Licensing Experience Research Articles

Materials R&D for a timely DEMO: Key findings and recommendations of the EU Roadmap Materials Assessment Group

The findings of the EU Fusion Programme's ‘Materials Assessment Group’ (MAG), assessing readiness of Structural, Plasma Facing (PF) and High Heat Flux (HHF) materials for DEMO, are discussed. These are incorporated into the EU Fusion Power Roadmap [1], with a decision to construct DEMO in the early 2030s.The methodology uses project-based and systems-engineering approaches, the concept of Technology Readiness Levels, and considers lessons learned from Fission reactor material development. ‘Baseline’ materials are identified for each DEMO role, and the DEMO mission risks analysed from the known limitations, or unknown properties, associated with each baseline material. R&D programmes to address these risks are developed. The DEMO assessed has a phase I with a ‘starter blanket’: the blanket must withstand ≥2MWyrm−2 fusion neutron flux (equivalent to ∼20dpa front-wall steel damage). The baseline materials all have significant associated risks, so development of ‘Risk Mitigation Materials’ (RMM) is recommended. The R&D programme has parallel development of the baseline and RMM, up to ‘down-selection’ points to align with decisions on the DEMO blanket and divertor engineering definition. ITER licensing experience is used to refine the issues for materials nuclear testing, and arguments are developed to optimise scope of materials tests with fusion neutron (‘14MeV’) spectra before DEMO design finalisation. Some 14MeV testing is still essential, and the Roadmap requires deployment of a ≥30dpa (steels) testing capability by 2026. Programme optimisation by the pre-testing with fission neutrons on isotopically- or chemically-doped steels and with ion-beams is discussed along with the minimum 14MeV testing programme, and the key role which fundamental and mission-oriented modelling can play in orienting the research.

Behind the Scenes: Sources of Complementarity in R&D

Management consultants increasingly recommend that internal R&D be outsourced; however, little is known about the substitution or complementarity between internal and external R&D. Through structural estimation of a flexible innovation production function we provide a deeper understanding of firm‐level drivers of complementarity between these two types of investments. Our analysis is based on a unique panel data set on the R&D and in‐licensing expenditures of pharmaceutical firms. Our results suggest that internal R&D and in‐licensing are neither complements nor substitutes. We find that the degree of complementarity is enhanced for firms with stronger absorptive capacity, economies of scope, and licensing experience.

Exclusivity in Biotech Licensing: What Makes Licensors Restrict their Options?

How do licensing transactions unfold in technological alliances? We address this research question with emphasis on understanding the impact of technology stage, previous licensing experience, verticality of partner choice, and market relevance on licensing agreement terms. In particular, we leverage transaction-cost and resource-based theories as well as a large and novel dataset comprised of 2,809 biotechnology licensing transactions to understand when these transactional features lead to non-exclusive versus exclusive licensing outcomes. Our findings contribute to fledgling research on contracts at the transaction unit of analysis and offer implications for entrepreneurial firms’ options to enhance the chances of survival in highly uncertain product markets.

Steps to Global Licensing Success

The impact of evolving technology on those who create content and those who use it has raised many interesting copyright-related challenges that legislators, copyright experts, authors, publishers and licensing organizations around the world are looking to address. Several international initiatives underway highlight the evolving global copyright landscape, including a report commissioned by the UK government calling for the creation of a “Digital Copyright Exchange.” Through such international efforts—and through the content licensing experience of collective management organizations—the best solutions to the copyright challenges of our time can deliver efficiency to everyone involved.

Using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve patent disputes

Russell Levine is a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP with over 25 years of experience in IP litigation and licensing and in the mediation and arbitration of patent disputes. Matthew Topic is a senior IP litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and former law clerk to Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where he participated in over 100 settlement conferences. In this article the authors discuss the benefits of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) over litigation in resolving patent infringement, licence and other technology-related disputes. The benefits of ADR and the numerous different paths that can lead parties to a dispute to ADR are accelerating its use. In this article the authors discuss the various paths and also the different types of ADR that are available, including for example, mediation and arbitration. The authors provide readers with practical advice concerning best practice for making ADR work, concluding that it is here to stay and will probably continue to grow in importance given rising costs associated with traditional litigation.

