledge and production experience, production secrets, commercial or other information necessary for organizing production.

A license is a form of technology transfer. There are such forms of technology transfer as franchising- permission to use a well-known brand name.

Leasing– a financial and commercial transaction where one party provides the other party with the exclusive use of property for a specified period of time for a certain remuneration on the basis of a lease agreement.

International engineering– as a form of exchange of scientific and technical knowledge. One party provides the other party with a range of engineering and technical services.

Non-contractual forms of technology transfer: corporate forms - purchase or sale of a company, creation of a joint venture, open sale of shares.

Contractual methods of technology transfer: agreements, licenses, franchising, engineering.

All forms of technological exchange do not exist on their own, but are conditioned by the content of technology and reflect the dialectical process of its origin, flourishing, aging and replacement with a new one, the technological backwardness of its owners.

Almost all technology transfer in the commercial sphere is formalized or accompanied license agreement– an agreement under which the licensor (seller, owner of a patent or trademark, know-how) grants the licensee (buyer) permission or the right to use the subject of the license for a certain fee for a certain period.

The license agreement contains the following standard sections:

Preamble (information about the parties).

Definitions (description of concepts and terminology).

Topic 7. International scientific and technological exchange

Features of scientific and technological exchange (STE)

Improvement of technology

Main goals of international scientific and technical cooperation

Technologies:

The system-forming role of technology

International technology transfer: definition

Forms and channels of international technology transfer

2. Theories of the impact of technological progress on international trade

10. 2.1. John Hicks' model of technological progress

11. 2.1. John Hicks' model of technological progress

12. 2.1. John Hicks' model of technological progress

13. 2.2. Dynamic models of technological differences (Michael Posner, in 1961)

14. 2.3. The theory of technological gap and product life cycle (Raymond Vernen, in 1966 - development of the theory of M. Posner).

15. 2.3. Technology gap theory and product life cycle: 5 life cycle stages in international trade

16. 3. International technology market.

17. Material basis, prerequisite and consequence of the international technology market

18. Segments of the international technology market

19. Operations on the international technology market:

20. 4. Instruments for legal protection of intellectual property

21. 5. Main forms of international scientific and technical exchange

22. 6. Assessment of technology transfer volumes

23. Assessment of technological capacity of goods

24. Classification of goods by level of technological capacity in OECD countries

25. 7. International technical assistance

26. Technical assistance

27. 8. State regulation of technology transfer: reasons

28. State regulation of technology transfer: methods

29. Prerequisites and consequences of international technology exchange. Sellers' interest:

30. Prerequisites and consequences of international technology exchange. Buyer interest:

31. Stages of international scientific and technical exchange

32. R&D expenditures and GDP

33. The share of the top 15 countries in global GDP (PPP) according to the IMF

34. Spending on science in the world is growing faster than GDP

35. globalization of science

36. financing of scientific activities

37. Indicators of scientific intensity of GDP in the world

38. Rating of R&D expenditures in countries of the world, % of GDP in 2012.

39.

40. Despite all the difficulties, humanity is still moving along the path of science, technology and innovation. Expenditures on science in government budgets

41. Factors of R&D development in the world

42. Currently, about 7.8 million scientists are employed in scientific research worldwide. In Russia, the number of researchers in 2007–2013 was

If NTP is understood as the development of science and the subsequent application of its results in industrial relations, then the modern stage of NTP (NTR) is a stream of innovations spreading in accordance with laws in certain directions. Thus, scientific and technical progress existing in an industrial society is aimed at increasing production efficiency and solving problems of meeting the quantitative and partly qualitative needs of society. TNP in a post-industrial society is aimed at qualitatively meeting the needs of society and reducing the negative consequences of the development of the stage of industrial technological production.

The continuous expansion of the global technology market and the high rate of technology update increases the cost of products sold on the world market compared to the goods market and the services market, which is due to the high profitability of new technologies and their decisive role in the production process. Thus, the US National Science Foundation notes that for every dollar invested in R&D, a company with up to 100 employees implemented 4 times more innovations than companies with 1,000 - 10,000 people, and 24 times more than companies with more than 10,000 employees. 10,000 people.

