GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY LICENSING NEGOTIATION IN CORPORATE WORLD

GLOBAL FUNCTIONALITY OF THE LICENCOR FIRM
Metro corporation is a diversified steel rolling, fabricating and construction company based in the Midwest and considers itself to be in a mature industry. Innovations are few and far between. With transport and tariff barriers and the support given by many governments to their own companies exporting as a means of doing foreign business is rather limited.

Similarly given the large investment modest return and political sensitivity of the industry, direct foreign investment is all but a closed option. In a global strategic sense then Metro corporation has far more frequently focused on licensing as a market entry method with technologies confined to

(1)PROCESSES AND ENGINEERING PERIPHERAL TO THE BASIC STEEL-MARKING PROCESS.
(2)APPLICATIONS OF STEEL IN CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER INDUSTRIES.
All metro's licensing is handled by its international division, International Construction and Engineering (ICE) , which is beginning to develop a reputation in Western Europe ,South America and Asia as a good source for specialized construction technology.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY LICENSING NEGOTIATION IN CORPORATE WORLD

Negotiating Technology Licensing provides an introduction to some of the basic issues that arise in technology licensing negotiations and offers useful insights into how they may best be handled. In a highly competitive and dynamic marketplace, technology licensing is a useful option for companies seeking to maintain their competitive advantage and a healthy balance sheet. It covers a wide range of basic issues that arise during technology licensing negotiations and offers useful insights into how they may best be handled in practice.
It is designed to address the practical business needs and concerns of non-specialists who are required to deal with 'licensing in' or 'licensing out' technology, be it directly or indirectly. The Manual focuses on the process of due diligence prior while preparing for negotiations, and steps involved in actual negotiation, acquisition and transfer, through licensing agreements, of technologies protected by patent and trade secrets. 

Technology transfer (TOT) is important for economic development. It can be defined as transfer of new technologies from universities and research institutions to parties capable of commercialization, or in the sense of transfer of technologies across international borders, generally from developed to developing countries.

Generally TOT consists of knowledge or IP rights that are:

i. licensed in the form of intellectual property,
ii. the subject of formal consulting or training agreements,
iii. communicated in the work place or research settings,
iv. diffused by publication or other means.

More and more companies rely upon new and improved technology to obtain a competitive advantage in today’s highly competitive international marketplace. Increasingly, a number of patents are responsible for a technology and a number of technologies for a product, for example, a car or a camera. This technology can be acquired either through research and development undertaken by the company itself, in cooperation with others, or by acquiring technology developed by others which may be on offer in the market.