Patent Office in innovation policy: Nobody's perfect

The number of patent applications and "bad" patents issued has been rising rapidly in recent years. Based on this trend, we study the overload problem within the Patent Office and its consequences on the firms' R&D incentives. We assume that the examination process of patent applications is imperfect, and that its quality is poorer under congestion. Depend- ing on policy instruments such as submission fees and the toughness of the non-obviousness requirement, the system may result in a high-R&D equilibrium, in which firms self-select in their patent applications, or in an equilibrium with low R&D, opportunistic patent applications and the issuance of bad patents. Multiple equilibria often coexist, which deeply undermines the effectiveness of policy instruments. We investigate the robustness of our conclusions as to how the value of patent protection is formalized, taking into consideration the introduction of a penalty system for rejected patent applications, as well as the role of commitment to a given IP protection policy.patent office ; patent quality ; congestion ; innovation

Semantic and pragmatic motivations for constructional preferences: a corpus-based study of provide, supply, and present

A select group of transfer verbs can enter into four different constructions: the ditransitive construction (He provided John the money), the prepositional-dative construction (He provided the money to John), a construction with a prepositional theme (He provided John with the money), and a construction with a recipient realized by a for-phrase (He provided the money for John). In this article, we take a close look at three such verbs: provide, supply, and present. Corpus analysis shows that these three verbs display different structural preferences with respect to the for-, to-, and with-patterns. To explain these preferences, the study investigates pragmatic principles (following Mukherjee 2001 on provide) and the role played by semantic factors. An examination of the semantics of the verbs and the lexically motivated constructional semantics of the to, for, and with-patterns shows (i) that the three constructions are not interchangeable, and (ii) that the preferential differences between the three verbs find an explanation in the compatibility between lexical and constructional semantics. The description is mainly based on data from the British National Corpus

Introducing "2.0" functionalities in an ERP

Companies and ERP editors show an increasing interest for the Web 2.0 technologies, aiming at involving the user of a web site in the creation of content. We summarize in this communication what these tools are and give an overview of recent examples of their use in companies. We show on the example of the most recent ERP of SAP, Business By Design, that if "2.0 tools" are now available in some ERPs, their integration in the business processes is not yet fully done. We suggest in that purpose the first draft of a methodology aiming at developing "2.0 business processes" using an ERP 2.0

A new intersecting tunnel structure in the AIMIII[PO3(OH)]2 series for AI = Ag, MIII = In : Analysis of structural relationships.

A new indium hydroxyphosphate containing silver, AgIn[PO3(OH)]2, has been synthesized using hydrothermal method. It crystallizes in the P21/c space group with the cell parameters a = 6.6400(2)Å, b=14.6269(6)Å, c=6.6616(4)A, β=95.681(5)°, V=643.82(6)Å3, Z=4. Its three-dimensional framework, built up of comer-sharing PO3(OH) tetrahedra and InO6 octahedra, presents intersecting tunnels running along and [100] directions, in which the Ag+ cations are located. The presence of hydroxyl groups has been confirmed from IR spectroscopy studies and hydrogen atoms were located from the single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The structural relationships with the other compounds of general formula AΙΜΙΙΙ[PΟ3(OH)]2 are analyz

Biopsychosocial Models of the Development of Childhood Disruptive Behaviors

Hyperactivity/attention problems (HAP) and conduct problems (CP) are common and impairing disruptive behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Previous research has established that HAP and CP are highly comorbid, and that outcomes are worse for youth exhibiting both symptom clusters relative to youth with only one disruptive behavior type. Despite ample evidence that HAP and CP share common etiological factors and maladaptive outcomes, the nature of their developmental association remains unclear. This dissertation clarifies three important characteristics of comorbid HAP and CP development, in two replicate, longitudinal, population samples of youth. First, I test the theory that within-person variation in HAP relates to subsequent within-person in variation CP, but not vice versa. Second, I apply growth mixture modeling to identify comorbid HAP-CP developmental trajectories, as well as their uniquely associated risk factors. Finally, I attempt to replicate a well-known candidate gene by environment interaction as a predictor of CP. Altogether, these analyses expand the literature on the etiologies of HAP, CP, and their cross-construct relations

