Vendros in Brazil: Negotiating an international technology transfer

Abstract

Vendros Technologies, an American software and equipment vendor, entered into negotiations about a technology licensing agreement with Netcom Brasil, a Brazilian telecommunications company, in March 1999. The negotiations became a swirl of conflicting points of view due to differences between Vendros and the contractor that wrote the program supporting Vendros's technology, cultural differences between the Americans and the Brazilians regarding negotiating practices, differences in the legal systems of the two countries, and problems stemming from Brazil's then-erratic economy. Further complicating the negotiations were substantial differences of opinion on ownership of the technology, rights to source code, operational guarantees, and payment/currency risk. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.