Ownership matters: Intellectual Property, privatisation and innovation

This paper discusses a conflict between private defence firms and government procurement agencies related to Intellectual Property management issues that emerged during the privatization process of the main UK defence research establishment. Our analysis questions a common argument found in studies of the defence industries: that a close confluence of interests exists between private suppliers and their public customers, so much so that the boundaries between public and private actors become blurred. Instead, we argue that the tensions between private suppliers and their government customers are jeopardizing the success of process innovations in defence procurement that rely on “partnership” and collaboration between defence and government customers and users.