|
on Intellectual Property Rights |
|
Issue of 2017‒02‒05
seven papers chosen by Giovanni Ramello Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” |
| By: | Gerard Llobet (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Jorge Padilla (Compass Lexecon) |
| Abstract: | It has been commonly argued that the decision of a large number of inventors to license complementary patents necessary for the development of a product leads to excessively large royalties. This well-known Cournot-complements or royaltystacking effect would hurt efficiency and downstream competition. In this paper we show that when we consider patent litigation and introduce heterogeneity in the portfolio of different firms these results change substantially due to what we denote the Inverse Cournot e ect. We show that the lower the total royalty that a downstream producer pays, the lower the royalty that patent holders restricted by the threat of litigation of downstream producers will charge. This effect generates a moderation force in the royalty that unconstrained large patent holders will charge that may overturn some of the standard predictions in the literature. Interestingly, though, this effect can be less relevant when all patent portfolios are weak making royalty stacking more important. |
| Keywords: | Intellectual property, standard setting organizations, patent licensing, R&D investment, patent pools. |
| JEL: | L15 L24 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2016_1608&r=ipr |
| By: | Liu, Yizao; Rabinowitz, Adam; Xuan, Chen |
| Abstract: | The asymmetric farm-retail transmission has been well documented in the general fluid milk market. However, little attention has been given to the possible heterogeneous cost pass-through process of private labels. Given the leading role of private labels in the fluid milk market, it is of special interest to focus on its possible different effect on farm-retail price transmission. In this paper, we examine the heterogeneous effects of private label and branded products on price transmission in the fluid milk market. We incorporate and extend the Error Correction Model (ECM) approach to specify and estimate the farm-retail pass-through using panel data. To capture the heterogeneous effects of brand types on price transmission, we include interaction terms of brand type dummies with increasing and decreasing phases of farm price and then test the asymmetry in farm-retail pass-through for different brand types. Our results indicate that private label and branded milk all show asymmetry in price transmission. However, brand types affect the magnitudes of the asymmetry and private label milk presents the lowest asymmetry in price transmission, compared with national and regional branded milk. One possible explanation is that retail chains have a greater ability to affect prices of their own private label products through integrated distribution channels and thus impose a strong lessening power of the asymmetry in farm-retail price transmission. |
| Keywords: | price transmission, cost pass-through, retail pricing, private label, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252725&r=ipr |
| By: | Arcan Nalca, (Smith School of Business, Queen's University); Tamer Boyaci, (ESMT European School of Management and Technology); Saibal Ray (Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on the uncertainty in consumer taste and study how a retailer can benefit from acquiring that taste information in the presence of competition between the retailer's store brand and a manufacturer's national brand. In this context, we also identify the optimal information sharing strategy of the retailer with the manufacturer as well as the equilibrium product positioning and pricing of the two brands. We model a competitive setting in which there is ex-ante uncertainty about consumer preferences for different product features and the retailer has a distinct advantage in terms of resolving this uncertainty, given his close proximity to the consumers. We identify two important effects of retailer's information acquisition and sharing decisions about consumer taste. The direct effect is that having taste information allows the retailer to make better SB introduction and positioning decisions. The indirect effect is that information sharing enables the manufacturer to make better NB positioning decisions - which in return may benefit or hurt the retailer. Furthermore, we show that these effects interact with each other and the nature of their interaction depends on three external factors: relative popularity of different product features, the vertical differentiation between the two brands, and the cost of store brand introduction. This interaction is most striking when the store brand introduction is not very costly. In this case, if one of the features is quite popular, then the retailer voluntarily shares information with the manufacturer because the indirect effect augments the value of the direct effect - even though this increases the competition between the brands. Otherwise, the retailer refrains from information sharing because the indirect effect then diminishes the value of the direct effect. We also generate managerial insights as to when it is most valuable for the retailer to acquire taste information as well its worth for the manufacturer. |
| Keywords: | uncertain consumer taste, product introduction, store brands, national brands, information acquisition, information sharing, vertical differentiation, horizontal differentiation |
| Date: | 2017–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esm:wpaper:esmt-17-01&r=ipr |
| By: | Heidi L. Williams |
| Abstract: | While patent systems have been widely used both historically and internationally, there is nonetheless a tremendous amount of controversy over whether patent systems – in practice – improve the alignment between private returns and social contributions. In this paper, I describe three parameters – how the disclosure function affects research investments, how patent strength affects research investments in new technologies, and how patents on existing technologies affect follow-on innovation – needed to inform the question of how patents affect research investments, and review the available evidence which has attempted to empirically estimate these parameters. |
| JEL: | H41 K0 O3 O34 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23088&r=ipr |
| By: | Niros, Meletios; Pollalis, Yannis; Niros, Angelica |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this research is to explore any relationship between brand personality and brand image in mobile telecom branded offerings. Furthermore, this paper explores brand image as an antecedent of both perceived quality and consumer behavior. A survey conducted using a “positivism” approach, in which 318 consumers participated through a face to face handing over. Sincerity, competence and sophistication proved to be dominant precursors of brand image. On the other hand, brand image suggests a basic aspect of perceived quality in intangible telecom branded offerings. Moreover, customer satisfaction concerns a mediating factor impacting the relationship between perceived quality and brand attachment. Thus, perceived quality does not guarantee brand attachment and customer satisfaction is the key to achieve that. Hence, fair pricing, low service access costs and consistent IMC are necessary tactics to build brand attachment. The latter, along with customer inertia lead to favorable WoM and customer loyalty. This project provides telecom brand managers with valuable know-how in order to design “out of the box” strategies and tactics. |
| Keywords: | Marketing & Advertising, Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, brand |
| JEL: | M31 |
| Date: | 2017–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76477&r=ipr |
| By: | Juan Alcácer (Harvard Business School, Strategy Unit); Karin Beukel (University of Copenhagen); Bruno Cassiman (IESE Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the strong growth in tools used by firms to protect their intellectual property (IP), develop their know-how, and build and maintain their reputation globally during the last decades. We focus on three tools: patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. We find that, although most IP applications come from a few countries (the United States, European Union, Japan, China, and South Korea), most growth in IP activity has come from middle-income countries, especially in Asia. We observe important differences in the origins of this growth. For example, while in India most applicants were foreign firms, in China most were local. However, most Indian innovations are also applied overseas, while Chinese innovations rarely made it out of China. Interestingly, growth in applications varies by IP tool, with industrial designs experiencing the most growth. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:17-068&r=ipr |
| By: | Mohammed, Rezgar; Murova, Olga; Chidmi, Benaissa |
| Abstract: | The random coefficients multinomial logit model was used to study the demand for yogurt which is differentiated by manufacturer brands and organic information. For this purpose, we used the scanner-level data set collected by the Information Resource Incorporated at the chain level. General Mills and Danone are the two brands with the highest market shares. In general, demand for yogurt has found to be elastic for all brands. On average, consumers are more price-sensitive to non-organic brands than organic brands. Results revealed some degree of brand loyalty and the switching behavior among yogurt consumers. |
| Keywords: | demand, elasticity, yogurt, BLP, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, C25, C26, Q11, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252728&r=ipr |