Young, Inexperienced, and on the Road

The graduated driver licensing (GDL) program in Queensland, Australia, was considerably enhanced in July 2007. This paper explores the compliance of young learner and provisional (intermediate) drivers with current GDL requirements and general road rules. Unsupervised driving, learner logbook accuracy, and experiences of punishment avoidance were explored as was speeding as a provisional driver. Participants (609 females, 423 males; M = 17.43 years) self-reported their sociodemographic characteristics, driving behaviors, and licensing experiences as learners. Six months later, a subset of participants (238 females, 105 males) completed another survey that explored their provisional behaviors and experiences. Although the majority of participants reported compliance with both the GDL requirements and general road rules, such as stopping at red lights on their learner license, a considerable proportion reported speeding. Furthermore, they reported becoming less compliant during the provisional phase, particularly with speed limits. Self-reported speeding was predicted by the following variables: younger age at licensure, being in a relationship, driving unsupervised, submitting inaccurate learner logbooks, and speeding as a learner. Enforcement and education countermeasures should focus on curtailing noncompliance, targeting speeding in particular. Novice drivers should be encouraged to comply with all road rules, including speed limits, and safe driving behaviors should be developed and reinforced during the learner and early provisional periods. Novice drivers have been found to model their parents’ driving, and parents are pivotal in regulating novice driving. It is vital that young novice drivers and parents alike be encouraged to comply with all road rules, including GDL requirements.

RETRACTED: The role of deliberate and experiential learning in developing capabilities: Insights from technology licensing

We discuss the interdependencies between deliberate and experiential learning in developing a dynamic technology licensing capability, which was termed 'desorptive capacity' in earlier conceptual work. We use new three-year lagged data from two surveys of 79 firms to examine the role of dedicated licensing employees and prior licensing experience in developing firms' sensing, seizing, and transforming capacities in technology out-licensing. The findings emphasize capabilities' multidimensionality and critical trade-offs due to interdependencies between deliberate and experiential learning in developing capabilities. Besides interdependencies with experiential learning, deliberate learning strengthens sensing and seizing capacity, but it negatively affects transforming capacity based on inertia.

On the advantages of negotiation

This article offers a partial response to and personal reflection on Kjell Tjensvoll’s March 2011 article on the benefits of the procurement process to the Norwegian Electronic Health Library. It considers Tjensvoll’s assertions on the basis of the author’s own experience of licensing, negotiation and procurement with the UK’s academic library consortium, JISC Collections, over the last decade. It argues that whilst there are undoubtedly benefits to be had from tender processes, there are also a number of potential pitfalls and unintended consequences and questions whether a procurement exercise is always the most appropriate way to go about licensing unique electronic resources. It is further suggested that for essential procurements at the consortia level a well-structured negotiation can deliver superior results more finely attuned to the needs of the consortium.

The impact of changes to the graduated driver licensing program in Queensland, Australia on the experiences of Learner drivers

Purpose Graduated driver licensing (GDL) has been introduced in numerous jurisdictions in Australia and internationally in an attempt to ameliorate the significantly greater risk of death and injury for young novice drivers arising from road crashes. The GDL program in Queensland, Australia, was extensively modified in July 2007. This paper reports the driving and licensing experiences of Learner drivers progressing through the current-GDL program, and compares them to the experiences of Learners who progressed through the former-GDL program. Method Young drivers ( n = 1032, 609 females, 423 males) aged 17–19 years ( M = 17.43, SD = 0.67) were recruited as they progressed from a Learner to a Provisional driver's licence. They completed a survey exploring their sociodemographic characteristics, driving and licensing experiences as a Learner. Key measures for a subsample ( n = 183) of the current-GDL drivers were compared with the former-GDL drivers ( n = 149) via t-tests and chi-square analyses. Results As expected, Learner drivers progressing through the current-GDL program gained significantly more driving practice than those in the former program, which was more likely to be provided by mothers than in the past. Female Learners in the current-GDL program reported less difficulty obtaining supervision than those in the former program. The number of attempts needed to pass the practical driving assessment did not change, nor did the amount of professional supervision. The current-GDL Learners held their licence for a significantly longer duration than those in the former program, with the majority reporting that their Logbook entries were accurate on the whole. Compared to those in the former program, a significantly smaller proportion of male current-GDL Learners reported being detected for a driving offence whilst the females reported significantly lower crash involvement. Most current-GDL drivers reported undertaking their supervised practice at the end of the Learner period. Conclusions The enhancements to the GDL program in Queensland appear to have achieved many of their intended results. The current-GDL Learners participating in the study reported obtaining a significantly greater amount of supervised driving experience compared to former-GDL Learners. Encouragingly, the current-GDL Learners did not report any greater difficulty in obtaining supervised driving practice, and there was a decline in the proportion of current-GDL Learners engaging in unsupervised driving. In addition, the majority of Learners do not appear to be attempting to subvert logbook recording requirements, as evidenced by high rates of self-reported logbook accuracy. The results have implications for the development and the evaluation of GDL programs in Australia and around the world.

