The present report gathers 21 contributions received from national Economic and Social Councils (ESCs) and similar institutions, civil society organisations and members of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in relation to their implications and activities regarding the 2012...

Although market transactions for technologies, ideas, knowledge or information are limited by several well known imperfections, there is increasing evidence that they have become more common than in the past. In this paper we argue that these markets change the traditional mindset in which the...

Today counterfeit products are being produced and consumed in all economies. While clothing and fashion accessories dominated counterfeit supply in the past, today's counterfeit goods are in a wide range of simple to sophisticated products including items that have an impact on personal health...

The biotechnology industry is shifting its value creation emphasis from R&D to manufacturing and market. Business models need to keep pace with this evolution. This paper reports on a single-case study of a new biotechnology firm, EpiTan Limited, and the life cycle stages it has progressed...

A new method for making software is stealthily gaining ground in the computer industry, offering a promise of better, cheaper software and the empowerment of the user. The open source movement could revolutionize the software industry...if it succeeds. Open source means software that you are...

Current patent valuation methods have been described charitably as “inappropriate,” “crude,” “inherently unreliable,” and a “guesstimate.” This article provides a more rational and systematic tool than any we have found in the existing literature or relevant case law. We believe...

Developing innovative solutions to problems is no easy task. Firstly there has to be a desire within the individual to seek out the innovative solution; secondly there is the problem of how to identify what constitutes an innovative solution; and finally one has to combat the natural tendency...

This paper analyzes the causes of illegal copying and its effects in the software market across 66countries. By studying the aggregated and joint effects of different variables, the analysis shows thatsupply constraints in the software market, shortage of after-sale support, and characteristics...

Accountable Care Organizations are developing in the United States as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A study is needed to evaluate an emerging issue of ACOs, quality improvement infrastructure, and the pharmaceutical industry. The convergence of these topics has not...

We examine two distinct and important dimensions (e.g. symmetry vs. asymmetry and linearity vs. nonlinearity) of price transmission from international to retail coffee prices in France, Germany and the United States. We show that ignoring these two features of the price transmission process may...