A 2D model for hydrodynamics and biology coupling applied to algae growth simulations

Cultivating oleaginous microalgae in specific culturing devices such as raceways is seen as a future way to produce biofuel. The complexity of this process coupling non linear biological activity to hydrodynamics makes the optimization problem very delicate. The large amount of parameters to be taken into account paves the way for a useful mathematical modeling. Due to the heterogeneity of raceways along the depth dimension regarding temperature, light intensity or nutrients availability, we adopt a multilayer approach for hydrodynamics and biology. For free surface hydrodynamics, we use a multilayer Saint-Venant model that allows mass exchanges, forced by a simplified representation of the paddlewheel. Then, starting from an improved Droop model that includes light effect on algae growth, we derive a similar multilayer system for the biological part. A kinetic interpretation of the whole system results in an efficient numerical scheme. We show through numerical simulations in two dimensions that our approach is capable of discriminating between situations of mixed water or calm and heterogeneous pond. Moreover, we exhibit that a posteriori treatment of our velocity fields can provide lagrangian trajectories which are of great interest to assess the actual light pattern perceived by the algal cells and therefore understand its impact on the photosynthesis process.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figure

SME and Planning in Supply Chains:a Socio-technical View

The co-existence of large and small companies in nowadays supply chains may led to misunderstandings which are prejudicial to the supply chain performance. Based on several studies in aeronautical supply chains, we list some of typical problems linked to the relationship between large and small companies, and show how the solutions promoted by large companies may in some cases be inadequate. We suggest to use different frameworks suggested in social sciences for better understanding the origins of these problems and provide some guidelines for defining a framework of cooperation between large and small companies, oriented on a better mutual understanding

Patent Office in innovation policy: Nobody's perfect

The number of patent applications and "bad" patents issued has been rising rapidly in recent years. Based on this trend, we study the overload problem within the Patent Office and its consequences on the firms' R&D incentives. We assume that the examination process of patent applications is imperfect, and that its quality is poorer under congestion. Depend- ing on policy instruments such as submission fees and the toughness of the non-obviousness requirement, the system may result in a high-R&D equilibrium, in which firms self-select in their patent applications, or in an equilibrium with low R&D, opportunistic patent applications and the issuance of bad patents. Multiple equilibria often coexist, which deeply undermines the effectiveness of policy instruments. We investigate the robustness of our conclusions as to how the value of patent protection is formalized, taking into consideration the introduction of a penalty system for rejected patent applications, as well as the role of commitment to a given IP protection policy.Les nombres de demandes de brevets et de "mauvais" brevets accordés ont cru rapidement dans les années récentes. Partant de ce constat, nous étudions le problème de congestion dans le processus d'attribution des brevets et ses conséquences sur les incitations à la R&D pour les entreprises. Nous supposons que le processus d'examen des demandes est imparfait et que sa qualité se dégrade sous l'effet de la congestion. En fonction d'instruments tels que les droits de soumission et la sévérité du critère d'inventivité, le système peut conduire à un équilibre avec forte R&D dans lequel les entreprises s'auto-sélectionnent, ou un équilibre avec peu de R&D, des demandes opportunistes et la délivrance de mauvais brevets. Il y a souvent multiplicité d'équilibres, ce qui limite l'efficacité des instruments de contrôle. On montre comment les conclusions se modifient selon la formalisation de la valeur de la protection par brevet, selon qu'est prise en compte la possibilité de pénalités pour rejet de la demande et selon la force de l'engagement contenu dans la politique de protection des droits de propriété intellectuels

Studies on European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Part 1: Variations of wood colour parameters

Colour parameters of European beech were measured using CIELab system. 103 logs from 87 trees in 9 sites were cut into boards to study the variations of wood colour parameters. Both site and tree effect on colour were observed. Patterns of red heartwood occurrence were defined. When excepting red heartwood there was still a highly significant effect of site and tree; differences remained after veneer processing. Axial variations were small, except very near the pith or in red heartwood, suggesting possible early selection at periphery under colour criteria. Red heartwood is darker, redder and more yellow than normal peripheral wood.Comment: to be published in Annals of Forest Science reception 12.8.04; acceptation 15.2.0