Private-sector strategy for U.S. technolgy: How to be competitive;

              A Private-Sector Strategy
for U.S. Technology;
HOUU CO Be
competitive./
by WILLIAM C. UpPR\S/Chairman, Control Data
The once-strong competi­tive
position of the United
States in advanced
technology is steadily eroding.
Broadly speaking, our foreign
competitors have greatly acceler­ated
research and development
expenditures, dramatically
increased the number of trained
scientific and technical personnel
available to them, reduced the
cost of capital for their key indus­tries,
reduced needless and
wasteful duplication of
technology development, and
fostered growth in targeted areas.
Clearly, the greatest progress in
targeted industries has been
made by Japan. The Japanese
government has promoted
cooperation among industry
members at the base technology
level. Today, microelectronics and
computers have become their
most highly subsidized industries.
This strategy is an ominous
threat which has serious implica­tions
for the U.S. industry,
because superior microelectronics
and computer technology provide
the critical basis for competitive
advantage. Nor can this country
afford to lag in these semicon­ductor
and computer technologies,
which also underpin the superi­ority
of most of our weapons
systems.
An adequate response requires
increased technological coopera­tion.
It must include cooperation
among large companies, between
large and small companies, and
among industry, academia, and
government.
Large Companies
The United States is needlessly
suffering from an enormous
duplication of research and devel­opment
among large corpora­tions.
The use of basic knowledge
by one party should never
preclude its use by another. For
every corporation to rediscover
what others have already learned
represents waste of the most
pernicious sort.
Companies in high-technology
industries have practiced a variety
of forms of cooperation over the
years. Cross-licensing of patents is
common. Joint ventures among
two or three companies, mainly
short-lived, have proven to be
useful. Technology exchange
agreements, some between firms
participating in the same market,
some between supplier and
customer, as in the case of
semiconductor and computer
firms, are not unusual. Trade
associations and technical confer­ences
are still other forms of
cooperation. But none of these
adequately addresses the dual
needs for large-scale efforts and
the minimization of wasteful
duplication.
Fortunately, these needs are
beginning to be recognized. The
Semiconductor Industry Associa-