IPR-Standardization Interaction in Japanese Firms:Evidence from Questionnaire Survey

Abstract

To disentangle the relations between standards, innovation and competition, this paper examined the processes and effects of standardization in Japanese firms. The realities of their activities were provided by a postal questionnaire sent to progressive large firms in Japanese industries. Overall, although Japanese firms have sufficiently understood the significance of increased standardization, they donft always actively and strategically involve in the standardization process. The conclusion may be derived from the respondentsf evaluations that 1) the effects of standardization are less likely to be profitable; 2) formal standard setting organizations are not always an effective coordination mechanism of intellectual property rights; and 3) they donft have a sufficient internal institution for standardization strategy. They are rather skeptical of particularly formal and semi-formal standardization processes.Consensus-based Standards, Split Type of Standardization, Intellectual Property Rights, Standards Setting Organizations; Patent Hold-up