跨国并购的专利问题研究

【作者】 曹阳；

【导师】 张乃根；

【作者基本信息】 复旦大学 ， 国际法学， 2008， 博士

【摘要】 从跨国并购的视角研究专利技术交易是一个较新尝试。跨国并购中的专利问题包括专利的审慎性调查与评估、专利交易模式、专利的反垄断审查等方面。本文旨在利用制度比较的方法,运用管理学、经济学以及法学的相关理论对跨国并购中所出现的专利交易问题进行系统研究,力图同时从理论与实证方面为相关问题提供有益的答案。除引言与结语外,本文共分为五章。第一章对专利制度、技术进步与跨国并购的关系进行了研究。从专利制度变革、技术进步以及企业并购浪潮历史考察来看,本文认为专利制度的创新以及发展对于技术的进步起着重要的作用,专利制度的发展促进了技术的产生,增加了专利技术的价值,便利了专利技术在全球范围的流动,从而使专利技术成为各个时代重要的无形资产。专利制度的革新所引发的各个领域的技术进步使得技术之间的关联性与依赖性不断提升,技术之间的融合与整合成为必然,而并购正是技术整合的有效手段。在现今的网络时代、数字化时代,技术的跨国利用获得了极大的便利,技术整合不仅仅发生在一国的国内,跨国技术整合与利用成为企业的必然选择,这就是技术进步所引起的跨国并购问题。从FDI跨国学派并购理论以及企业战略并购理论来看,技术因素都是跨国并购考量的核心因素。从实证分析来看,跨国并购与专利的国际申请波动以及趋势一致,跨国并购的活跃区必然是专利非居民申请较多的地区。因而可以认为专利制度、技术发展与跨国并购之间存在着一定的相关性。第二章对跨国并购交易中的专利审慎性调查与评估进行了研究。一个完整的专利审慎性调查应该包括专利资产的确认,专利交易的相关风险与评估、风险的规避、与专利资产相关的利益协同以及对并购后专利资产的有效利用。专利审慎性调查步骤包括确立对于并购交易具有实质意义的专利技术、获取并审查与专利技术相关的材料、识别专利资产等。专利审慎性调查的具体内容包括专利所有权、有效性、效率性以及协同效应审查等。虽然专利审慎性调查的方法有所不同,但步骤一般包括专利相关信息收集与分析。专利评估是以专利法律制度为基础,以专利技术为支撑,对专利的经济属性进行定量研究的行为。专利的价值评估具有法律性、技术性、专有性、风险性以及不确定性等特征。实践中一般认为以技术为基础的评估方法包括行业标准法、经验法、定级法、现金流量贴现法、非传统的高级方法(包括蒙特卡罗估价法、实物期权以及其它方法)以及拍卖法等。这些专利评估方法可以分为以成本为基础的方法、以市场为基础的方法、以收入为基础的方法以及以变化风险为基础的方法。本文以为对专利进行定性分析的定级法以及实物期权法是可知较适宜用于评估专利的方法。佐治亚太平洋指标与CHI分析方法是定级法的具体运用,CHI指标过于从技术的角度探讨专利的价值,佐治亚太平洋指标虽然关注专利技术的市场情况,但是缺乏定量的分析,将这两者有机结合是评估专利技术的有效方法。第三章对跨国并购中的专利交易进行了研究。本文认为专利制度趋同性表现为专利制度的程序与实体方面的趋同。程序趋同包括获权程序的趋同与维权程序的趋同。实体方面的趋同主要是受TRIPS协议的影响。虽然专利制度的趋同是发展趋势,但各国专利制度的差异性仍然较大,这表现在可授予专利主题及其例外、专利授予条件、专利权利的范围及权利解释、专利权例外以及专利侵权的损害赔偿标准等方面。各国专利制度的异同对跨国并购中专利价值的认定以及与专利相关的交易成本具有重要影响。专利转移是跨国并购中专利交易的主要形式。跨国并购的专利转移主要包括专利所有权、使用权以及控制权的转移。专利转移的不同方式对各方来说既有优势也有劣势,采取何种方式取决于各方的意愿以及交易的具体情况。专利依许可方对被许可方所受让技术的使用限制可分为独占许可协议、排他许可以及普通许可协议。按照专利许可是否存在明示的协议可将专利许可分为明示许可与默示许可。跨国许可与一般许可相比,除了许可方位于外国外,与一般的内国许可并无太大的区别。但许多国家对向外国公司许可专利技术规定了较多的限制条件。国际专利许可合同的准据法的确定,以“意思自治原则”为首要原则,当事人没有约定的,一般适用受让方营业所所在地国家的法律。跨国并购中专利收购的类型主要包括采取资产收购或股权收购的方式以获取企业的全部相关专利权以及为对某种特定专利的定向收购。跨国收购战略、模式与风险与一般国内收购并无太大的差异,但在许多国家,跨国专利资产收购受到法律的更多控制,在法律适用的选择上受到较严格的限制。税负也是跨国并购中的专利交易需要考虑的问题。对于跨国并购中专利技术转移,可能产生征税权争议,居住国与收入来源国的主要征税权竞争在于技术授权所得的征税方式的征税权扩张,因而需要关注各国税法的具体规定。同时跨国并购各方可通过某些特殊的制度设计达到节税的目的。第四章对跨国并购中与专利相关的反垄断问题进行了研究。在专利权与反垄断的关系上,存在着垄断法优先、专利法优先以及专利法应与垄断法适当平衡三种观点。成本收益法为基础的分析方法可以协调反垄断与专利法之间的关系。效率是知识产权许可与合并反垄断审查的目标。对于跨国并购中涉及的专利许可而言,一般情况下对专利许可行为应采取经济分析方法。专利许可的反垄断审查认定包括本身违法以及合理原则。跨国专利许可的反垄断审查各国并无特别法规制,一般都与国内专利许可的反垄断审查适用相同的制度。反垄断法意义上的专利合并主要包括通过资产收购方式获取企业具有实质价值的专利资产以及通过股权并购的方式获取对企业的控制权从而获取专利资产的控制权。专利合并的反垄断审查与其它合并的反垄断审查一般采用相同的方式,但需考虑专利权的特殊性。从现今各国的实践来看,对并购一方为外国居民的专利合并的反垄断审查,一般都适用内国的反垄断审查标准,很少有国家对此建立特殊的标准。许多国家的反垄断法甚至具有域外效力,对纯粹发生在国外的跨国并购在某种情况下也具有管辖权,可以运用内国法对发生在国外的跨国专利合并予以规制。因而,对于跨国并购中的专利合并而言,不管专利合并发生于国内,还是国外,一般都适用内国专利合并的反垄断审查标准。当一个拟议中交易的各方同意提供承诺或救济时,审批机构可能批准具有反垄断性质的交易。与专利相关的非结构性救济措施主要包括承诺不滥用专利权,承诺向第三方许可专利或转让特定专利。与专利相关的跨国并购,特别是具有巨大影响力的并购,必须从全球消费者福利的角度予以考虑,仅仅局限于一个或几个国家的反竞争分析可能得不出正确的结果。第五章对外资并购以及中国企业海外并购中所遇到的专利相关问题进行了分析。本文认为外资并购中涉及的与专利相关的法律规范可以分为管制性规范与激励性规范。管制性规范是对专利技术的国内以及跨国交易做出约束性规定;而激励性规范是便利专利交易的法律规范。中国相关规范不适于技术的有效转移,需要对之进行改革。中国有必要建立统一的外商投资审查机构,统一外商投资政策适用,鼓励外国投资者通过并购方式转移其专利技术,同时对外国收购中国的专利技术加强反垄断、反不正当竞争以及国家安全审查。可以考虑建立外资审查的反垄断以及国家安全方面的审查指南,建立技术许可的反垄断审查指南以及建立并购的横向以及纵向指南并对专利技术合并中的反垄断问题作出规定。中国企业的海外并购受到外国的反垄断、国家经济安全、限制技术流出等方面的管制,但是外国多元的专利利用渠道也为专利价值最大化提供了方便。为应付国外的管制性规定,中国应赋予企业更多的市场主体地位,减少对企业经营的微观干涉。中国企业在海外并购专利技术时必须注意收购目标的选择,最好选择自己熟悉并与自己有长期往来的企业作为收购目标。在审慎性调查上,必须注意技术之间的协调效应以及并购后技术能否得到有效利用。在交易结构的设计上,注意外国的税法规定以及相关的节税安排。更多还原

