Fragmented property rights and R&D competition

Where product innovation requires several complementary patents, fragmented property rights can be a factor that limits firms’ willingness to invest in the development and commercialization of new products. This paper studies multiple simultaneous R&D contests for complementary patents and how they interact with patent portfolios that firms may have acquired already. We also consider how this interaction and the intensity of the contests depends on the type of patent trade regimes and the product market equilibria that result from these regimes. We solve for the contest equilibria and show that the multiple patent product involves an important hold-up problem that considerably reduces the overall contest effort

Contests with multi-tasking

The standard contest model in which participants compete in a single dimension is well understood and documented. Multi-dimension extensions are possible but are liable to increase the complexity of the contest structure, mitigating one of its main advantages: simplicity. In this paper we propose an extension in which competition ensues in several dimensions and a competitor that wins a certain number of these is awarded a prize. The amount of information needed to run the contest is hence limited to the number of dimensions won by each player. We look at the design of this contest from the point of view of maximizing effort in the contest (per dimension and totally), and show that there will be a tendency to run small contests with few dimensions. The standard Tullock model and its results are encompassed by our framework. -- Die Arbeit untersucht Wettbewerbsstrukturen, in denen die Teilnehmer eines Turniers in mehr als einer beobachtbaren Dimension oder Outputgröße miteinander konkurrieren, und in denen ein Wettbewerber einen Preis gewinnt, wenn er hinsichtlich einer vorgegebenen Anzahl von Dimensionen besser als seine Konkurrenten abschneidet. Es zeigt sich dabei, dass ein Turnierveranstalter, der die Anstrengungen der Turnierteilnehmer maximieren möchte, Turniere mit einer kleinen Anzahl von Outputdimensionen bevorzugen sollte.contest design,multi-tasking,effort incentives

Fragmented property rights and R&D competition

Where product innovation requires several complementary patents, fragmented property rights can be a factor that limits firms’ willingness to invest in the development and commercialization of new products. This paper studies multiple simultaneous R&D contests for complementary patents and how they interact with patent portfolios that firms may have acquired already. We also consider how this interaction and the intensity of the contests depends on the type of patent trade regimes and the product market equilibria that result from these regimes. We solve for the contest equilibria and show that the multiple patent product involves an important hold-up problem that considerably reduces the overall contest effort.fragmented property rights; patents; contests; hold-up; R&D; patent pools; licensing

Contests with multi-tasking

The standard contest model in which participants compete in a single dimension is well understood and documented. Multi-dimension extensions are possible but are liable to increase the complexity of the contest structure, mitigating one of its main advantages: simplicity. In this paper we propose an extension in which competition ensues in several dimensions and a competitor that wins a certain number of these is awarded a prize. The amount of information needed to run the contest is hence limited to the number of dimensions won by each player. We look at the design of this contest from the point of view of maximizing effort in the contest (per dimension and totally), and show that there will be a tendency to run small contests with few dimensions. The standard Tullock model and its results are encompassed by our framework.contest design; multi-tasking; effort incentives

Foreclosure in contests

We consider a contest in which one firm is a favourite as it initially has a cost advantage over rivals. Instead of taking the set of rivals as given, we consider the possibility that the favourite transfers the source of its advantage wholly or partially to a subset of rival firms. The result of this may be foreclosure of those firms that do not receive the cost reduction. We present conditions under which this transfer will be expected to occur, and show that the dominant firm will prefer to grant some rivals the maximum cost reduction even if a partial transfer can be made. Furthermore we consider the welfare properties of excluding some rivals. Applications include lobbying, patent races and access to essential infrastructure.Foreclosure; contest

RENT SEEKING AND THE REGULATION OF A NATURAL RESOURCE

This article analyses rent-seeking behaviour among agents who compete for high future shares of a common natural resource. Rent-seeking behaviour occurs when the agents, based on earlier experience, expect that the distribution of the common natural resource in the future will be dependent on the agents' activities in the past. We show that allocation rules that make rent seeking individually rational, normally lead to scale inefficiency, input mix inefficiency, and fewer participants in the industry than lump-sum allocation rules.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Contests with multi-tasking

"Die Arbeit untersucht Wettbewerbsstrukturen, in denen die Teilnehmer eines Turniers in mehr als einer beobachtbaren Dimension oder Outputgröße miteinander konkurrieren, und in denen ein Wettbewerber einen Preis gewinnt, wenn er hinsichtlich einer vorgegebenen Anzahl von Dimensionen besser als seine Konkurrenten abschneidet. Es zeigt sich dabei, dass ein Turnierveranstalter, der die Anstrengungen der Turnierteilnehmer maximieren möchte, Turniere mit einer kleinen Anzahl von Outputdimensionen bevorzugen sollte." (Autorenreferat)"The standard contest model in which participants compete in a single dimension is well understood and documented. Multi-dimension extensions are possible but are liable to increase the complexity of the contest structure, mitigating one of its main advantages: simplicity. In this paper we propose an extension in which competition ensues in several dimensions and a competitor that wins a certain number of these is awarded a prize. The amount of information needed to run the contest is hence limited to the number of dimensions won by each player. We look at the design of this contest from the point of view of maximizing effort in the contest (per dimension and totally), and show that there will be a tendency to run small contests with few dimensions. The standard Tullock model and its results are encompassed by our framework." (author's abstract

Competitive balance: Information disclosure and discrimination in an asymmetric contest

We study a design problem for an effort-maximizing principal in a two-player contest with two dimensions of asymmetry. Players have different skill levels and an information gap exists, as only one player knows the skill difference. The principal has two policy instruments to redress the lack of competitive balance due to asymmetry; she can commit to an information-disclosing mechanism, and she can discriminate one of the players by biasing his effort. We characterize the optimal level of discrimination to maximize aggregate effort, showing how this inextricably determines the choice of information disclosure. Applications are found in newcomer-incumbent situations in an internal labor market, sales-force management, and research contests

Competition in complementary transport services

Author's accepted version (postprint).Available from 22/01/201