科技公司该不该捍卫知识产权

 Not every Silicon¹ Valley company with rich intellectual property bothers to defend it. Altruistic², perhaps, but it is also a recipe for an activist³ attack. UNPRotected IP is money on the table.

并非每家拥有丰富的知识产权的硅谷公司都会费神去捍卫它。大公无私？或许吧。但这么做也会招来维权股东的攻击。不受保护的知识产权就像摆在桌面上的钱。

Qualcomm, the mobile chipmaker, faced activist questions last year. Jana Partners argued that the company should consider spinning off its higher-margin licensing⁵ division. But the Jana idea, which was ultimately rejected, only came about because Qualcomm is already assertive⁶, supplying the fruits of its research and development to other companies, and demanding fat royalties⁷ in return. Oracle⁸, which last week lost a court battle with Google, also took an aggressive tack⁴, accusing the search giant of violating its copyright to develop the Android operating system. Oracle’s defeat was applauded by software geeks prizing openness. But Oracle’s shareholders⁹ could have been $9bn better off.

移动芯片制造商高通(Qualcomm)去年就面临了维权股东的质询。大股东Jana Partners认为高通应考虑剥离其利润率较高的专利授权业务部门。但Jana提出这个主张（最终被否决了）只是因为高通已经相当咄咄逼人：向其他公司提供自己的研发成果，收取高额专利费用作为交换。上周打官司刚输给谷歌(Google)的甲骨文公司(Oracle)也采取了激进手段，指控搜索巨擘谷歌在开发安卓(Android)操作系统时侵犯其专利。甲骨文的败诉令看重开放性的软件爱好者们鼓掌称快。但甲骨文的股东们原来有望进账90亿美元。

科技公司该不该捍卫知识产权

Google itself is not known for its proactivity. It has sued only twice over patents — BT in 2013 and SimpleAir this week — but both were retaliatory¹⁰. By contrast, since 2010 Microsoft has sued 13 times over patents and brought 191 copyright cases, according to data from Lex Machina. Google can point to its relative youth, but Intel also stays clear of courts and licensing despite being almost half a century old.

谷歌自身并不以积极主动著称。它只发起过两次专利侵权起诉——2013年起诉英国电信(BT)和本周起诉SimpleAir，但这两次都属报复行为。相比之下，来自Lex Machina的数据显示，微软(Microsoft)自2010年以来提起了13宗专利诉讼和191宗版权诉讼。谷歌可以说是因为相对年轻，但有半个世纪历史的英特尔(Intel)也选择远离官司和专利纠纷。

There may be good reasons for inaction, beyond friendliness¹¹ or indolence. Companies can be reluctant to sue their own customers, for example. But spinning off intellectual property into a separate company can work in some instances. The entities¹² so created would be freer to monetise the technology — licensing it and suing infringers. As tech companies mature, they need to profit from their earlier innovation. Nortel Networks spun¹³ off its patents into a new vehicle; unfortunately only after it entered bankruptcy¹⁴. AOL, under fire from activists¹⁵, sold a patent portfolio¹⁶ to Microsoft in 2012. Less challenged companies might be forced to look at similar structures in future. 

除了友好和懒惰，不采取行动也有很好的理由，例如，有的公司可能不愿意起诉自己的客户。但剥离知识产权成立一家单独的公司，在某些情况下可能利大于弊。为此设立的公司可以更自由地将技术商业化——通过专利授权或起诉侵权者。随着科技公司逐渐成熟，他们需要从自己早期的创新中获利。北电网络(Nortel Networks)曾剥离其专利业务构成新的公司，不幸的是在其进入破产程序后才这么做。美国在线(AOL)在维权股东的攻击下，在2012年将其专利组合卖给了微软。未来，那些面对的挑战没那么严峻的企业也可能被迫求助于类似结构。

1 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

2 altruistic   

adj.无私的，为他人着想的

参考例句：

• It is superficial to be altruistic without feeling compassion.无慈悲之心却说利他，是为表面。
• Altruistic spirit should be cultivated by us vigorously.利他的精神是我们应该努力培养的。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

5 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

6 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

7 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

8 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

9 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

10 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

11 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

12 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

13 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。