【Abstract】 To study the patent transaction from the perspective of cross-border merger & acquisition (M & A) is a somewhat new area. The patent-related transaction issues during cross-border M&A include due diligence and evaluation of patent, mode of patent transaction and anti-trust investigation. By introducing the method of comparative institution analyses, this dissertation is aimed to make a systematic research on the patent transaction during the cross-border M&A and is trying to propose some useful suggestions to the problems arising from theoretical and practical prospects. The relevant management, economics and legal theories are used in the analysis. Besides introduction and conclusion, this dissertation includes five chapters.In chapter 1, the interrelation among patent system, technology development and cross-border M&A is analyzed. From the historical perspective, the creation and development of patent system is crucial to the technology progress. The developed patent system promotes the new technology to appear, adds more values to patents, facilitates the transaction of patent worldwide and hence makes the patent important intangible property of different ages. Innovation of patent system brings comprehensive progress in all technological fields, which makes technologies more interrelated and dependent, so the integration and concentration of different technologies is inevitable. And the M&A is one of the effective ways of integrating and concentrating technologies. In this internet and digital era, the cross-border use of technology is really convenient, so the integration of technologies happens not only in one country but also in different countries, which is so-called cross-border problems arising from technology progress. From the cross-border theory of FDI School and strategy M&A theory, technology is the core factor considered in M&A. From the practical perspective, cross-border M&A and the international application of patent share some common fluctuation waves. The active areas of cross-border M&A is in conformity with the active areas of non-residence applications of PCT. So patent system, technology progress and cross-border M&A must share some relevance.In chapter 2, patent due diligence and evaluation for cross-borer M&A are studied. A complete patent due diligence shall include the identification of patent assets, relevant risks of patent transaction and evaluation, evasion of risks, synergies of different patents and the effective usage of post-M&A patent assets. The specific content of patent due diligence include identifying the substantially important patent technology of the M&A, accessing and reviewing all relevant materials of the identified patent, validity and sufficiency checking. The most commonly used method of patent due diligence is collecting and analyzing the patent related information. Based on the patent legal system, supported by patent technology, patent evaluation is aimed to provide a definite economic value for certain patent. The patent evaluation has some legal, exclusive, risky and uncertain characters. Generally, the often used