On the optimal novelty requirement in patent protection

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.This Licentiate Thesis belongs to the area of economics of immaterial property rights. The aim of the Thesis is to study one of the legal patentability requirements, namely the novelty requirement, in a theoretical general equilibrium model. We study the novelty requirement under the assumption that both an idea as well as research and development investments are needed for an innovation. We assume that ideas are a scarce resource, they are generated via an exogenous process, and that R&D activity is costly. In order to invest in R&D activity, firms must have sufficient incentives to do so. We equate the novelty value of an innovation with the economic value, or utility, it produces. We consider four different versions of this basic setup. In the most satisfactory version there are three parameters: the number of ideas, the survival probability of innovations, and the patent strength. The patent strength is modeled as the probability that the innovator gets to keep the returns from the innovation to her. The model successfully captures the tension between the objectives of the society and an individual innovator, changes in parameters can be traced to aggregate measures, the model is well-behaved both analytically and numerically and the results are intuitive. We show that in this kind of a general setting, the scarcity of research ideas is sufficient to make non-zero novelty requirement optimal. This is a noteworthy result since scarcity is an important element in many optimal patent policy models in the literature. We also study the relationship between novelty requirement and equilibrium investments and show that as a function of the novelty requirement the equilibrium investment takes an inverse-U-shaped form. We also consider novelty both under perfect and imperfect patent regimes. Getting analytical results in a model of cumulative innovations where there are simultaneously two endogenous policy instruments, novelty requirement and patent strength, is left for future research. The current model is also limited in that it is a model of perfect information where strategic behavior is abstracted away

ASCOT: solving the kinetic equation of minority particle species in tokamak plasmas

A comprehensive description of methods, suitable for solving the kinetic equation for fast ions and impurity species in tokamak plasmas using Monte Carlo approach, is presented. The described methods include Hamiltonian orbit-following in particle and guiding center phase space, test particle or guiding center solution of the kinetic equation applying stochastic differential equations in the presence of Coulomb collisions, neoclassical tearing modes and Alfv\'en eigenmodes as electromagnetic perturbations relevant to fast ions, together with plasma flow and atomic reactions relevant to impurity studies. Applying the methods, a complete reimplementation of the well-established minority species code ASCOT is carried out as a response both to the increase in computing power during the last twenty years and to the weakly structured growth of the code, which has made implementation of additional models impractical. Also, a benchmark between the previous code and the reimplementation is accomplished, showing good agreement between the codes.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Computer Physics Communication

Nuorten kannabiksen käyttö, aivojen kehitys ja psykiatriset häiriöt

Kannabis on yleisin nuorten käyttämä laiton päihde.Nuoruus on herkkää aikaa kannabiksen haitoille, sillä keskushermosto kypsyy silloin laaja-alaisesti. Käyttö voi myöhemmin altistaa mielenterveysongelmille ja päihdehäiriölle.Kannabista käyttävien nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten psyykkistä vointia on syytä arvioida rutiinisti, etenkin jos suvussa esiintyy vakavia mielenterveyden häiriöitä

Alcohol use in adolescence as a risk factor for overdose in the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study

Background Overdoses and poisonings are among the most common causes of death in young adults. Adolescent problem drinking has been associated with psychiatric morbidity in young adulthood as well as with elevated risk for suicide attempts. There is limited knowledge on adolescent alcohol use as a risk factor for alcohol and/or drug overdoses in later life. Methods Here, data from The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 study with a follow-up from adolescence to early adulthood were used to assess the associations between adolescent alcohol use and subsequent alcohol or drug overdose. Three predictors were used: age of first intoxication, self-reported alcohol tolerance and frequency of alcohol intoxication in adolescence. ICD-10-coded overdose diagnoses were obtained from nationwide registers. Use of illicit drugs or misuse of medication, Youth Self Report total score, family structure and mother's education in adolescence were used as covariates. Results In multivariate analyses, early age of first alcohol intoxication [hazard ratios (HR) 4.5, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.2-9.2, P < 0.001], high alcohol tolerance (HR 3.1, 95% CI 1.6-6.0, P = 0.001) and frequent alcohol intoxication (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0-3.4, P = 0.035) all associated with the risk of overdoses. Early age of first intoxication (HR 5.2, 95% CI 1.9-14.7, P = 0.002) and high alcohol tolerance (HR 4.4, 95% CI 1.7-11.5, P = 0.002) also associated with intentional overdoses. Conclusions Alcohol use in adolescence associated prospectively with increased risk of overdose in later life. Early age of first intoxication, high alcohol tolerance and frequent alcohol intoxication are all predictors of overdoses.Peer reviewe

The relationships between use of alcohol, tobacco and coffee in adolescence and mood disorders in adulthood

Introduction Alcohol, tobacco and coffee are commonly used substances and use in adolescence has previously been linked to mood disorders. However, few large prospective studies have investigated adolescent use in relation to mental health outcomes in adulthood. The main aim of this study was to examine the prospective associations between alcohol use, cigarette smoking and coffee consumption at age 16 and subsequent mood disorders up to 33 years of age. Methods Data from The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 Study were used and a total of 7660 participants (49.9% male) were included. Associations between alcohol use, cigarette smoking and coffee consumption at age 16 and later diagnoses of major depression and bipolar disorder were examined using multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results Mean number of cigarettes/day (OR, 1.23 [95% CI 1.01-1.50]) and mean volume of alcohol consumption (OR, 1.22 [95% CI 1.01-1.47]), but not frequency of excessive drinking, in adolescence were associated with increased risk for subsequent bipolar disorder after adjustment for sex, parental psychiatric disorders, family structure, illicit substance use, and emotional and behavioral problems at age 16. An association between cigarette smoking and major depression attenuated to statistically non-significant when adjusted for emotional and behavioral problems. No associations were observed between adolescent coffee consumption and subsequent mood disorders. Conclusions This is the first study to report an association of adolescent cigarette smoking and subsequent bipolar disorder diagnosis providing grounds for further research and pointing to a place for preventive measures among adolescents.Peer reviewe