Intellectual Property Protection for Fast Evolving Technologies

This paper studies the effects of market competition and intellectual property protection in emerging technologies such as software. In doing so, this research aims at contributing to the ongoing discussion on the possibility of broadening the scope of patent protection, in the EU, in order to cover many of the newly evolving technologies. The model indicates that optimal patent protection is case specific, while its degree of protection should vary depending on the rate of growth of the particular technology, as well as the degree of market competition. The main argument of the paper is that intellectual property protection has a dual effect, allowing the innovator to fully appropriate his R&D, at the cost of limiting the number of innovators who will be able to innovate, reducing knowledge spillovers