We consider a dynamic model of an economy where productive capital can be owned only by the members of an elite oligarchy, because property rights and contracts are effectively enforced only by their private political networks. This private protection entails a degree of ownership security that is good but not perfect. We find that the performance of the economy will depend critically on oligar...

A new and comprehensive treaty on intellectual property rights was established in 1994, within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is called the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights-the TRIPS agreement for short. It requires all WTO member countries to adopt in their laws minimum standards of protection for patents, trademarks, copyrights and ot...

Intellectual property rights are essential in today’s technology-driven age. Building a strategic IP portfolio is economically important from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. Applicable areas in Nanotechnology to which intellectual property rights can apply are presented. Some challenging issues surrounding the acquisition of IP rights in Nanotechnology are also presented. The Import...

One of the most controversial questions in current competition policy is when, if ever, should competition law require a …rm with market power to share its property, notably intellectual property, with its rivals? And if supply is required, on what terms? These questions are discussed with reference to recent law cases including the EC Microsoft judgment of 2007 and the US linkLine case of 2009...

In recent years, the call for strong and clear property rights has grown in law and development circles. In the landmark book The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, de Soto put forth the claim that “strong and clear” property rights, formalized rather than informal, are necessary for economic efficiency and for the protection of the poor, who occu...

This paper describes an effort toward building Arabic cheque databases for research in recognition of handwritten Arabic cheques. Databases of Arabic legal amounts, Arabic subwords, courtesy amounts, Indian digits, and Arabic cheques are provided. This paper highlights the characteristics of the Arabic language and presents the various steps that have been completed to achieve this goal includi...