patent evaluation methods include industry standards, rating method, rules of thumb, discounted cash flow method, advanced valuation methods (Monto Carlo and Real Options) and auctions. The above-mentioned methods can be classified as cost base methods, market based methods, income based methods and changing risks based methods. The ranking method and Real Options method are most appropriately methods used for evaluating patents because of their qualitative analysis advantages. Georgia Pacific Factors and CHI method are two kinds of applications of the ranking method. CHI method focuses on technological factor but neglects market development; while Georgia Pacific Factors pays more attention to market situations, but lack quantitative analysis. Mixing Georgia Pacific Factors and CHI method together may be a valid way of evaluating patents.In chapter 3, Patent-related transactions during cross-borer M&A are studied. The patent systems of different countries share some procedural and substantive similarities due to signing of international patent treaties, such as Paris Convention, TRIPS agreement and PCT. Though some similarities exist, the difference is still large for the patent system. The difference and similarities of different patent regimes are sure to influence the value of patents and transaction cost for patent transfer during cross-border M&A.The patent related transactions during cross-border M&A include patent licensing, ownership or controlling right transfer of patents. Whether mode is adopted depends on willingness of concerned parties, technology situation and transaction arrangement. Ownership or controlling right transfer and licensing both enjoy some advantages and disadvantages. The licensing agreement can be classified as exclusive license, sole license and simple license. Therefore the licensing agreement can also be classified as explicit licensing and implied licensing. Ownership or controlling right transfer of patent during cross-borer M&A can be done through patent asset and stock acquisitions. Cross-border licensing of patent has no difference from domestic licensing except that outflow of specific patent is restricted in some countries and the proper law needs to be considered. Cross-border and domestic patent-related asset and stock acquisitions also share some similarities, but patent-related asset and stock acquisitions is more controlled by national laws and the proper law generally is local law. Tax is a critical factor in technology transfer during cross-borer M&A. As for the transnational technology transfer, the different tax levying policy of different countries may bring double taxation burden for the transaction parties, so the relevant parties shall pay special attention to the tax laws of different countries. Therefore through some accurate and considerate arrangement of transaction structure, some tax burden may be reduced.In chapter 4, the anti-monopoly problem of patent related issues during cross-borer M&A is studied. As for the relationship between patent and anti-trust law, three opinions exist. Some scholars think that patent law shall prioritize the antitrust law, and some scholars think antitrust