Book contents
- On the Shoulders of Giants
- Econometric Society Monographs
- On the Shoulders of Giants
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Threads in the Tapestry
- Part II Innovation Theory (I): Cumulative Innovation
- Part III Innovation Theory (II): Law and Economics
- Part IV Club Theory
- Part V Evolutionary Game Theory
- Part VI Public Policy
- Part VII Living Legacy
- Part VIII Epilog
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Part II - Innovation Theory (I): Cumulative Innovation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 October 2017
- On the Shoulders of Giants
- Econometric Society Monographs
- On the Shoulders of Giants
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Threads in the Tapestry
- Part II Innovation Theory (I): Cumulative Innovation
- Part III Innovation Theory (II): Law and Economics
- Part IV Club Theory
- Part V Evolutionary Game Theory
- Part VI Public Policy
- Part VII Living Legacy
- Part VIII Epilog
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
In markets with sequential innovation, inventors of derivative improvements might undermine the profit of initial innovators through competition. Profit erosion can be mitigated by broadening the first innovator’s patent protection and/or by permitting cooperative agreements between the initial innovators and later innovators. We investigate the policy that is more effective at ensuring the first innovator earns a large share of profit from the second-generation product it facilitates. In general, not all the profit can be transferred to the first innovator, and therefore patents should last longer when a sequence of innovations is undertaken by different firms rather than being concentrated in one firm.
- Type
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- Information
- On the Shoulders of GiantsColleagues Remember Suzanne Scotchmer's Contributions to Economics, pp. 44Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017