Professor Varian's overview analyzes a variety of competitive strategies used by high-tech companies. These strategies - such as personalized pricing, lock-in, and the adoption of uniform compatibility standards to fuel bandwagon effects - often rely on intellectual property, typically...

We study a simple, two-stage, stochastic patent race involving two firms. We examine the behavior of the participants as they gain the lead or fall behind in the race. We find that the leader engages in R&D more intensively than does the follower, and that both firms intensify their efforts if...