Thus, technological enterprises and everything connected with their activities constitute an important element of the organizational structure of modern global social production.

Scientific and technological progress not only revolutionized the structure of the international division of labor, but also expanded the scope of its development and led to the emergence of a new form of economic relations - international scientific, technical and production cooperation.

Every 7 – 10 years, the costs of scientific development double, but the most expensive are not so much the scientific research itself, but rather bringing it to direct industrial application. According to the calculations of experts, the costs of scientific research and development at different stages of their implementation are correlated as follows: 1: 3: 6: 100, where 1 is the costs of purely scientific fundamental research; 3 - costs of fundamental research aimed at practical applications; 6 - costs of applied research; 100 - costs for specific technological developments at the production level.

Today, not a single country in the world can secure leading positions in all or many branches of science and technology. This is not only impossible, but also economically unfeasible. The development of international scientific, technical and industrial cooperation in these conditions is the only and reasonable way out.

International technology transfer is a set of economic relations between firms from different countries in the field of using foreign scientific and technological achievements.

The concept of “technology” includes:

technology itself, understood as a set of design solutions, methods and processes for the production of goods and provision of services;


materialized technology, i.e. technology embodied in machines, equipment, etc.


According to the UNCTAD experts who worked on the Technology Transfer Code, international technology transfer refers to transactions based on “agreements between parties, regardless of their legal form, which have as their goal or one of their goals the assignment of a license or the transfer of their rights to industrial property, sale or any other type of transfer of technical services.”


International technology exchange has been known since the beginning of the 20th century, but the formation of the global technology market dates back to the 50s and 60s. It was by this time that the volume of international commercial transactions with technology exceeded the scale of national exchange. According to the International Monetary Fund, which records payments and receipts for licenses, the number of countries participating in this exchange from 1960 to 1985 increased from 22 to 71, and the national composition of both sellers (from 18 to 37) and buyers (from 49 to 71 countries).


International industrial and scientific-technical cooperation has two levels of prerequisites: prerequisites at the country level; local prerequisites at the level of firms, enterprises and organizations.


Prerequisites at the country level are determined by the fact that the objective differentiation of the innovation process in firms from different countries determines differences in the technological level of national economies, and, as a consequence, different positions of states in the global technology market. Cross-country differences are both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative differences relate to the volume of funds allocated for scientific and technological development and import of technologies. Table 1 can serve as an illustration of these differences. 1.


Qualitative differences concern areas of research, development, orientation of export and import of scientific and technical products, etc.


The scientific and technical potential formed in the country, expressed through product or technological characteristics, and the possibilities of international technology transfer require a search for the optimal combination of its own R&D, innovations and borrowed scientific and technical results. This combination is manifested in the selective scientific and technological development of the state or an individual company. In those areas of science and technology that are not within the scope of specialization of a given country (company), an increase in the technical level is achieved through foreign technologies.


Table 1 – Financial support for science in developed countries (share of R&D expenditures in GDP%)


Year	USA	Japan	Germany	France	Great Britain	Italy	Canada
1985
1990
1995
2005
20115 (forecast)

An analysis of countries that have achieved success in implementing innovations (Table 2), producing and exporting high-tech products allows us to identify certain types of innovative development strategies.


2005	1995
1. Japan	1. USA
2. Switzerland	2. Switzerland
3. USA	3. Japan
4. Sweden	4. Sweden
5. Germany	5. Germany
6. Finland	6. Finland
7. Denmark	7. Denmark
8. France	8. France
9. Norway	9. Canada
10. Canada	10. Norway
11. Australia	11. Netherlands
12. Netherlands	12. Australia
13. Austria	13. Austria
14. UK	14. UK
15. New Zealand	15. New Zealand

The “transfer” strategy is to use foreign scientific and technical potential and transfer innovations to one’s own economy. It was carried out, for example, in the post-war period by Japan, which purchased licenses for highly efficient technologies from the USA, England, France and Russia to master the production of the latest products that were in demand abroad, and on this basis created its own potential, which subsequently ensured the entire innovation cycle - from fundamental research and development to the implementation of their results within the country and on the world market. As a result, the export of Japanese technology exceeded its import, and the country, along with some others, has advanced fundamental science.


