Patent attorney as technology intermediary: A patent attorney-facilitated model of technology transfer in developing countries

Technology transfer (TT) is gaining popularity in the developing countries, but there exist barriers impeding the transfer. Technology intermediaries are believed to be able to mitigate such barriers in the literature, which however seldom considers patent attorneys. We contribute to the extant literature by highlighting that patent attorneys could facilitate TT, particularly in the developing countries (e.g., China). We propose a model to specify how patent attorneys can leverage their expertise and resource to motivate technology players to engage in TT, to identify the potential supply and demand of TT as well as to establish comprehensive IPR protection for TT.