What's in a Sign ? Trademark Law and Economic Theory

This paper surveys the literature on university patenting. From the point of view of the economic theory of patents, it is argued that patenting knowledge developed by university researchers is paradoxical: patents are normally intended to stimulate knowledge development by providing property rights, but universities operate also under a different incentive scheme, i.e., they receive public funds to perform socially useful knowledge. In the debate surrounding the so-called Bayh-Dole Act in the United States, it has, however, been argued that patents on university inventions may be necessary to stimulate technology transfer from universities to private firms. The first part of the paper addresses two major questions. First, what is the economic logic of Bayh-Dole, and, second, what were the effects on universities and the knowledge they develop.In the second part, the paper addresses the issue of whether "Bayh-Dole-like" legislation would be beneficial for European countries. In a number of European countries, a suggestion has been made that this could enhance knowledge transfer from the public to the private sector. Using a new database resulting from a survey among patent inventors in six European countries, an assessment is given of the degree of university patenting in Europe. Because university researchers are often involved in patented inventions without the university being listed as a patent applicant, statistics based on the patent office databases alone often underestimate university patenting in Europe. The paper ends with a discussion of how this "European practice" of university patenting affects public-private knowledge transfer in Europe, and how this compares to the effects of the Bayh-Dole Act in the U.S.

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“…1 1 But property rights also include copyrights (see Towse, 2006; Liebowitz and Watt, 2006), and trademarks (see Ramello, 2006). …”

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confidence: 99%

University Research, Intellectual Property Rights and European Innovation Systems

Verspagen¹

2006

Journal of Economic Surveys

118

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“…The behaviour of individuals, companies and countries that expropriate such economic benefits can be seen as rent‐seeking if indigenous knowledge is assumed to constitute a public good, or even worse, as free‐riders, if indigenous knowledge is seen as indigenous property. Rent‐seeking behaviour can also be associated with trademarks (see the paper by Ramello (2006) in this issue) or places of origin, but the need for a change is even greater when the rent‐seeking or free‐riding is done on the backs of the most unprivileged and disadvantaged parts of humanity.…”

Section: The Current Patent Law Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property: A Sustainability Agenda

Marinová

Raven

2006

Journal of Economic Surveys

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The paper argues that the current ways of protecting intellectual property are limited in their scope for recognizing indigenous rights to indigenous knowledge. Indigenous knowledge is often defined as being holistic and collectively owned, and an appropriate protection should allow for maintaining the cultural and physical environment that has generated it.After examining the failure of the patent system to recognize indigenous input (using examples from the US Patent and Trademark Office), the analysis is directed towards alternatives. The world's first case of indigenous intellectual accreditation through the partnership between Mt Romance (Australian sandalwood company), Aveda (US-based multinational cosmetics corporation) and the Kutkabubba community (represented by the Songman Circle of Wisdom), is presented. The accreditation allows for the indigenous people to be recognized as traditional owners of the land, and for their care and knowledge about the sandalwood trees. It also gives them a share of the profits made from the contemporary use of the pure sandalwood oil.The paper argues that sustainability, and indigenous sustainability in particular, provides a conceptual framework for a change in the way of protecting intellectual property. This implies that appropriate policies should be put in place for businesses to feel responsible towards the community.

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“…In this context, trademarks can help address possible market failures through two mechanisms (see Economides, ): first, by signalling the origin of the good, trademarks help reduce transaction costs, including the consumers' search costs; second, trademarks provide producers with incentives to invest in the quality of their products in order to maintain the informational value of the brand (Milgrom & Roberts, ). In short, trademarks help promote market efficiency and market power while reducing rent‐seeking behaviour (Ramello, ), information asymmetry (Economides, ) and search costs (Landes & Posner, ). Baroncelli, Fink, and Javorcik () have provided very good stylised facts on the global distribution of trademarks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Internet's impact on trademark applications

Gnangnon

2019

Economic Affairs

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This article assesses empirically the impact of Internet access on the number of trademark applications submitted by countries' residents. The analysis suggests that promotion of access to the Internet influences positively the submission of trademark applications by residents. Greater access to the Internet exerts a stronger positive effect on trademark submissions in developed countries than in developing ones. This positive effect is enhanced when countries further liberalise their trade regimes.

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What's in a Sign ? Trademark Law and Economic Theory

Cited by 75 publications

References 51 publications

University Research, Intellectual Property Rights and European Innovation Systems

University Research, Intellectual Property Rights and European Innovation Systems

Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property: A Sustainability Agenda

The Internet's impact on trademark applications

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