During the last few decades, the number of patents in information and communication technologies has increased considerably. An increasing number of patents and the associated fragmentation of IP rights have generated a series of potentially problematic consequences. Patent thickets, royalty...

The subject of investigation of this book is the economic effect of intellectual property rights in general, and in particular, the harmonisation of such rights in Europe. The book is built upon two case studies. One is looking at the internal situation of the European Union by analysing the...