Japan is a striking example of the implementation of a selective scientific and technological policy, as evidenced by the targeted nature of the acquisition of licenses by its firms: 50s - improving product quality and efficiency; 60s - reduction in labor intensity; 70s - reduction in energy, fuel and raw materials costs; The 80s - the same thing plus the achievement of technological independence.


The “borrowing” strategy is that, having cheap labor and using their own scientific and technical potential, countries master the production of products previously produced in more developed countries, consistently increasing their own engineering and technical support for production. Further, it becomes possible to carry out their research and development work, combining state and market forms of ownership. This strategy has been adopted in China and a number of countries in Southeast Asia. A classic example is the creation of a competitive automotive industry, highly efficient computer technology, and consumer electronics in South Korea.


The “build-up” strategy is followed by the USA, Germany, England, and France. It lies in the fact that by using their own scientific and technical potential, attracting foreign scientists and specialists, and integrating fundamental and applied science, countries are constantly creating new products and high technologies implemented in production and the social sphere.


Thus, at the country level, the acquisition of technology abroad can be considered as a kind of “compensation” for insufficient R&D expenditures in non-core areas.


Local prerequisites for international scientific and technical exchange at the level of enterprises and organizations include:

increasing the threshold of resources required to solve specific scientific and technical problems;


the narrowness of the material and technical base of an individual enterprise, institute, laboratory;


unpreparedness of existing production systems to use new technical solutions;


discrepancy between the obtained scientific and technical results and the enterprise development strategy;


new strategic opportunities arising from participation in international technology transfer.


International scientific and technical exchange and cooperation are especially significant for technology-oriented enterprises and organizations that rely on the high competitiveness of their products and services provided. They often adhere to the strategy of “producing not what is relatively cheaper or better quality, but what no one else can (yet) produce.”


Analysis of the feasibility of international technology transfer requires answers to two questions: the economic feasibility of exporting technology and its import.


The economic feasibility of exporting technology is that it is:

means of increasing income. If there are no conditions for the implementation of a new technology in the form of production and marketing of a particular product, one should at least implement the technology as an independent product. This will increase financial opportunities for subsequent R&D, development of production at newly reconstructed or commissioned facilities, marketing in the domestic and foreign markets;


a form of struggle for the commodity market. Initially, due to the lack of capital, it is difficult to organize the release of the product and its sale abroad in sufficient quantities. At the same time, buyers on the foreign market will already be familiar with the product, which was previously produced under license;


a way to circumvent the problems of exporting goods in material form: there are no problems with transportation and sales of products, customs barriers;


a means of expanding commodity exports if a comprehensive licensing agreement is concluded providing for the supply of equipment, materials, components;


a method of establishing control over a foreign company through such terms of a licensing agreement as the volume of goods produced by the license buyer, his participation in profits (royalties), control over the technical conditions of production, the use of securities and the licensee as a license fee;


6) a way to provide access to another innovation through cross-licensing


7) the possibility of more effective improvement of the licensed object with the participation of the purchasing partner, which is often provided for in the license agreement.


The economic feasibility of technology import is that it is:


access to high-tech innovations;


a means of saving R&D costs, including in time;


a means of reducing the cost of imported goods and at the same time a means of attracting national capital and labor;


a condition for expanding exports of products admitted using foreign technologies. Experience shows that in many countries the share of products produced under licenses in foreign exchange exports exceeds the share of national products. One of the reasons for this is the high quality of licensed products.


This determined the emergence and intensive development of the global technology market, which has a peculiar structure and features.


2. WORLD MARKET OF TECHNOLOGIES: STRUCTURE AND FEATURES


The heterogeneity of scientific and technological progress, the presence of various forms of science and technology, on the other hand, and various channels of technology transfer, on the other hand, determined the heterogeneity of the global technology market and led to the formation of such segments as:

market of patents and licenses;


market for high-tech technological products;


high-tech capital market;


market for scientific and technical specialists.


