Compulsory licensing and Taiwanese CD and DVD companies: a case study of Ritek Co., Ltd, Taiwan R.O.C. | |
| Author | Chen, Po-Chang |
| Subject(s) | CD-ROM industry--Taiwan DVD Ritek Co., Ltd.--Thaiwan |
| Note | The degree of Master of Business Administration (Executive) in Management of Technology and International Business, School of Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The optical storage industry as represented by CD-R and DVD products is one of the most important industries in Taiwan. Globally, Taiwanese suppliers have a significant market share. In recent years, Taiwan’s optical storage industry has been confronted with severe profitability problems. In this study, these problems and their possible remedies are studied by using Ritek as a case company. Ritek is a leading company in the optical storage industry both in Taiwan and globally. Ritek and other companies in this industry in Taiwan are operating in the later stages of the life cycle of the optical storage industry. These companies are obliged to pay hefty royalty fees to the companies that originally developed the technology for the existing products. The situation is so extreme that the royalty payments can even exceed the market price of the discs. It is no longer a question of making a normal profit, but a question of existence. The objective of this study is to find solutions to the severe profitability problems experienced by the optical storage industry in Taiwan with special reference to compulsory licensing. It is assumed that the situation faced by Ritek is also representative of other companies in this market. One solution to the problems is compulsory licensing, which is the use of patents without authorization of the rights holder. Various economic models built in the study are used to predict the outcome of possible compulsory licensing. Managerial implications of the results of this study are also provided. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Kauranen, Iikka; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Igel, Barbara;Amoussou-Guenou, Roland; |