Patents provide very important incentives for innovative activity by enabling innovators to appropriate innovation rents through the granting of exclusive rights on their innovations. The limit of these exclusive rights is defined by two elements - patent length and patent breadth. Patent length...

The paper examines jointly the decision to patent, the optimal patent breadth decision and how these decisions affect, and are affected by, the innovator's ability to enforce her patent rights. A key result is that patenting may occur even when invoking an infringement trial is not profitable...

The paper examines the relationship between the innovator's patenting and patent breadth decisions as well as how these two decisions affect, and are affected by, the innovator's ability to enforce her patent rights. An important feature of the model is that the entrant may be able, by his...

This paper examines the effect of the introduction of labels for products of biotechnology on the markets for GM, conventional, and organic food products. In addition, the paper analyzes the market and welfare effects of the introduction of consumer-oriented, second-generation GM products....

Innovating firms choose to patent their innovations when patenting allows the appropriation of more rents than do other forms of intellectual property protection (e.g., trade secrecy). The level of innovation rents that can be captured by the patent is mainly determined by the breadth of patent...

The paper models the patenting behavior of the innovator/patent applicant who having invented a drastic product innovation decides on the optimal breadth of protection claimed. The patenting process is modeled as a sequential game of complete information. The patentee acts strategically and with...

The paper examines the economic effects of labeling of food nanotechnology products using an analytical framework of heterogeneous consumers and imperfectly competitive suppliers. Labeling results in increased costs for nanofood producers that in turn increase nanofood prices and reduce their...