We present a selective survey of the economic theory of intellectual property rights. After a brief description of the institutional framework, we discuss policy objectives and some basic welfare tradeoffs in intellectual property design. We consider the extent to which social objectives can be...

There is little evidence on the incentives for faculty members to get involved in patenting processes, on the obstacles, and on their perceptions of actions to be taken to successfully support the commercialization of academic knowledge through patents. In this paper we present such an...

Software differs from other electromechanical technologies because of the unique process by which software programs are invented. In particular, software developers create novel executable software programs, which are components of a computer, by conceiving of and specifying such programs solely...

At least since Arrow (1962), economists have believed that strong property rights are necessary for firms to invest in innovation. This belief was a key principle underlying the Bayh-Dole Act, which gave universities the right to own and license federally funded inventions, because the...

In Germany, employers can claim the right to any invention made by their employees, but have to pay a compensation if they do so. Recently this compensation was made subject to a legal reform proposal (and a new law concerning university employees). We set up a simple Principal-Agent model to...

This dataset provides the number of co-inventions (simple patent families) developed jointly by at least two inventors. This indicator is disaggregated by: Inventor country: country of residence of the inventor(s), integral counted; in cases when inventors from more than two countries collaborate,...

This dataset provides the number of inventions (simple patent families) developed by country's inventors, independent of the jurisdictions where patent protection is sought (i.e. all known patent families worldwide are considered). The indicator is disaggregated by: Inventor country, fractional...

This dataset provides the number of co-inventions (simple patent families) developed jointly by at least two inventors. This indicator is disaggregated by: Inventor country: country of residence of the inventor(s), integral counted; Variables: total number of co-inventions, and percentage of...

This dataset provides the number of co-inventions (simple patent families) developed jointly by at least two inventors. This indicator is disaggregated by: Inventor country: country of residence of the inventor(s), integral counted; in cases when inventors from more than two countries collaborate,...

This dataset provides the number of co-inventions (simple patent families) developed jointly by at least two inventors. This indicator is disaggregated by: Inventor country: country of residence of the inventor(s), integral counted; in cases when inventors from more than two countries collaborate,...