Global Technology Markets

• Published in: Review of market integration Vol. 2; no. 2-3; pp. 333 - 392
• Main Authors: Petrusson, Ulf, Rosén, Henrik, Thornblad, Tobias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi, India SAGE Publications 01.08.2010
• Subjects: biotechnology; ICT; intellectual property; Open IP platforms
• ISSN: 0974-9292; 0975-4709
• DOI: 10.1177/097492921000200307

This article analyses Open Intellectual Property (IP) platforms—where multiple stakeholders collaborate, package and transact upon technology in systems with ‘venture-market hybrid’ characteristics. Activities on these platforms typically include collective gathering, creation and development of knowledge assets to which openness is regulated through the determined level of access, ownership and utilisation rights. We analyse how IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) and contracts operate as a set of self-regulatory tools in the construction of platforms where technology is accessed openly but still is priced on what could be described as technology markets. A case study of the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) platform illustrates a transition over time as a new logic for collaborative, market-based development coalesces. To further understand the underlying building blocks and enabling legal tools that provide the foundation for open IP platforms a framework is suggested. By applying the framework to the Innovative Medicines Initiative platform the tools that govern openness and stimulate creation of new knowledge markets are made visible.