問27
頻出度★★☆
外部技術の導入手法の一つとして, 企業が互いに有する特許の実施権を相互に許諾するものはどれか。
平成26年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問27
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 27
Incorrectア
An alliance is a broad concept referring to business tie-ups in general, in which companies bring together their respective management resources to cooperate; it also covers joint development, joint sales, capital tie-ups, and so on. It is not a term for the specific, limited arrangement of mutually granting the right to use patents, so it does not fit the description in the question.
- イ
正解 The correct answer is “イ Cross-license.” A cross-license is a contract in which several companies grant each other the right to use (license) the patents they each hold. The description in the question, “companies mutually granting each other the right to use the patents they each hold,” matches this definition. A company can take in technology it lacks from another company’s patents while letting the other company use its own patents; this offsets patent fee payments and makes it possible to introduce external technology in a short time while avoiding the risk of patent infringement lawsuits. For this reason it is positioned as one of the methods for introducing external technology (a means of acquiring technology).
Incorrectウ
A joint venture is a form in which several companies jointly invest to set up a new company (a jointly owned company) and run a business together. Its essence is creating a separate new organization, not letting each other use existing patents.
Incorrectエ
A royalty is the “usage fee” itself that the party using a right such as a patent, copyright, or trademark pays to the right holder; it is merely the name of the consideration. It is not a term that expresses a form of contract for mutually granting rights to use patents.
ここがポイント
- Cross-license = a contract in which several companies mutually grant the right to use the patents they hold. The aims are to offset patent fees, avoid infringement lawsuits, and quickly introduce external technology.
- Distinguishing terms about using external resources: Alliance (business tie-ups in general) / Joint venture (setting up a jointly funded company through joint investment) / Royalty (a fee for using a right) / Cross-license (mutual granting of the right to use patents).
用語