about promoting innovation? I argue that empirical progress in patent law depends on greater policy diversity (rather than … more robust theory development about the mechanisms by which innovation policies work. This pluralistic, evidence …Many scholars have wrestled with what I call the “first-order question” in patent law: What policies should we adopt to …

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 …

This paper studies a simple model of experimentation and innovation. Our analysis suggests that patents may improve the … project to implement. A successful innovation can be copied by other firms. Symmetric equilibria (where actions do not depend … equilibria). In contrast to patents, subsidies to experimentation, research, or innovation cannot typically achieve this …

An innovative firm chooses strategically whether to patent its process innovation or rely on secrecy. By doing so, the … firm manages its rival’s beliefs about the size of the innovation, and affects the incentives in the product market … an innovative firm with unknown costs and probabilistic patent validity. Increasing the number of firms (degree of …

Big companies and small innovation factories possess different advantages in a patent contest. While large firms …. Furthermore, acquisitions increase the chances for a successful innovation. -- patent contest ; sequential acquisitions … patent contest with asymmetric firms. In a pre-contest acquisition game large firms bid sequentially for small firms to …

We consider innovation contests for the procurement of an innovation under moral hazard and adverse selection … random quality. Innovation quality is not contractible. We compare two procurement mechanisms -- a fixed prize and a first …