The following figures give an idea of ​​the size of technology market segments: the global license market is approaching $30 billion and is trending toward rapid growth; the global market for science-intensive products is $2.3 trillion a year; direct foreign investments in 1397 exceeded $827 billion, of which, according to various estimates, 10-20% of investments can be attributed to high-tech capital. According to forecasts, by 2015 the demand for high-tech machinery and equipment will reach $3.5-4 trillion.


The sectoral structure of the technology market changes depending on the goals of scientific and technological development of countries. In the 40-50s, the main thing was to ensure military-technical superiority; in the 60-80s, this goal was supplemented by the tasks of ensuring stable rates of economic growth and increasing the global competitiveness of individual industries. Since the 90s, countries have shifted the priorities of science and technology policy towards information services, medicine, ecology and other aspects of sustainable growth and improving the quality of life.


Therefore, the modern structure of the global technology market is represented by knowledge-intensive industries, including: electrical engineering, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, communications equipment production, instrument making, aerospace, and automotive.


This is one of the most intensively developing world markets in recent decades, since in terms of its dynamic parameters, technological exchange prevails over traditional world economic flows of both goods and monetary capital.


The global technology market is better developed than the national one, even if we take into account the internal technological exchange of any developed country in the world. The main role in this process was played by international corporations, which created a special mechanism for sharing R&D results between parent and subsidiary companies. Assessing the role of international corporations in global development, the authors of the fourth review of the UN Center on TNCs come to the conclusion that “these associations made the most significant contribution to the field of technology transfer.”


The technological gap that exists between countries at different stages of economic development determines at least a two-level structure of the technology market:


a) high technologies circulate mainly between industrialized countries;


b) medium and low technologies may be new to the market of developing and transforming countries and the subject of technological
exchange between them and within these groups of countries.


There is another explanation for the latter. As a rule, technologies of industrialized countries are labor-, resource-saving and capital-intensive, while technologies of developing countries and countries with transition economies are capital-saving, labor- and resource-intensive.


The global high-tech market is characterized by a uniquely high concentration of resources in a small number of developed countries: 40% belongs to the USA, 30% to Japan, 13% to Germany (Russia only 0.3%).


The main competitors in the global high-tech market are the USA and Japan. In the 1990s, American leadership in the field of Internet technologies (in science and education, commerce and transportation, leisure and telecommunications) and electronic intercompany commerce was strengthened. At the same time, patent statistics reflect the significant advantages of Japanese companies in obtaining US patents compared to US companies (Table 3).


Table 3 - Firms that received the largest number of patents


Firm	Number patents, 1991	Firm	Number patents, 2005
"Toshiba"	1014	"IBM"	2657
"Mitsubishi"		"Kenon"	1928
"Hitachi"		"Nippon Electric"	1627
"Kodak"		"Motorola"	1406
"Kenon"		"Sony"	1316
"General" electrician		"Samsung"	1304
"Fuggi Photo"		"Fyujitsu"	1189
"IBM"		"Toshiba"	1170
"Philips"		"Kodak"	1124
"Motorola"		"Hitachi"	1094
Total	8045	Total	14815

The degree of monopolization of the global technology market is much higher than that of the global goods market. Its unusually high level is evidenced by the following data: in the 90s, TNCs controlled more than 1/3 of world capitalist industrial production, over 1/2 of foreign trade, and in the field of technology the level of monopoly capital reaches 80%.


The behavior strategy of TNCs in the global technology market in relation to independent firms and countries is determined by the “life cycle” of the technology:


at the first stage of the “life cycle”, preference is given to the sale of finished products, which implement new ideas, principles,
process and which is capable of providing the buyer with new quality;


at the second stage, technological exchange is supplemented (or carried out) by direct foreign investment;


at the third stage, preference is given to the sale of pure licenses. In recent years, this stage has been accompanied by the establishment of new joint
enterprises, but the technology coming to them is not advanced.


When transferring technology to independent foreign firms, TNCs often use restrictive business practices, including:


restrictions on the use of technology or know-how after the expiration of a patent or licensing agreement;


conditions obliging the buyer of the technology to transfer to the seller the improvements and enhancements he has made to the technology;


setting prices for products manufactured on the basis of the sold technology;


limitation of production and export volumes, areas of use of the licensed product;


support for the sale of technologies “related” to the export of raw materials, semi-finished products, equipment, etc.


