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on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Difei Geng (Vanderbilt University); Kamal Saggi (Vanderbilt University) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the case for non-discrimination in the international protection of intellectual property. If trade is not subject to any frictions then requiring national treatment (NT) in patent protection does not have any consequences for innovation (and welfare) since unfavorable discrimination abroad is fully offset by favorable discrimination at home. In the presence of trade frictions, however, such international offsetting in patent protection is incomplete and innovation incentives are actually lower under NT. The formation of a free trade agreement increases the effective global protection available to members without affecting the protection available to the non-member. |
| Keywords: | Intellectual property rights, patent protection, non-discrimination, national treatment, trade barriers |
| JEL: | F1 O3 |
| Date: | 2013–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:vuecon-sub-13-00017&r=ipr |
| By: | Frietsch, Rainer; Neuhäusler, Peter; Rothengatter, Oliver |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence shows that the distribution of patent applications is highly skewed in terms of company size, with a few large enterprises being responsible for the majority of patent applications. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the other hand, are important players in national innovation systems and are the subject of policy sup-port in many countries. Thus, this study examines the participation rate of SMEs in patenting activities in more detail, differentiating SME patent filings by country and technology area. The analyses are based on a unique, integrated and enriched patent data set of nearly 1.2 million patent applications, built upon PATSTAT data, separating companies into SMEs and large enterprises. The results of descriptive and multivariate analyses reveal that SMEs file fewer interna-tional patents than multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, those SMEs which are active internationally even outperform their larger counterparts in terms of international-ization. It can further be observed that SMEs are more active in emerging technologies, have smaller inventor teams and smaller family sizes on average. Furthermore, patents filed by SMEs are withdrawn more frequently but refused less often. Patents of large firms, on the other hand, have a higher chance of being granted and are cited more frequently. -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:36&r=ipr |
| By: | Eva Dettmann; Iciar Dominguez Lacasa; Jutta Günther; Björn Jindra |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the determinants of spatial distribution of foreign technological activity across 96 German regions (1996-2009). We identify foreign inventive activity by applying the ‘cross-border-ownership concept’ to transnational patent applications. The descriptive analysis shows that foreign technological activity more than doubled during the observation period with persistent spatial heterogeneity in Germany. Using a pooled count data model, we estimate the effect of various sources for externalities on the extent of foreign technological activity across regions. Our results show that foreign technological activity is attracted by technologically specialised sectors of regions. In contrast to existing findings this effect applies both to foreign as well as domestic sources of specialisation. We show that the relation between specialisation and foreign technological activity is non-linear and that it is influenced by sectoral heterogeneity. Externalities related to technological diversification attract foreign R&D only into ‘higher order’ regions. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment, technology, Europe, patent data |
| JEL: | O32 O33 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:12-13&r=ipr |
| By: | Azagra-Caro,Joaquín M.; Consoli,Davide |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the influence of country-specific factors on the degree of reliance on public knowledge among innovators. Using backward citations as our dependent variable we find that national characteristics indicative of the quality of the innovation system generally have a positive effect on knowledge flows. A national bias towards applied research and development (R&D) has a negative impact, but this is moderated by individual public-private cooperation. Overall, our empirical exercise confirms the strong mutual influence of the characteristics of applicants and the attendant institutional context, thus contributing to the debate on the centrality of university/government-industry interaction in the current policy debate. Our sample consists of some 600,000 patents from the EU27 member states in years 1990-2007. The policy implications of our empirical exercise suggest the importance of strengthening the quality of innovation infrastructures and of setting targets for the composition of R&D funding to achieve a balance between patent knowledge production and knowledge flows. Last but not least, this analysis provides broad support for policies aimed at enhancing public-private cooperation to compensate for the effects of strong bias in the direction of national research. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge flows, innovation systems, national innovative capacity, patents, citations |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201304&r=ipr |
| By: | Dornbusch, Friedrich; Neuhäusler, Peter |
| Abstract: | It is generally claimed that universities provide the scientific basis for future technological progress. Still, empirical evidence of the impact of direct links between universities and firms remains weak and is often at least inconsistent. This paper aims at contributing to the literature by analyzing how direct academic involvement affects the output of inventive activities of research teams in different organizational backgrounds. By applying a unique dataset of German academic and corporate patents, we find that boundary-spanning knowledge production with academic inventors raises the innovative performance of SMEs and MNEs. Furthermore, geographical proximity between team members is generally shown to be valuable for team performance in terms of the influence on future technological developments. At the same time, the results indicate that academic involvement helps inventor teams to profit from spatially distant knowledge sources. -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:37&r=ipr |
