This paper develops a model of patent trolls to understand various litigation strategies employed by nonpracticing …

-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 …

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 …

This paper analyzes patent pools and their effects on innovation incentives. It is shown that the pro …-competitive effects of patent pools for complementary patents naturally extend for dynamic innovation incentives. However, this simple … case, the licensing fees reflect the strength of patents. Patent pools of complementary patents can be used to discourage …

innovate, harmonization toward narrower patent breadth may raise world welfare …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 …

stage of the patenting process and the interplay with the patent office. This is followed by considering the perspective of … the patent and trademark offices (PTOs), in particular, acknowledging the limited resources that are available to PTOs …

.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 …