dynamic competition between Italian firms. At the national level the exclusive allocation of the right to patent inventions to … system of protection (provision of a single patent that is valid in all Member States, the abolition of translation … German), to make it easier for competitors to know which is the valid version of the patent. …

The lag in innovation in Italy vis-�-vis the other main industrial countries is one of the effects of the … suitable than debt for financing innovation, is less common than in other countries. Public incentives for firms have had … modest results. To enhance the capacity for innovation some actions should be taken to help firms grow, adopt a more …

. Equity is a preferable source of external finance for innovation than debt. It does not require collateral, does not …

low by international standards and Italian firms take out only a small number of patents. External sources of innovation … different innovation sources increases the probability of collaboration; and that proximity is more important for small- and …

The paper describes the innovation strategies of a representative sample of Italian firms participating to the Bank of … able to influence the firms� decision of undertaking the innovation process. Even though R&D expenditure and innovation … extent with the firms� ability to introduce an innovation. Moreover, exporting firms have a higher propensity both to …