Abstract

Taiwan is now promoting a new national development scheme--“challenging the year of 2008.”Among variable goals to be achieved narrated in the scheme, to keep up the pace with the global trend, to cop with the competition from mainland China and to build up a new sustainable environment and e-Taiwan can hardly be implemented without subject to cooperation.

The establishment of new technology based industries has long been government's policy. In turns, joint Research and Development becomes essential to most of the major R & D plan, including the basic science research, national R & D plans & industry R & D alliances. This is especially true after Taiwan becomes a member to the World Trade Organization. The harmonization between technology development policy and national competition welfare, the protection of competition benefits among different industries fairly and the maintenance of market competition mechanism all share the same antitrust concern, viz. the possible collusion.

According to the Fair Trade Law of Taiwan, the joint R & D between competitors has been generally prohibited unless the plan is pre-approved by the Fair Trade Commission. Therefore, it becomes necessary to figure out the way to gain a balance between the goals of national development and the welfare of competition policy. Indeed, this has been the core issue to be covered in the research project.

In this research, taking the US, European and Japanese legislative trend as well as their regulations into consideration, a proposed guideline for reviewing R & D cases was recommended. In principle, this guideline follows the global trend of deregulation in dealing with a joint R & D case.

In the draft guideline for reviewing a submitted joint R & D case, this research proposed mainly that;

1. The review should be conducted basing on the market impact evaluation subject to the doctrine of de minimis.

2. To approve a basic R and D case generally.

3. To review a manufacturing related R & D case with so called “negative list” approach.

To review the market distribution or expansion related R & D case according to the general principle of the Fair Trade Law, viz, generally prohibited without an approval in advance. However, it is recommended that the compliance guidance for the participant to be provided by the Fair Trade Commission.