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on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Srikanth Pai ((Corresponding author), Madras School of Economics, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Behind Government Data Centre, Kotturpuram, Chennai, 600025, India.); Akila Hariharan (Madras School of Economics, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Behind Government Data Centre, Kotturpuram, Chennai, 600025); Naveen Srinivasan (Madras School of Economics, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Behind Government Data Centre, Kotturpuram, Chennai, 600025) |
| Abstract: | We build a tractable model that links institutional dynamics with the private value of innovation. Our approach differs from much of the existing literature in that an inventor does not retain a perpetual monopoly over its use, and the cash flows generated from a new idea are uncertain. In our framework the relevant dimension of institutional quality is enforcement strength. We model institutional strength as a two-state continuous-time Markov chain. This makes the cash flows from innovation stochastic and state-dependent, and hence the incentive to innovate varies with the strength of enforcement regime. Countries alternate between periods of strong and weak enforce-ment, reflecting irregular political and legal events such as reforms, leadership changes, or crises. Our model shows how institutional fragility can alter the incentive to innovate and connects institutional dynamics with cross-country differences in standard of living. |
| Keywords: | institutions, innovation, patents, continuous-time Markov chain, economic growth |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O34 O43 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2026-292 |
| By: | Egbert Amoncio; Alexander Cuntz; Carsten Fink |
| Abstract: | The paper examines how legal certainty shapes protection and appropriation of digital designs such as icons, animations, and layouts. Leveraging the 2012 Apple v. Samsung verdict as a decisive clarification of their protectability and enforceability, we analyze USPTO design patents from 2009–2015 using a matched difference-in-differences approach. We show that legal certainty reduces due diligence costs far more than monitoring costs. This asymmetry lowers the threshold for securing protection, leading to a 9 percent increase in digital design patents. At the same time, appropriation shifted away from licensing toward transfers, with the effect strongest in dense design spaces where monitoring costs remain high despite increased legal certainty. These findings extend transaction cost theory by showing that legal certainty unevenly reduces transaction costs, which in turn alters protection thresholds and shifts appropriation strategies. They also demonstrate how policy changes influence innovation when value is created “under the glass.†|
| Keywords: | Digital designs, Design patents, Appropriation, Transaction costs |
| JEL: | O31 O34 K11 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:97 |
| By: | Christian Peukert; Alexander Cuntz |
| Abstract: | This quantitative study examines how music IP rights are transforming into a global financial asset class, which is having an impact on artists and music ecosystems worldwide. New investors and digital platforms are changing the way creative works and rights are valued and monetised across diverse cultural contexts. By providing empirical evidence of these dynamics and identifying key stakeholders via the data, the study can help inform policymakers and potential changes to IP and other legal frameworks. The research draws on new data sources and original analyses of the latest trends in news media coverage and investment in music rights technology, as well as daily return data from rights trading platforms and information from official IP data sources. |
| Keywords: | Music IP finance, Music rights investment, Copyright registrations, Music royalties |
| JEL: | L82 O34 G24 G32 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:99 |
| By: | Ernest Miguelez; Michele Pezzoni; Fabiana Visentin; Catalina Martínez; Reinhilde Veugelers; Julio Raffo |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the evolving geography of international technological knowledge diffusion over the last four decades using multiple patent-based indicators. We first review the main mechanisms through which knowledge diffuses across borders—including trade and global value chains, foreign direct investment, skilled migration, global science, and markets for technology—highlighting their complementarities and the role of domestic capabilities. We then provide new empirical evidence based on cross-border patent citations, technological trajectories defined by IPC recombinations, patent-to-science linkages, and international patent families. The results reveal persistent asymmetries, with a small group of advanced economies remaining central knowledge hubs, alongside the rising role of emerging countries, especially China. Science-based technologies diffuse farther and faster, while capability constraints continue to limit integration for many regions. |
| Keywords: | Technological knowledge diffusion, Geography, Patents, Citations, Technological trajectories, Science, Patent families |
| JEL: | O34 O33 F14 F23 R12 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:92 |
| By: | Peter Tschmuck; Dennis Collopy; Christian Handke |
| Abstract: | This qualitative study looks at the transformation of music IP rights into a global financial asset class, which affects artists and music ecosystems worldwide, from K-pop markets in South Korea to legacy rock catalogues in the United States, regardless of genre. New investors and digital platforms have emerged and reshape how creative works and rights are valued and monetized across diverse cultural contexts. It seems crucial for policymakers to understand market opportunities and potential risk as well as identify key stakeholders in order to ensure that IP frameworks provide a sustainable economic foundation for the next generation of creative talent. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with industry experts and artists, case studies, and extensive desk research, this study explores the policy implications and economics of music rights trading and investment. |
| Keywords: | Music copyright, IP finance, Music rights valuation |
| JEL: | L82 O34 G24 G32 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:98 |