Intellectual Property

Granting of intellectual property rights on biological materials could be very contentious issue from cultural, legal, ethical and religious points of view. This could be even more complicated, once it acquires an international dimension. The Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) is the latest international arrangement under which, a complex structure for international protection of intellectual property rights has been created. However, while it embodies some provisions of pervious international documents on intellectual property rights, it reflects a unique and unprecedented scheme of protection of intellectual property rights, which also highlights a tension between developed and developing countries especially over the patentability of biological inventions. The provisions of TRIPs make it difficult for developing countries to deny such protection. However, it is possible for them to limit the scope of such protection by relying on exceptions provided by TRIPs and also by relying on the distinction between invention and discovery. These strategies would allow developing countries to exercise some discretion in defining the scope of patentable biotechnologies.

Given the paradigm shift from “Closed Innovation” to “Open Innovation”, there seems to be a need for a systematic mechanism for exploring and evaluating alternative external technologies, as well as the business models that may be appropriate for capturing value from such technologies. Although Traditional Technology Roadmapping (TTRM) used to play an important role in this regard, analyzing its utility in the context of Open Innovation reveals some shortcomings that need to be addressed in order to make the most of the Technology Roadmapping (TRM) concept. This paper elaborates on these limitations and suggests a modified approach, Open Innovation Roadmapping (OIRM), as an effective technological innovation management and planning tool in this new paradigm. The results of the application of the proposed approach in the case of the membrane technology roadmapping at the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) are also presented here. Further practical guidelines are also raised by the authors to give a more practical vision on the approach.