Let me first give a Greg-like take on this article as it
touches on a similar pet peeve - there is no sign that
any Japanese language materials were used to research
the article. While it is commendable that McDaniel does
have a B.A. in Japanese, there is no indication that her
professor let her use that ability. The study of Japan
is one area in which a "scholar" with essentially no
skill with the language of the subject country can claim
to be expert. This would be absolutely unacceptable in
the case of, for example, France, Germany or even
Russia.
At first glance, the article appears to be a hash of
old myths, but I will have to read it more closely.
For those interested in innovation in Japan, I highly
recommend the following book:
We Were Burning : Japanese Entrepreneurs and the
Forging of the Electronic Age, Bob Johnstone,
Basic Books, 1998, ISBN: 0465091172
Johnstone is a journalist who has lived in Japan for
some 20 years or more. He has written for the
Far Eastern Economic Review and Wired among other
periodicals.
In order to write this book, Johnstone took a year
on a McKnight fellowship at MIT to study science
journalism before proceeding with the book. The
book is extremely well researched by an author
who knows that you need to get beyond the English
literature to produce something meaningful about
Japan.
There is a saying among "Japan-hands": If you have
visited Japan for two weeks, you can write a book. If
you have been there for a year, you can write an
article. If you have been there for two years, you
wonder if you can write anything at all. After that
realization, you gradually develop an ability to produce
something meaningful.
Maskus appears to be at the three-month level.
-- Alan Engel ISTA, Inc. ConvertedKokai(tm) machine translations of Japanese patents http://www.intlscience.com
Sandra Unger wrote:
> Hello, > There is an interesting article on Japanese Patent Law and its impact on > the dissemination of technology in the August, 1999 issue of ChemTech. > This is a very digestible summary of Japanese Patent Law and includes some > comparisons to US Patent Law. > > I would be very interested to hear comments from those who are > knowledgeable in Japanese Patenting practices. This article basically > builds a strong case for the premise that the methods used by the Japanese > patent system promoted the diffusion of technology and had a positive > effect on technical progress. This is an interesting theory. > > Unfortunately I do not know enough about Japanese patent law to critically > read this article. I would be interested to the thoughts of those more > knowledgeable in Japan's patenting practices. > > "How technology got a boost from the Japanese Patent Office", Christine A. > McDaniel and Keith E. Maskus, ChemTech, August 1999, pp. 53-58. > > Thanks, > Sandra Unger