Up to a third of new technology goes to waste because companies fail to
exploit it or license it elsewhere. Some companies have as many as 1000 spare
patents gathering dust. David Burton of Business Planning & Research
International in London interviewed intellectual property managers at 133
companies and 20 universities in the US, Europe and Japan. The British
Technology Group, which commissioned the survey, estimates that worldwide,
“orphan” technologies are worth more than $100 billion. The wastage gets
worse when companies merge or close parts of their business.
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