Competition, Imitation, and R&D Productivity in a Growth Model with Industry-Specific Patent Protection
-
Malte Mosel
Abstract
Recent empirical studies suggest a need for a flexible patent regime responding to industry differences. In practice, industry-specific modifications of patent length already exist but lack theoretical foundation. This paper intends to make up for this neglect by scrutinizing in what direction industry characteristics influence optimal patent length. It is found that patents ought to be shorter, the more intense competition, the higher R&D productivity, and the more intricate reverse engineering in an industry are. Unlike similar Schumpeterian growth models, this model assumes Cournot competition and introduces an empirically substantiated measure of industry differences in the ability to catch up with a technological leader. It is found that for most empirically plausible cases the familiar inverted-U relation between patent length and growth carries over to the Cournot set-up.
©2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Article
- Introduction: CESifo Conference in Law and Economics - Munich, May 2010
- Damages for Breach of Duty in Corporate Disclosure
- 'Take It or Go to Court': The Impact of Sec. 1a of the German Protection Against Dismissal Act on Severance Payments
- Interjurisdictional Linkages and the Scope for Interventionist Legal Harmonization
- The Law and Economics Analysis of Intellectual Property: Paradigmatic Shift From Incentives to Traditional Property
- Class Actions, Compliance and Moral Cost
- The Law and Economics of Enhancing Cartel Enforcement: Using Information From Non-Cartel Investigations to Prosecute Cartels
- Media and Litigation
- Shooting Rampages and Maintenance of Campus Safety: An Incomplete Contracts Perspective
- Competition, Imitation, and R&D Productivity in a Growth Model with Industry-Specific Patent Protection
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Article
- Introduction: CESifo Conference in Law and Economics - Munich, May 2010
- Damages for Breach of Duty in Corporate Disclosure
- 'Take It or Go to Court': The Impact of Sec. 1a of the German Protection Against Dismissal Act on Severance Payments
- Interjurisdictional Linkages and the Scope for Interventionist Legal Harmonization
- The Law and Economics Analysis of Intellectual Property: Paradigmatic Shift From Incentives to Traditional Property
- Class Actions, Compliance and Moral Cost
- The Law and Economics of Enhancing Cartel Enforcement: Using Information From Non-Cartel Investigations to Prosecute Cartels
- Media and Litigation
- Shooting Rampages and Maintenance of Campus Safety: An Incomplete Contracts Perspective
- Competition, Imitation, and R&D Productivity in a Growth Model with Industry-Specific Patent Protection
