Static inefficiency of compulsory licensing: Quantity vs. price competition.

A common argument against compulsory licensing of intellectual property maintains that it facilitates the entry of inefficient producers, which may reduce social welfare independently of any effects on R and D incentives. We study the issue in a model where the innovative firm, under the threat of compulsory licensing, react strategically by choosing between quantity and price competition. We show that the risk of a reduction in static welfare due to the entry of highly inefficient firms is avoided if licensing entails a royalty per unit of output and zero fixed fee. The rationale behind this result lies in the fact that compulsory licensing threat works as a disciplining device to improve static social welfare, even when the applicant is a high cost inefficient firm.compulsory licensing, essential facilities, entry, welfare

The independent invention defence in a Cournot duopoly model

Maurer and Scotchmer (2002) pointed out that patents may be inferior to other forms of intellectual property in that the independent invention is not a defence to infringement. The authors' analysis refers to situations in which there is an unlimited number of potential entrants by independent duplication. If independent invention were a defence to infringement, the continual threat of entry would induce the patent-holder to license its technology on terms that commit to a lower output price, and this is where the social benefit lies. In this note we extend the analysis to the case of a single potential entrant when the law impose certain restrictions on the contracts that patent holders and licensees can subscribe. We show that these legal restrictions may be partial substitutes for the continual threat of entry by as yet unidentified subjects.Cournot duopoly

Geometric principles of second messenger dynamics in dendritic spines.

Dendritic spines are small, bulbous protrusions along dendrites in neurons and play a critical role in synaptic transmission. Dendritic spines come in a variety of shapes that depend on their developmental state. Additionally, roughly 14-19% of mature spines have a specialized endoplasmic reticulum called the spine apparatus. How does the shape of a postsynaptic spine and its internal organization affect the spatio-temporal dynamics of short timescale signaling? Answers to this question are central to our understanding the initiation of synaptic transmission, learning, and memory formation. In this work, we investigated the effect of spine and spine apparatus size and shape on the spatio-temporal dynamics of second messengers using mathematical modeling using reaction-diffusion equations in idealized geometries (ellipsoids, spheres, and mushroom-shaped). Our analyses and simulations showed that in the short timescale, spine size and shape coupled with the spine apparatus geometries govern the spatiotemporal dynamics of second messengers. We show that the curvature of the geometries gives rise to pseudo-harmonic functions, which predict the locations of maximum and minimum concentrations along the spine head. Furthermore, we showed that the lifetime of the concentration gradient can be fine-tuned by localization of fluxes on the spine head and varying the relative curvatures and distances between the spine apparatus and the spine head. Thus, we have identified several key geometric determinants of how the spine head and spine apparatus may regulate the short timescale chemical dynamics of small molecules that control synaptic plasticity

A Book Review of Laura Ellingson’s Engaging Crystallization in Qualitative Research: An Introduction

Ellingson (2009) might be the first qualitative researcher to contextualize crystallization as a formalized sub-methodology for conducting qualitative research using a nontraditional approach. For Ellingson crystallization depends upon including, interweaving, blending, or otherwise drawing upon more than one genre of expressing data (p. 11). Epistemologically, Ellingson’s feminist and social constructivist approach moves her notion of crystallization past positivism on one end and radical interpretivism on the other end of the qualitative research continuum. She looks beyond the established focus of traditional qualitative research to present crystallization as a holistic approach and radical way of knowing (Ellis & Ellingson, 2000, p. 30, as cited in Ellingson, 2009) by using the metaphors of a crystal and a quilt to frame her inquiry process. She advocates for researchers to interpret meaning of the participants’ personal experiences through poetry, film, theater, dialogue, song, and dance