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The
Licensing Executives Society (LES) Philippines, the
local society of LES International, the preeminent
global association of professionals engaged in the
licensing and commercialization of intellectual-property
rights, recently held a forum to explore the question of
whether or not the Philippines has what it takes to
establish its own version of Silicon Valley.
A more
fundamental question is, of course, whether establishing
our own Silicon Valley would be an appropriate model for
the development of science and technology in our country
and the right stimulant for economic growth in these
areas.
Silicon
Valley is one of the most innovative regions in the
world, and has been the launch pad of the most
successful technology start-ups in history. Who hasn’t
heard of Dave Hewlett and Bill Packard starting
Hewlett-Packard, now a $91.7- billion company providing
technology solutions to consumers, businesses and
institutions globally, from a garage in
Silicon Valley?
Dennis
Posadas, the author of Rice & Chips:
Technopreneurship and Innovation in Asia, who was
the main speaker at the forum, points out that there are
more than enough similarities between Silicon Valley and
our neighbors China, Taiwan, India, Singapore and Korea
to warrant a hard look at the “unwritten rules” that
allowed these countries to make the most of their
research capabilities and venture-capital infrastructure
to develop their own technology start-ups, enabling them
to leapfrog over other Asian economies.
A
developing country such as the Philippines should seize
the opportunity to develop its own technologies, keeping
in mind the relatively lower cost of innovation and
manufacturing. Moreover, it is a means to free our
economy from an overreliance on Western technologies and
to be recognized internationally for the ability to
develop our own cutting-edge technologies. This column
space is insufficient to enumerate the many Filipino
scientists and researchers who have blazed trails in
their respective fields, foremost of whom is 2007
Harvard Scientist of the Year Dr. Baldomero Olivera.
Cutting-edge does not always mean hard technologies.
Korea is one country which has harnessed the full
potential of its soft industries, i.e., copyright-based
industries, such as television (through their
omnipresent Koreanovelas), music, games and cartoons, to
not only derive the maximum economic benefits, but also
project the country as a leader in the field of
entertainment and a definer of pop culture. Studies show
that revenue from these soft industries now account for
a large percentage of Korea’s GDP, which was
traditionally anchored on its “hard” industries such as
ship-building and semiconductors.
A
cardinal rule in creating an “ecosystem” akin to Silicon
Valley, according to Posadas, is developing a critical
mass of researchers, engineers, scientists, venture
capitalists, IP lawyers and other support-service
providers, all having a “technopreneurial” mindset
focused on bringing ideas and innovations to the market.
This is not exactly in synch with the traditional
Filipino upbringing that the key to success and a
comfortable lifestyle is landing a cushy job in an
established company.
We have
a lot of catching up to do, compared with our Asian
neighbors, in improving our math and science education
and in encouraging our youth to pursue careers in these
fields. Whenever the Philippines’ competitiveness is
measured against other countries, it woefully falls
short when compared on the basis of scientific
infrastructure.
Some
other rules cited by Posadas as necessary to simulate
the Silicon Valley experience are: (1) There must be a
university or research institute that does research and
development on a par with the rest of the world, and
publishes and/patents its results to gain recognition
for its achievements; (2) There must be stories of
successful entrepreneurs that are handed down from
generation to generation; (3) Geographic proximity is
very important; and (4) A good financial and legal
framework for startups should be available.
On the
point of geographic proximity, there are already a
number of technology incubators in the
Philippines,
including in Cebu and Davao, which seek to hatch new
technologies by housing technology-oriented start-ups in
close quarters. The most high-profile example is the
UP-Ayala Technopark which is seen as the anchor of the
Diliman-Loyola Heights Innovation Zone—called such due
to the presence within this corridor of UP and Ateneo
and their respective research laboratories.
At the
end of the forum, the audience did not form any
conclusions as to whether the Silicon Valley route is
indeed the way for the Philippines to go. Nevertheless,
there was a greater appreciation of the role that IP
licensing and commercialization can and should play as a
driver of economic development. Too often, intellectual
property is seen locally merely in the context of having
to protect IP rights and to enforce them, if need be. It
must not be forgotten, however, that a third major
aspect is that IP is an asset which, when properly and
fully commercialized, creates immense wealth.
****
Atty. Patricia A. O. Bunye is a partner at Villaraza &
Angangco (www.cvclaw.com). Her areas of specialization
include intellectual property (particularly IP licensing
and commercialization) and mining. She is the president
of the Licensing Executives Society Philippines. She may
be reached at po.bunye@cvclaw.com |