law shall prevail. This dissertation thinks that the balanced relation between patent and antitrust law shall be the best choice. The triggering balance standard shall be cost and benefits analysis. Efficiency shall be the goal of antitrust review of patent licensing and convergence. As for the patent licensing during cross-borer M&A, the antitrust review shall be done through economic analysis. The rule for antitrust review of patent licensing shall include per se illegal and reasonable analysis. Cross-border and domestic patent licensing share similar antitrust view standards. And the antitrust view of patent concentration shall be no different from other properties, but the unique character of patent shall be considered. The patent concentration under antitrust law includes acquisition of substantially important patent assets or controlling stock of a company which boasts important patent assets. Cross-border and domestic patent concentration also apply similar antitrust review standards. The remedies for patent related transaction during cross-border M&A are used for some transaction having an antirust effect, which can be remedies by taking some special measures. The remedies methods comprise of structural and non-structural ways and more non-structural method is used for patent related antitrust analysis. For the patent related cross-border M&A which has global impact, the global consumer welfare shall be considered.In chapter 5, the patent related problems during M&A of domestic enterprises by foreign investors and overseas M&A by Chinese investors are studied. This dissertation thinks that the legal norms related with patent transaction during foreign M&A can be classified as regulative and encouraging ones. The regulative norms are restrictive because its limitations on the domestic or overseas transfer of patents, while encouraging norms are used to facilitate the patent transfer. All those norms in China are not good to patent transactions and some reforms are needed. In China, a unified and authoritative reviewing organ for foreign investment shall be established; uniform application of foreign investment policy is needed. China shall encourage foreign investors to transfer its patent technology during M&A. China also needs to enhance its antitrust, anti-unfair and national securities review of patent transaction during M&A. China may write its own antitrust guidelines for licensing and concentration of patent, clarify its reviewing standards for national securities. The overseas utilizations of patent by Chinese investors may be blocked because of antitrust, national economic securities and other restrictive measures by foreign governments. The Chinese investors can make best use of the derivatives value of patent assets during overseas M&A. Chinese government shall confer more market status to its companies and reduce its micro-intervention of market in order that the Chinese companies can easily passed relevant regulating reviews. Therefore Chinese companies shall be cautious during overseas patent acquisitions; special attention shall be paid to due diligence, coordination of technologies and relevant tax arrangements.更多还原