Designing around patents is prevalent but not often appreciated as a means by which patents promote economic development through competition. We provide a novel detailed empirical study of the extent and timing of designing around patent claims. We study the filing rate of incandescent...

Intellectual property frequently carries with it exclusive rights not only over the primary subject matter of the rights granted, but also over ancillary subject matter that is not within the definition of the primary grant, as for example in the patent doctrine of contributory infringement....

This study explores the effects of experiential learning on the cost of capability development. Drawing from historical data on patenting and licensing activities at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, we find evidence of a curvilinear relationship between experiential learning within a...

We provide evidence that young firms systematically differ from older firms in their innovative output when they enter ‘new to the firm' technological niches. We analyze data from 128 biotechnology firms since their inception and track these firms over time. Our analyses reveal that the...

With the recent liberalization of technology flows, changes in the pattern of domestic invention can be expected in Brazil. This paper models the decision of a firm to engage in innovative activity and to protect the results of that activity. Using a unique firm-level dataset collected for this...

At least since Arrow (1962), economists have believed that strong property rights are necessary for firms to invest in innovation. This belief was a key principle underlying the Bayh-Dole Act, which gave universities the right to own and license federally funded inventions, because the...

Understanding the factors that may produce a sustained rate of innovation is important for promoting economic development and growth. In this paper, we examine the role of human capital in firms' innovation by using a large sample of manufacturing firms from China. We use two firm-level datasets...

Since 1980, a series of legislative acts and judicial decisions have affected the ownership, scope, and duration of patents. These include: the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980; the extension of the maximum patent term in 1994; and the shift from a first to invent standard to a first to file system in 2011. These...

It is shown that spillovers can enhance private returns to innovation if they feedback into the dynamic research of the original inventor (Internalized spillovers), butwill always reduce private returns, if the original inventor does not benefit fromthe advancements other inventors build into...

This study shows for a large sample of R&D-active manufacturing firms that collaborative R&D has a positive effect on firms' patenting in terms of both quantity and quality. When distinguishing between alliances that aim at joint creation of new knowledge and alliances that aim at exchange of...