Parallel Research, Multiple Intellectual Property Right Protection Instruments, and the Correlation among R&D Projects, September 2005

(2005) Parallel Research, Multiple Intellectual Property Right Protection Instruments, and the Correlation among R&D Projects, September 2005. Iowa State University

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Abstract

The choice of a research path in attacking scientific and technological problems is a significant component of firms’ R&D strategy. One of the findings of the patent races literature is that, in a competitive market setting, firms’ noncooperative choices of research projects display an excessive degree of correlation, as compared to the socially optimal level. The paper revisits this question in a context in which firms have access to trade secrets, in addition to patents, to assert intellectual property rights (IPR) over their discoveries. We find that the availability of multiple IPR protection instruments can move the paths chosen by firms engaged in an R&D race toward the social optimum.

Item Type: Departmental Report
Keywords: intellectual property rights, parallel R&D, patent races
Subjects: Business and industry > Economic development
Business and industry
Business and industry > High tech industry
ID Code: 2877
Deposited By: Margaret Barr
Deposited On: 13 Oct 2005
Last Modified: 13 Oct 2005
URI: https://publications.iowa.gov/id/eprint/2877