WIPO杂志，2014年第6期（12月）

PIONEERSOF BLUE LEDS DAZZLE NOBEL COMMITTEEp.2|CONSUMERS UNDERSTAND IP IS THE KEY TO INNOVATIONp.8|NAVIGATING DRIVERLESS CARSp.11 CONTENTS p.2Pioneers of blue LEDs dazzle Nobel Committeep.8Consumers understand IP is the key to innovationp.11Navigating driverless carsp.15Commercializing IP: changing academicmindsets in the Philippinesp.19The threat of signal piracy to broadcasters servingminority communitiesp.22IP and sports: a winning formulap.26IPAN: improving IP awareness in the UK Editor:Catherine JewellGraphic Designer:Annick Demierre Front cover:Sports events generate a deep-rootedemotional response among the publicmaking them a high value businessproposition when supported by a strongintellectual property legal framework.Photo: iStock©franckreporter Acknowledgements:p.2Matthew Bryan, PCT Legal Division, WIPO,Mosahid KhanandHao Zhou, Economics and Statistics Division, WIPO, andJonah Asher, WIPO Japan Officep.8Marco AlemanandTomoko Miyamoto, Patent Law Division, WIPOp.15Andrew Czajkowski, Access to Informationand Knowledge Division, WIPOpp.19 & 22Carole Croella, Copyright Law Division, WIPOp.26Yoshiyuki Takagi, Global Infrastructure Sector, WIPO ©World IntellectualProperty Organization PIONEERS OFBLUE LEDSdazzle Nobel Committee “Incandescent lightbulbs had lit the20thcentury; the21stcentury will belit by LED lamps.”Swedish Academyof Sciences. Blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) are firmly embedded in our daily lives. They backlightthe screens of mobile phones, TVs and computers; they illuminate homes, streetsand vehicles and are used in an impressive array of other applications from Blu-raydiscs and traffic lights to digital communication and dentistry. This high-quality sourceof light offers significant economic, social and environmental benefits. Some haveput the impact of blue LEDs on a par with the transformations brought about by theinvention of the traditional (incandescent) light bulb in the early 20th century. Othershave heralded blue LEDs as the “most successful semiconductor material of the 21stcentury.” So it seems only fitting that this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics, an accoladethat recognizes an invention of great benefit to humanity, has been awarded to itsinventors – Professor Isamu Akasaki, Meijo University and Nagoya University (Japan);Professor Hiroshi Amano, Nagoya University (Japan); and Professor Shuji Nakamura,University of California, Santa Barbara (USA). A light-emitting diode consists of severallayers: an n-type layer with a surplus ofnegative electrons, and a p-type layer withan insufficient amount of electrons, alsoreferred to as a layer with a surplus of positiveholes. Between them lies an active layer towhich the negative electrons and the positiveholes are driven when an electric voltage isapplied to the semiconductor. When electronsand holes meet they recombine and lightis created. The light’s wavelength dependson the semiconductor; blue appears at theshort-wave end of the rainbow and can onlybe produced using certain materials. Their seminal work in the mid-1980s sparked an intensification of research and devel-opment in the field, triggering a surge in patent filings as well as the rapid evolution ofthe technology, the emergence of a global multi-billion dollar industry and numerousfar-reaching social and environmental benefits. BREAKTHROUGHS SPAWN FIERCE BUSINESS RIVALRY In the early years, the two companies responsible for initially commercializing thetechnology–Toyoda Gosei (with whom Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano worked inpartnership) and Nichia Corporation (Shuri Nakamura’s employer at the time) – domi-nated the lucrative market for blue LEDs. The two companies locked horns in a fiercebusiness rivalry as each fought for pole position. Despite multiple rounds of litigationover patent rights (which ultimately resulted in a comprehensive cross-licensingagreement), their race for market dominance fuelled the technology’s rapid advanceas each sought to outdo the other by producing brighter, higher quality blue LEDs. The inventions ofthis year’s PhysicsNobel Prize winnershave revolutionizedlighting technology.LEDs are extremelyflexible sourcesof light capable ofproducing manydifferent colors atvarying intensities,as required. Breakthroughs in blue LED technology and its commercialization coincided with thegrowing popularity and explosive demand for mobile phones and liquid crystal displays.Huge sales and even bigger profits transformed the fortunes of both companies aswell as those of Nagoya University. Thanks to Japan’s adoption of a law akin to theUS Bayh-Dole Act, whereby universities gained ownership of patents deriving fromgovernment-funded research, Nagoya University was able to generate significantlicensing revenue from its blue-LED-related patents. New market entrants includingmanufacturers of consumer electronics (e.g. Philips and Samsung) and innovativelighting solutions (e.g. Cree and Osram), seeking to tap into the technology’s hugecommercial p