Economics of the patent system
Author
Dilek, Ali Nihat
Advisor
Togan, Subidey
Date
2000Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
Since knowledge has “public good” characteristics, it is shown that the price system
cannot determine the efficient allocation and production of knowledge. As a result,
alternative allocative mechanisms are proposed as solutions to the public goods
problem. But knowledge differs from classical public goods. Because of these
differences, various arrangements have been proposed to deal with allocational
problems in the production of knowledge. One of these arrangements refers to the
patent system, where the society is granting private producers of new knowledge
exclusive rights to the use of their creations, thereby forming conditions for the
existence of markets in intellectual property and enabling the originators to collect
fees for the use of their work by others. The thesis is about the economics of patent
protection. After considering the economics of knowledge and discussing the history
of the patent system and characteristics of the U.S. Patent Law, the thesis studies the
international trade dimensions of intellectual property. Thereafter, partial and general
equilibrium models of the patent system are developed for the study of the
characteristics of the patent system and for the analysis of the Trade Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement. It is shown that welfare cost of the
patent system increases with increases in patent duration, degree of love of variety of
the society, and the country size. The North - South patent protection model
developed in the thesis, deals with possible effects of patent duration on technological
differences between these poles. The findings imply that, technological lag between
developed and developing countries is non-decreasing in global patent duration.
Keywords
Patent systemIntellectual property rights
Knowledge
Trade related aspects of intellectual property rights