This paper tests a number of hypotheses on the use and effectiveness of patents and trade secrets designed to protect … innovation. While previous studies have often considered patents and trade secrets as substitutes for one another, we investigate …

Many high technology goods are based on standards that require several essential patents owned by different IP holders …

The present paper reconsiders the inside innovators’ licensing problem under incomplete information. Employing an …

Where product innovation requires several complementary patents, fragmented property rights can be a factor that limits … simultaneous R&D contests for complementary patents and how they interact with patent portfolios that firms may have acquired …

Licensing in a patent thicket allows firms to either avoid or resolve hold-up. Firms' R&D incentives depend on whether … study firms' choice between ex ante and ex post licensing. The model shows that firms' relationships in product markets and … technology space jointly determine the type of licensing contract chosen. In particular, product market competitors are more …