Internal Versus External R&D: Complements or Substitutes?

Even though management consultants increasingly recommend that in-house research be outsourced, little is known about the conditions favoring substitution or complementarity between internal R&D and external technology acquisition. In this paper, we attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the firm-level drivers of complementarity between these two types of investments through the structural estimation of a flexible innovation production function, such as the translog. Our empirical analysis is based on a unique panel dataset on the R&D and in-licensing expenditures of 94 global pharmaceutical firms active in drug development between 1997 and 2005. Our results suggest that internal R&D and in-licensing in the pharmaceutical industry were neither complements nor substitutes during the study period. However, we find that the degree of complementarity is enhanced for firms with stronger absorptive capacity, economies of scope, and past licensing experience.

High Pressure Boiling Water Reactor

Some 400 boiling water reactors (BWRs) and pressurized water reactors (PWRs) have been in operation for several decades. The presented concept, the high pressure boiling water reactor (HP-BWR), combines the best parts and omits the troublesome components of traditional BWRs and PWRs by taking into consideration the experiences gained during their operation.One of the major benefits of the HP-BWR is that safety is improved. The design utilizes gravity-operated control rods, and there is a large space for the cross-formed control rods between fuel boxes. The bottom of the reactor vessel is smooth and without penetrations. All the pipe connections to the reactor vessel are well above the top of the reactor core, and core spray is not needed. Additionally, internal circulation pumps are used.The HP-BWR concept is also environmentally friendly: Improved thermal efficiency is achieved by feeding the turbine with ~340°C (15 MPa) steam instead of ~285°C (7 MPa), and there is less warm water release to the recipient and less uranium consumption per produced kWh, resulting in the production of less waste.Finally, the HP-BWR is cost effective and simple, operating in direct cycle mode with no need for complicated steam generators. Moisture separators and steam dryers are placed inside the reactor vessel, and additional separators and dryers can be installed inside or outside the containment. Well-proved simple dry containment or wet containment can be used.In more than half a century, an extensive regulatory licensing experience has been built from traditional BWRs and PWRs. The HP-BWR is a developed, high-performance successor of those conventional designs. Therefore, it can be expected that licensing can be accomplished in a reasonable time.Several utilities are supporting manufacturers to study concepts for future reactors. It is likely that an application to one or more electrical power companies for financial support by a manufacturer to make a detailed feasibility study of the HP-BWR would be positively treated. This could be the next step to the implementation of the HP-BWR.

Technology licensing partners

While formal economic theory has tended to focus on strategic behavior in technology licensing within a single industry, empirical analysis in this paper shows that transaction and learning cost considerations factor in heavily when choosing technology licensing partners in multi-industry environments. The probability that two companies will engage in a licensing agreement mainly depends on the relationship between the collaborating firms and on their respective characteristics, including the similarity of their market and technological profiles, familiarity through prior interaction, and previous licensing experience, and on the strength of intellectual property protection in the primary industry of the licensor.

Dockets, Deals, and Sagas

University Technology Licensing Offices (TLOs) are strategic sites for examining efforts to concretize, frame, and market early stage technologies. This paper draws on 18 months of fieldwork in a private university TLO to analyze collective decision-making efforts during licensing meetings. I describe three processes - docket description, deal framing, and problem resolution - that highlight the central roles that locally sensible strategies and languages play in describing and comparing disparate technologies. Such approaches reflect the collective experience of licensing associates and, when rationalized through organizational learning, represent the processual underpinnings of ongoing transformations in the institutional arrangements of US universities. Close examination of meeting discussions reveals multiple ‘conceptual spaces’ that support TLO decision-making and more closely connects theoretical work in science and technology studies with theories of organizational learning and with economic sociology’s growing emphasis on commensuration.

ITER at Cadarache: An Example of Licensing a Fusion Facility

The existing regulatory framework in France provides a full and coherent licensing basis to permit ITER to be build and operated at Cadarache. The specific sitting studies including the submission of the first step of licensing documentation for ITER offers an early assessment of fusion power plants.The regulatory procedure begins with the release of a Safety Objectives Report, which has already been sent to the Safety Authorities in the beginning of 2002. This report is presenting a description of the plant, the radioactive inventory and the identification of the main risks and associated safety functions.This document includes a preliminary evaluation of the environmental impact associated with normal operation and representative accidental events. The results of this analysis are given. For example the consequences in term of additional doses are estimated to be about 1 μSv per year for the closest inhabitants around the Cadarache site during normal operation.The licensing of ITER will be the first experience of licensing a major magnetic fusion device on a scale similar to that of a power plant. Thus there are lessons to be learnt and precedents that will be set.