The exchange of technologies is not based on random, episodic and spontaneous transactions, but is largely pre-prepared in nature (often carried out in close connection with the strategic goals of the parent companies). They have a serious impact on the degree of novelty of the technology entering the market, the geography and industry structure of its placement.


Since the 80s, inter-firm cooperation (instead of competition) has become the dominant line of behavior of TNCs in the global technology market.


As R. Brainard, a member of the OECD's Science, Technology and Industry Directorate, notes: “This process began at a time when international competition was intensifying, when technology became a decisive factor in competitiveness... Companies were able to extract economic benefits from combining research and technology, although they continued to compete in the field of their application and marketing of products in the markets. This process can be illustrated by the international intertwining of leading firms in the automotive industry (Table 4).


Table 4 - International weaves in the automotive industry


Firm	Co-owners
Rover	Honda, Ford, Volkswagen, Chrysler, General Motors, Suzuki
BMW	80% - Rover, Daihatsu
Ford	25% - Mazda, 10% - KIA, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Fiat, Renault, General Motors, Nissan, Suzuki
Mercedes Benz	BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen
Honda	20% - Rover, Chrysler, Daewoo, General Motors, Mercedes, Peugeot, Mitsubishi
Mazda	8% - KIA, Nissan, Isuzu, Fiat, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Porsche, Suzuki
KIA	Daihatsu, Ford, Mazda, Renault
Renault	Peugeot, Toyota
General Motors	50% - Saab, 3.5% - Suzuki, 37.5% - Isuzu, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Peugeot, Volvo
Isuzu	General Motors, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Peugeot, Volvo
Volvo	20% - Renault, Daewoo, General Motors, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Peugeot
Volkswagen	Audi, Seat, Skoda, Porsche, Mercedes, Rover, Suzuki, Toyota, Nissan, Volvo, Ford
Porsche	Mercedes, Volkswagen
Daewoo	General Motors, Honda, Suzuki, Volvo, Nissan
Peugeot/Citroen	Suzuki, Honda, Renault, Isuzu, Nissan, Rover, Chrysler, Fiat, Daihatsu, Volvo
Toyota	14.7% - Daihatsu, General Motors, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, Renault
Mitsubishi	Mazda, Suzuki, General Motors, Mercedes, Chrysler, Honda, Isuzu
Fiat	Peugeot, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Mazda, General Motors
Nissan	Daewoo, Ford, Mazda, Fiat, General Motors, Toyota
Chrysler	Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot

Intercompany cooperation includes: venture agreements, joint research and development, technology exchange, direct investment, supply agreements, unilateral technology transfer.


The global technology market has a specific regulatory framework for its functioning in the form of the International Code of Conduct in the field of technology transfer (Geneva, UNCTAD, 1979) and international regulatory bodies (organizations): UNCTAD Committee on Technology Transfer, Meeting of Security and Technology Specialists (STEM) .


An integral element of the structure of modern international economic relations is the international exchange of technology. The role and importance of international technology exchange have especially increased since the second half of the twentieth century, when the world community entered an era of qualitative changes in the content of the concept of “technology”. From empirically learned skills to carry out production activities and, accordingly, interaction with the forces of nature in the process of such activities, technology has turned into a set of scientifically based methods of production. As such, it began to include three interrelated components of knowledge that have production significance: knowledge about the general chemical and physical conditions of production, knowledge about the methods of influencing the object of labor with appropriate tools, and about the technical and economic organization of labor and its management. Embodying this knowledge, the sources of which are increasingly the development of natural science, technology has acquired a new functional role - a mediating link in the interaction of science with production. In turn, international technology exchange, ensuring the spatial dissemination of scientific and technological achievements in the world economy, has established itself as the most important factor in realizing the global nature of scientific and technological progress.
Kireev A. International economics. - M.: International Relations, 2005. Market of services in the general system of international economic relations Monetary and credit relations in the system of international economic relations