Why do Japanese companies file patents in China? Revisited

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the Chinese patent application upsurge among Japanese MNEs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors extended the sample provided by Nakata and Zhang, from the period of 1995 and 2003 to 1995 and 2007, and paid more attention to the market advantage of Japanese MNEs and competitive relationships such as those between Japanese MNEs and domestic as well as other foreign firms in China.

Findings

The present findings indicated that after China revised its patent law for the second time and joined the WTO, patenting by Japanese MNEs became increasingly driven by those that operated diversified businesses in China. Competition in IPR measured by the technology proximity of Japanese MNEs with domestic as well as other foreign firms showed a positive correlation with regard to increased patenting.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that focused on the effects of Chinese IPR reform on the Chinese patenting behavior by Japanese MNEs.

Citation

Zhang, X. and Nakata, Y. (2013), "Why do Japanese companies file patents in China? Revisited", Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPC-06-2012-0016