摘要

  本論文調查了發光二極體（LED）產業的侵權和訴訟動態，包括全球LED公司之間的合作和衝突。我們應用社會網絡理論來檢驗侵權和訴訟結構的形成，並探討這些動態如何聚合以塑造全球LED產業的技術發展。他們的網絡結構特徵截然不同，影響了LED公司的專利侵權和訴訟方式。利用全球主要LED公司的專利資料，我們構建了公司的專利侵權和訴訟網絡，並檢驗了關於全球LED產業三個層面網絡中三個結構特徵來影響專利侵權訴訟網絡、專利和解子網絡和全球LED交叉授權網絡。最後，我們還通過數據集來估算和預測技術相似性和重疊。在102家全球LED公司中檢查這些關係，共有235個專利訴訟樣本，對我們的論點給予強有力的支持。通過這樣我們通過展示專利侵權訴訟網絡，專利和解子網絡和全球LED交叉授權網絡做出了重要的理論貢獻。

關鍵字：LED產業、專利侵權訴訟、交叉授權網絡、技術部署、社會網路分析

Abstract

  This study investigates the infringement and lawsuit dynamics of a light emitting diode (LED) industry encompassing collaboration and conflict among global LED firms. We apply and advance social network theory to examine the formation of infringement and lawsuit structures, and to explore how these dynamics aggregate to shape the technological development of a global LED industry. Their network structural features are distinct and influence focal LED firms’ patent infringement and lawsuit differently. Using the patent data of global focal LED firms, we constructed the firm’s infringement and lawsuit networks, and examined the effects of three structural features in the three firm level networks—patent infringement lawsuit networks, patent settlement sub-network, and global LED cross-license network—on the global LED industry. Finally, we also estimate and forecast the technological similarity and overlapping by through our dataset. Examine these relationships in a 102 global LED firms with 235 patent litigation samples and find strong support for our arguments. In so doing, we make an important theoretical contribution by showing that the patent infringement lawsuit networks, patent settlement sub-network, and global LED cross-license network.

Keywords: LED industry, patent infringement and lawsuit, sub-network, cross-license network, technology deploying