Research
Although the number of such inventions is very small
(see Tables 3 and 4 and the last sentence under “Special
provisions for Commissioned and Joint
Research”), the possibility that inventions will be
classified as national inventions hangs like a sword of
Damocles over university–industry technology
transfers. This is because many inventions can
theoretically be classified as national inventions,
especially if they arose under grant-in-aid support,
the main source of project-specific R&D funds in
National Universities. Such classification means
that the technologies face substantial legal and
bureaucratic obstacles to development and commercialization
by private companies.
The possibility that many inventions could be classified
as national inventions probably has discouraged
inventors and companies from entering into
transparent contractual agreements. This contributes
to a culture of informal, undocumented transfers under
which inventors are in a weak bargaining position.
They have no means to ensure that their
inventions will be developed, and universities lack
data on what technologies they create and the fate of
these discoveries. A Monbusho official responsible
for university–industry cooperation stated publicly in
early 1998 that the process of deciding which are national
inventions and the system of patenting and licensing
such inventions are without public benefit.