, using the recently initiated patent reforms in India, we show that stronger patents can actually increase competition …The TRIPs mandate that seeks to harmonize patent laws the world over has been heavily debated especially by developing … countries on the basis that stronger patents are likely to increase market concentration and prices. Contrary to this notion …

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 …