General introduction -- Introduction -- A short history of the patent system -- Foundations of patent systems -- An introduction to patent law and policy instruments -- Introduction -- The optimal patent term -- Patent scope -- Patent breadth -- The non-obviousness standard -- Introduction --...

We discuss the effects of AD-protection in a standard Dixit model of entry deterrence. In an AD-regime, the newcomer is constrained by a minimum-price rule in addition to existing irreversible entrance costs. For minimum prices which lie below the Stackelberg one, we find that AD-rules distort...

For a market of horizontal product differentiation, the paper examines the effects of the level of competition on the firm's decision between a product and process innovation. When firms have to choose between the two types of innovation, it is demonstrated that both firms undertake the product...