Patent Law

China, Patents and Cross-Cultural Innovation

By Les Weinstein, Michael Young, John Leo Wagner, Eric van Ginkel, and Victoria Pynchon

Thanks to Dan Harris in my twitter network (twitter.com/danharris) for leading me to Aimee Barnes' blog and in particular her recent post, U.S.-China Business -- Check Your Stereotypes at the Door.

Building a multi-lingual and multi-cultural team with a wide array of professional experiences will fuel innovation, foster understanding and promote synergy with your global clients. I once read that entrepreneurs bring their best ideas to light following entry into a new environment. Maybe that's why '35 percent of Microsoft's 2008 patent applications in the US came from new inventions by visa and green card holders.' On the other hand, if you're working in an environment where everyone looks like you, talks like you, thinks like you, and rivaled your  college alma mater at one time or another, then you're at an automatic disadvantage in today's international playing field.

Aimee Barnes is a "professional business strategist [who] build[s] bridges between the US and China with effective communications, cross-cultural guidance, demographic analysis and market entry strategies."

Full post as published by IP ADR Blog on April 13, 2009 (boomark / email).