The wealth effects of non-equity alliances The U.S.-Japanese licensing experience

Most licensing agreements in our sample transfer technology into, rather than away from, Japan. Japanese licensees frequently belong to keiretsus and are larger but less research intensive than U.S. licensors. If bargaining power relates positively to keiretsu membership or firm size, such alliances could transfer wealth from US to Japanese firms. However, mean abnormal returns of U.S. licensors are larger than mean abnormal returns of Japanese licensees. Thus, wealth transfers are not the primary determinants of stock price responses to the U.S.-Japanese licensing agreements we study. Instead, cross-sectional tests show that US licensors benefit from their own research intensity and from maintaining an equity buffer that provides financial flexibility.

Parents' views of driver licensing practices in the United States

Parents of 17-year-olds were interviewed about the licensing experiences of their sons and daughters. A nationally representative sample of 1,000 parents were asked about the path to licensure of their children, and about their participation in the process. Parents were asked about their opinion of the licensing practices in their own states and about their support for additional driving restrictions on novice drivers. The majority (86%) said their children already had licenses, and 81% of parents thought their sons and daughters were ready when first licensed to drive under most conditions. Over half were satisfied with the licensing process in their own state, but a sizable minority (25%) reported that states were not doing such a good job with the existing requirements. Forty-one percent of parents surveyed thought that it should be more difficult to obtain a license. Parents overwhelmingly supported restrictions for beginning drivers such as a minimum period of supervised driving, night driving curfews, restrictions on the number of teenage passengers in the car, and a zero blood alcohol concentration for teenage drivers. Graduated licensing programs that include delayed full-privilege licensure were supported by 58% of those surveyed.

The SLOWPOKE licensing model

The SLOWPOKE Energy System (SES-10) is a 10 MW heating reactor that has been developed in Canada. It will be capable of running without a licensed operator in continuous attendance, and will be sited in urban areas. It has forgiving safety characteristics, including transient time-scales of the order of hours. A process called “up-front” licensing has been evolved in Canada to identify, and resolve, regulatory concerns early in the process. Because of the potential market in Hungary for nuclear district heating, a licensing plan has been developed that incorporates Canadian licensing experience, identifies specific Hungarian requirements, and reduces the risk of licensing delays by seeking agreement of all parties at an early stage in the program.

The licensing experience of the Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR)

The MHTGR is an advanced reactor concept being developed under a cooperative program involving the U.S. Government, the nuclear industry, and the utilities. The design utilizes the basic HTGR features of ceramic fuel, helium coolant, and a graphite moderator. However, the specific size and configuration are selected to utilize the inherent characteristics of these materials to develop passive safety features that provide a significantly higher margin of safety than current generation reactors. The design meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Protective Action Guidelines at the site boundary, hence precluding the need for sheltering or evacuation of the public during any licensing basis event. This safe behavior is not dependent upon operator action and is insensitive to operator error. The MHTGR Licensing Plan agreed to with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discussed with particular attention to the framework of the preapplication review. The objective and scope of each key document prepared for the NRC review is presented. A summary is provided of the safety response to events challenging the functions relied on to retain radionuclides within the coated fuel particles. The regulatory interaction process and results are discussed through the NRC staff, NRC contractor, and ACRS reviews.

Safety and licensing for small and medium power reactors

Proposed new concepts for small and medium power reactors differ substantially from traditional Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Although designers have a large base of experience in safety and licensing, much of it is not relevant to new concepts. It can be a disadvantage if regulators apply LWR rules directly. A fresh start is appropriate. The extensive interactions between industry, regulators, and the public complicates but may enhance safety. It is basic to recognize the features that distinguish nuclear energy safety from that for other industries. These features include: nuclear reactivity, fission product radiation, and radioactive decay heat. Small and medium power reactors offer potential advantages over LWRs, particularly for reactivity and decay heat.

Fishermen Divided: The Impact of Limited Entry Licensing in Northwest Newfoundland

Limited-entry schemes have recently been widely touted as solutions to economic and biological problems in coastal fisheries. Here the experience of licensing in the shrimp and cod dragging fisheries of northwest Newfoundland is assessed in relation to the theoretical advantages claimed for it. After reviewing the development of the region's fisheries prior to limited entry, it is argued that the economic objectives of licensing were partially achieved but that the social consequences, principally the creation of state- supported social divisions among fishermen and maldistribution of incomes, suggest limited-entry licensing is a flawed management strategy in isolated, fishery-dependent regions.