One component of the duration of pending patents - why applicants choose to delay the examination process - is modelled. We use a matched sample of 9597 patent applications to examine this issue. Controlling for differences between patent offices, we find evidence that applicants create...

In this paper, we identify three policy instruments governments have at their disposal to affect the power of patent rights to prevent imitation: the size of the inventive step used to make the patent granting decision, the rigour of the patent examination process and the predisposition of the...

While most developed countries apply the same criteria to determine whether an invention is eligible to be protected by a patent, there are substantial procedural differences in the way in which different patent offices examine a patent application. This means that a patent application may be...

While many firms compete through the development of new technologies and products, it is well known that new-to-the-world innovation is inherently risky and therefore may increase the probability of firm death. However, many existing studies consistently find a negative association between...

Innovation markets are often characterised by market failure because inventions typically incur high fixed costs relative to marginal costs and their intellectual capital is non-excludable. Intellectual property (IP) rights may attenuate this problem by providing legal recourse for firms to stop...