| By: | Mohammad Tavassoli; Nunzia Carbonara |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effect of variety and intensity of knowledge on the innovative capability of regions. Employing data for Swedish functional regions, the paper tests the role of the variety (related and unrelated) and intensity of (i) internal knowledge generated within the region and also (ii) external knowledge networks flowing into the region in explaining regional innovative capability, as measured by patent applications. The empirical analysis provides robust evidence that both the variety and intensity of internal and external knowledge matter for regions’ innovative capability. When it comes to variety, related knowledge variety plays a superior role. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge intensity, Knowledge variety, Related variety, Unrelated variety, Internal knowledge, External knowledge, Patent applications, Functional regions |
| JEL: | O32 F14 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1317&r=ipr |
| By: | Kulvik, Martti; Tähtinen, Marja; Ylä-Anttila, Pekka |
| Abstract: | This study focused on two primary areas: 1. To determine what can be learned from biotech and drug development companies that suffered from financial problems and ultimately failed at the beginning of the 21st century. 2. To determine how intellectual capital developed in accordance with such companies and its fate following business failure. We examined six failed Finnish biotechnology companies and two major venture capital companies that have invested in Finnish biotechnology companies. We strongly emphasize that this research is only a case-based and very limited feasibility study. Nevertheless, the results were surprising. We found that intellectual capital was indeed created in the companies and that various aspects of this capital could be identified. To a certain extent, we were also able to follow the post-company steps of intellectual capital and the continuity of its value-creation in novel companies. The study was designed to involve only failed companies, but in four cases we found ourselves interviewing leaders of companies that had been created based on the IC of failed companies. It appears that important knowledge has vested by learning from earlier mistakes, and this learning period has created important intellectual capital that has already been exploited by various companies. Research-intensive companies typically operate in fields where failure is an inherent risk. Governments typically support emerging industries based on high-technology because of their growth potential. The combination of high-intensity R&D and high risks creates a problem for all investors. The created value is primarily in the form of intangible assets, which are not captured in traditional accounting and for which no well-established alternative metrics exist. Consequently, in the case of a company failure, most of the created value added is considered lost. This loss not only complicates the justification of government support policies but typically leads to high initial expectations of the sector that are unfortunately often followed by subsequent disappointments. We think that the present concept of failure may be profoundly misleading. |
| Keywords: | Intellectual capital, biotechnology companies, life science, knowledge recycling, venture capital, failed companies |
| JEL: | G24 G33 J24 L65 M13 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:17&r=ipr |
| By: | Ernest Miguélez (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization & AQR-IREA & CReAM); Rosina Moreno (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which regions’ absorptive capacity determines knowledge flows’ impact on regional innovation intensity. In particular, it looks at the role of the cross-regional co-patenting and mobility of inventors in fostering innovation, and how regions with large absorptive capacity make the most of these two phenomena. The paper uses a panel of 274 regions over 8 years to estimate a regional knowledge production function with fixed-effects. Network and mobility variables, and interactions with regions’ absorptive capacity, are included among the r.h.s. variables to test the hypotheses. We find evidence of the role of both mobility and networks. However, inflows of inventors are critical for wealthier regions, while have more nuanced effects for less developed areas. It also shows that regions’ absorptive capacity critically adds an innovation premium to the benefits to tap into external knowledge pools. Indeed, the present study corroborates earlier work on the role of mobility and networks for spatial knowledge diffusion and subsequent innovation. However, it clearly illustrates that a certain level of technological development is critical to take advantage of these phenomena, and therefore “one-size-fits-all” innovation policies need to be reconsidered. |
| Keywords: | absorptive capacity, inventor mobility, spatial networks, patents, regional innovation. JEL classification: |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:201308&r=ipr |
| By: | Hasnas, Irina; Lambertini, Luca; Palestini, Arsen |
| Abstract: | In recent years Open Innovation (OI) processes have been receiving growing attention from the empirical and theoretical economic literature, where a debate is taking place on the aspects of complementarity or substitutability between internal R&D and OI spillover. By means of a differential game approach, we analyze the case of substitutability in an OI setup in a Cournot duopoly where knowledge spillovers are endogenously determined via the R&D process. The game produces multiple steady states, allowing for an asymmetric solution where a firm may trade off the R&D investment against information absorption from the rival. The technical analysis and the numerical simulations point out that the firm which commits to a higher level of OI absorption produces a smaller output and enjoys higher profits than its rival. -- |
| Keywords: | R&D,spillovers,dynamic games |
| JEL: | C73 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:111&r=ipr |
| By: | Soren T. Anderson; Ryan Kellogg; Ashley Langer; James M. Sallee |
| Abstract: | We document a strong correlation in the brand of automobile chosen by parents and their adult children, using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. This correlation could represent transmission of brand preferences across generations, or it could result from correlation in family characteristics that determine brand choice. We present a variety of empirical specifications that lend support to the former interpretation and to a mechanism that relies at least in part on state dependence. We then discuss implications of intergenerational brand preference transmission for automakers’ product-line strategies and for the strategic pricing of vehicles to different age groups. |
| JEL: | D43 L13 L62 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19535&r=ipr |