Based on a survey of the inventors of 9,017 European patented inventions, this paper provides new information about the characteristics of European inventors, the sources of their knowledge, the importance of formal and informal collaborations, the motivations to invent, and the actual use and...

After deriving a model describing the law of evolution of innovators and imitators the article focuses on their relationships under two different scenarios: prey-predator, in which innovators are regarded as preys, and competing species. Analytic results show that among the feasible equilibria...

This paper uncovers over 10 central level and over 150 provincial/municipal level patent targets, mostly to be met by 2015, within a wide range of Chinese policy documents. The analysis suggests there are weaknesses in certain targets due to the absence of important criteria for ensuring patent...

This chapter is concerned with the ‘new’ world of information technology and knowledge intensity. This is a world marked by big investments in R&D, different cost structures and significantly changed demand conditions. You should read this chapter in conjunction with Chapter 19, which deals...

This paper presents more channels through which the optimal patent life is determined in a R&D-based endogenous growth model that permits growth of new varieties of consumer goods over time. Its modeling features include an endogenous hazard rate facing incumbent monopolists, the prevalence of...

A special characteristic of the patent system is that it features multiple patent-policy levers that can be employed by policymakers. In this study, we develop a quality-ladder model to analyze the optimal mix of patent instruments. Specifically, we consider (a) patent breadth and (b) the...

This paper provides a survey on studies that analyze the macroeconomic effects of intellectual property rights (IPR). The first part of this paper introduces different patent-policy instruments and reviews their effects on R&D and economic growth. This part also discusses the distortionary...

This study develops a Schumpeterian growth model to analyze the effects of different patent instruments on innovation. We first analyze patent breadth that captures the traditional positive effect of patent rights on innovation. Then, we consider a profit-division rule between entrants and...

This study develops an R&D-based growth model with basic and applied research to analyze the growth and welfare effects of two patent instruments (a) the patentability of basic R&D and (b) the division of profi�t between basic and applied researchers. We �find that for the purpose of...

This study develops an R&D-based growth model with vertical and horizontal innovation to shed some light on the current debate on whether patent protection stimulates or stifles innovation. We analyze the effects of patent protection in the form of blocking patents. We show that patent...