Technological Distance and Breakthrough Inventions in Multi-Cluster Teams: How Intra- and Inter-Location Ties Bridge the Gap

Multi-cluster R&D teams have the potential to generate breakthrough inventions because they can tap into the distinct knowledge of the different geographic hot spots in which team members are located. Having access to a variety of knowledge offers these teams great recombinatorial potential. To succeed, however, the geographically dispersed members must share and integrate the different local knowledge pools available to them. We argue that the density of intra-team co-patenting ties shapes intra-team knowledge sharing and integration and hence the extent teams benefit from the knowledge they can access. Whereas greater density of intra-cluster team ties (within a given location) hinders sharing and integration of locally tapped knowledge across locations, greater density of inter-cluster ties (across cluster locations) facilitates it. Our empirical analysis of 834 multi-cluster nanotechnology R&D teams shows that the technological distance (the difference in knowledge) between clusters in which inventors are located has an inverted-U relationship with the likelihood of the team generating a breakthrough. Further, we find that the density of multi-cluster team intra- vs. inter-cluster ties influences the effect of technological distance on the likelihood of breakthrough invention.

PATENT V/S MONOPOLY-A CASE STUDY

Provisions of Compulsory License balance this law between interest of Inventor & public as through these provisions License can be provided to others if the invention did not use sufficiently for Public. In case of medicine this law remains in debate from its beginning as Drugs are essential & Life saving commodities & monopoly on drugs products can make them inaccessible to poor people. Big Pharma players tries to extend monopoly on their patented products through subsequently filling frivolous Patents as report says that most of the Patents filed remain as minor modifications than any breakthrough invention. This practice doesn’t provide more new Drugs molecules which can help in fighting new form of disease, through this practice Pharma companies only tries to increase their profits.

Diamond Enhanced Shear Cutting Elements on Roller Cone Bits

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutters and drag bit designs have been substantially improved since their 1972 introduction, and PCD drill bits now are approaching the rolling cone tungsten carbide insert (TCI) market is terms of revenue size and have surpassed it in terms of economic impact on the drilling industry.1,2 These performance improvements have lead to a significant encroachment into the drill bit market built upon the breakthrough invention of the rolling cone bit by Howard Hughes Sr. Material and design improvements in the last decade, however, have now led to the successful application of patented shear cutting PCD elements as well as conventional diamond enhanced crushing style inserts on rolling cone bits. Diamond enhanced rolling cone bits are also a growth market for diamond elements in drilling. Failing rock in shear is a more efficient process than by crushing, but most cutting materials can not stand up to the forces generated in the shearing process as rock strength increases. To take advantage of the unique ability of the PCD cutter to shear rock efficiently, a concerted R&D effort supported by laboratory and field-testing led to the application of diamond as a shear cutting element on roller cone bits. A variety of rolling cone shear cutting elements have been developed and successfully commercialized in the last decade. This paper will discuss laboratory results and increased field performance achieved relative to conventional crushing style diamond and tungsten carbide inserts. The authors will document through case studies increases in rate of penetration (ROP), footage, overall durability, and gauge holding ability in addition to bearing/seal effectiveness that have further reduced drilling costs and served to increase usage of polycrystalline diamond elements on roller cone bits. These applications range from such diverse markets as high cost offshore North Sea, to low cost North American land operations.