A typology on the rationales for intellectual property rights (IPRs), primarily in relation to patents, is developed. The focus is on natural rights and moral rationales, economic incentive rationales, increased competition and 'market protection of entrepreneurial talent' rationales, and the...

This paper examines statistically the dispersion of corporate technological leadership in sectors of rapid development historically. The evidence provided is based on the US patenting of 284 of the largest American and European industrial firms since 1890. It is shown that the diffusion of...

The public discourse advocating increased patenting of academic discoveries, which has led to the approval of legislative measures (such as the Bayh--Dole Act, which is now adopted world-wide in various forms) is based on a set of theoretical arguments, mainly related to knowledge transfer and...