Comment I: Technology Transfer on the International Agenda

Summary

Introduction

The controversial and divisive debate on transfer of technology, which acquired importance on the international economic agenda with the launching of the unsuccessful negotiations concerning a Draft Code of Conduct in the 1970s, remains a subject of continuing multilateral negotiations. The main agenda of the 1970s was to close the technological gap between developed and developing countries and to secure “equal opportunities for all countries” and “special treatment for the developing countries.” At the center of the debate was the interface between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and transfer of technology. Important contributions to this discussion have been made in this volume. This comment offers some general obervations about the nature of the debate and its evolution, and about the principal contributions to this chapter.

Technology transfer on the international agenda

Since the 1970s, perceptions of the problems attending the transfer of technology have changed. At first, much of the debate focused on technology transfer per se and, in particular, on the terms and conditions of technology transactions. Technology was generally assumed to be like any other product, and its transfer resembled the typical transaction between a seller and a buyer. The tacit elements of the transfer and the fact that local learning of new skills may have been necessary to complete the transaction were not given much consideration. Such information problems were not taken into account because firms were assumed to operate with full knowledge of the market for inputs, including technology.