DYSON AND THE BAGLESS VACUUM CLEANER / TUTORIALOUTLET DOT COM DYSON AND THE BAGLESS VACUUM CLEANER / TUTORIALOUT | Page 3

fail to recognise the potential for the DC01. Thirdly, Technology
Transfer experts would point out that the Dyson case is a classic
case of technology transfer- a technology developed for one industry,
i.e. dust extraction from saw mills, is applied to a different
use in a new industry. Hence, it is technology transfer that needs to be
championed and supported further by governments.
Fourthly, as a mechanism for protecting intellectual property, it seems
that patents depend on the depth of your pocket. That is,
they are prohibitively expensive and are almost exclusively for the
benefit of large multi-national organisations. What can be
done to help small businesses without such large pockets and
unlimited financial resources? And finally, many commentators
would argue Dyson was successful partly because he had some
influential contacts that he had established- he was fortunate.
But there may be 100 failed Mr Dysons, littering the business
highways who did not have such contacts. How can governments
try to facilitate inventors like Dyson and ensure that more innovations
succeed? And thereby developing the economic base of
their country.
Reaping the rewards from technological innovation
Since Dyson’s entry into the domestic appliance market two of the
largest world players in the vacuum cleaner market have
responded to the challenge laid down by James Dyson’s bagless
vacuum cleaner, launched in the UK in 1993. Dyson now
accounts for a third of all vacuum cleaner sales in the UK. In 1998
Dyson Appliances sold nearly 1.4 million units worldwide.