專利訴訟對於企業競爭優勢之影響分析－－以台灣IC設計廠商為例

Abstract

近年來專利權已成為影響高科技產業競爭發展的關鍵要素，尤其台灣廠商頻頻成為外國廠商控告專利侵權的對象更突顯出此項議題的重要性。有鑑於此，本研究綜合五力分析、鑽石模型、競爭優勢模式以及專利分析等理論建立分析架構，對於具代表性的台灣IC設計廠商被控專利侵權案例對其競爭優勢的影響進行分析，獲致以下結論：為有效減低專利訴訟對於競爭優勢的不利影響，國內廠商應積極建立與上下游廠商緊密的合作關係，且不因訴訟威脅而放棄或大幅縮減原本所專精的產品類別，並且致力將研發成果化為最終產品市場地的專利。而在專利申請策略上，應積極申請與先進大廠重要專利的互補專利，或者採用標準制定組織所決定的開放性架構標準，藉以避免自身的技術完全居於首要競爭對手的掌控之下。

In resent years, patenting has become crucial to the development of high technology industries. The issue is of particular importance in Taiwan since a growing number of Taiwanese companies have been sued by foreign competitors for patent infringement. In light of this, this thesis attempts to integrate related theories ( i.e., five forces analysis, diamond model, competitive advantage model, and patent analysis) to establish a framework for analyzing the effects of patent litigation on the competitive advantages of representative Taiwanese IC design companies. The conclusions are summarized as follows. In order to lessen the negative effects of patent litigation, Taiwanese companies should establish firm relationships with suppliers and customers, maintain the production of their expert products, and seek to actively convert their R&D output into patents in the destination market. As for patent application strategies, companies should apply for patents complementary to those held by their main competitors or follow open standards set by standard setting organizations, so that they won’t be subject to their competitors’ control.