This paper offers a new approach to the definition of manufacturing activities, placing them in a broader framework to capture the dynamics of manufacturing in the economy. After discussing why in many cases it may bc appropriate to consider producer services and tnanttfacturing industries...

In the 1990s, patenting schemes changed in many respects: Upcoming new technologies accelerated the shift from price competition towards competition based on technical inventions, a worldwide surge in patenting took place, and the 'patent thicket' arose as a consequence of strategic patenting....