Electronics consortia to impact products for generations

A growing web of collaborative ventures that has spread throughout electronics R&D establishments in recent years is discussed. The ventures cut across corporate and national boundaries, linking military and civilian organisations, private and public sector concerns, and even corporate rivals that are ordinarily fiercely competitive. The primary reason for the increasing emphasis on collaboration is economics; R&D in the semiconductor industry has always been expensive, and technological progress has apparently made it even costlier. A second reason for the trend is that patent enforcement has improved, making more companies willing to share ideas. Collaborative efforts in the US, Europe, and Japan are compared.<>