Law, Economics and Institutions Surrounding Innovation

The course starts with a short overview of the institutions that have historically supported innovation, then considers knowledge as a public good, the design of incentive mechanisms such as prizes and intellectual property, different models of cumulative innovation; the relationship of competition to IP licensing and joint ventures, patent and copyright enforcement and litigation, private/public funding relationships; patent values and the return on R&D investment, how venture capital works, intellectual property issues arising from direct and indirect network externalities, the effects of technical protection measures, and globalization.