Lessons from Technology and Intellectual Property in the Oil and Gas Industry in Scotland: a Scholarly Journey and an Empirical Review

This article explores the intersection between regulation and community practice in the energy sector in Scotland, from the perspective of providing a base for new approaches to the development of new technologies. Consideration of this is timely, given the possibility of Scotland becoming independent and no longer subject to obligations of the European Union and the World Trade Organisation in respect of intellectual property (IP): Scotland may be able to make new choices in respect of the regulation of innovation. The concurrent presence of particular forms of regulation and sharing in the energy sector suggested an approach which enabled innovation to be encouraged whilst remaining attractive to investors and avoiding the significant power conferred by IP (which has itself led to concerns by scholars and activists). This article analyses a pilot set of empirical interviews testing the intersection between the regulation and sharing, in which it was established that they are quite distinct; one could not argue, then, for the suggested approach on the basis that it drew from the established practice in a successful industry. The regulation and sharing practices provide a solution, however, to a new issue which arose from the interviews - the comparative lack of embracing of new technologies in the oil and gas industry in Scotland. If it is adopted, analysis of this solution would contribute to the scholarly debate regarding private and public control of innovation and technologies.