lower than the social planner's benchmark, which suggests a role for patent policy. We focus on a “non-infringing inventive … instrument in the form of patent length policy …

patentability standards at PTOs (Patent and Trademark Offices awarding so-called bad patents), not only “false innovators” have the … chance of being granted patents but also, and more interestingly, “true innovators” are forced to patent more intensively … distortions caused by bad patents. Moreover, we show that introducing a two-tiered patent system is unlikely to improve market …

the optimal mix of patent and trade secrets when the innovator faces a strict novelty requirement and can only patent a … innovator can successively patent different fragments of the process. We compare a regime with prior user rights, when the …

In this paper we develop a theory of patenting in which a firm preserves its reputation to only apply for a patent …. In particular, we analyze the merits of different patent systems …

-stage model in which choosing between patent and trade secrecy is affected by three parameters: the patent strength defined as the … small innovations are always patented. Furthermore, medium innovations are patented only when patent strength is … sufficiently high. Finally, we investigate a class of licensing agreements used to settle patent disputes between patent holders …

.S. “exhausts” all rights of the patentee to that item under the Patent Act. This decision goes against the Government's position … that a foreign sale authorized by the U.S. patentee should exhaust U.S. patent rights by default unless the patentee … distribution. PIE subjects the firms that source in the South and sell in the North to the risk of a patent infringement lawsuit …

We examine the Nash equilibria of a game where two national governments set patent breadth strategically. Broader … North can innovate, harmonization of patent breadth lowers welfare relative to the Nash equilibrium. When both countries can … innovate, harmonization toward narrower patent breadth may raise world welfare …

. Domestic innovation is measured as citation-weighted domestic patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO): to account for … to patent at the EPO. Results show that, in the short-run, IPR stimulate innovation. The effect for developing countries …

Recent empirical studies suggest a need for a flexible patent regime responding to industry characteristics. In … practice, sector-specific modifications of patent strength already exist but lack theoretical foundation. This paper intends to … make up for this neglect by scrutinizing in what direction industry characteristics influence optimal patent strength. It …