1.2　Scope and Terminology

In this paper，the objectives of my research include patent rights got in China as well as those invented in foreign countries and have been filed in China.This paper focuses on the transfer of patented“hard”technologies in renewable energy sector，such as equipment，as opposed to“soft”aspects of technology transfer that include the flow of know-how and experience that are not patentable.Moreover，this paper concerns technology transfer through private trade and investment，and thus it does not discuss the issue of public research and development（R＆D）.Finally and most importantly，I focus on private capital trade and investment flows from developed areas into developing areas in China that tend to have problems accessing and absorbing these technologies.

Two important terms are often used in the paper.The first is“the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights（TRIPS）”，which denotes an agreement negotiated in the Uruguay Round.It lays down minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property rights as well as the procedures and remedies for their enforcement.It establishes a mechanism for consultations and surveillance at the international level to ensure compliance with these standards by member countries at the national level.In order to ensure that holders of intellectual property do not abuse the exclusive rights available to them，these rights are subject to a number of limitations，details of which I will describe in Chapter 2.These aim at ensuring a balance between the legitimate interests of right holders and those of users.

The other term frequently used is“compulsory license”.A compulsory license is a special permission to exploit an invention，which is granted without the patent holder's permission.Its purpose is to provide a safeguard against the lack of the use of a patent or the misuse of patent holder's monopoly rights.Article 31 in the TRIPS agreement allows the granting of compulsory licenses when certain procedures are followed and certain terms fulfilled.Under the mechanism of compulsory license，a government allows a third party to use the object of a patent without authorization of the patent owner，while the patent holder is entitled to economic compensation.It is important to clearly distinguish compulsory license from so—called“licenses of right”because some people confuse these two legal mechanisms.Licenses of right are voluntary in nature，whereas compulsory license schemes are non-voluntary.