Knut Blind

There has been continued debate in Europe over whether to change the patentability of software - or so-called computer-implemented inventions - and to follow the US model of allowing software patents.The European debate has shown a severe lack of empirical analysis on the possible impact of software patenting that goes beyond interest-driven rhetoric. This book seeks to address this shortcoming by taking a two-fold approach. Firstly, a survey of German software companies provides a representative overview of both general strategies to protect inventions and opinions regarding the future IPR regime in the context of innovation strategies - including the importance and use of Open Source software. Secondly, a series of case studies illustrate the varying impacts that patents and other protection strategies can have in specific contexts. This book provides both a theoretical overview of the economic impacts and policy implications of software patents, and an empirical foundation upon which to base a discussion on how to shape the intellectual property regime for software. Thus, this volume will be of interest to industrial economists and students, as well as legal scientists and analysts and students of governance in innovation systems. It will also appeal to all policy stakeholders dealing with IPR issues and/or software developing industries.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the important topic of standards, which remains a vastly under-researched field of empirical inquiry. It presents a variety of interesting empirical analyses which reveal the driving forces and the economic impacts of standardization both in the manufacturing and the service sector. The author begins by providing a detailed outline of the various types of standards and their possible economic impacts. Before providing empirical validation of the theoretical arguments, he discusses the influence of standards within the regulatory system. Among the other actors in the standardization process, the author focuses in particular on the role of the firm, which acts as the main impetus for the development and implementation of new standards. He also examines the fundamental link between technical change and standardization, to assess whether this relationship is a virtuous or vicious cycle. In this context, the impact of intellectual property rights within standardization is also highlighted. Another significant aspect is the consequences of standards for trade and their role in fostering or inhibiting international trade flows. Finally, the author investigates the effect on macroeconomic growth where, especially in the new economy, formal standards are a crucial source of codified and publicly available knowledge. The analysis is based on extensive microeconomic, sectoral and macroeconomic data, which allows the author to compare the various economic impacts of standards and derive important policy conclusions. This book is a comprehensive and scholarly treatment of the economics of standards which will undoubtedly inspire further research in the field. It will be required reading for industrial economists, R&D managers and policymakers involved with innovation and trade policy.

Ist das bestehende Patentrecht für Erfindungen im Bereich der Softwareentwicklung angemessen? Weitgehend unklar ist bislang, wie sich die bestehende Rechtspraxis sowie alternative Formen der Patentierung hinsichtlich software-bezogener Erfindungen auswirken. Gleichzeitig sind aber bisher auch die genauen Grenzen der Patentierbarkeit software-bezogener Erfindungen sehr verschwommen. Der vorliegende Band ist das Ergebnis der interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit von Innovationsforschern und Rechtswissenschaftlern. Er bietet eine ausführliche Analyse der ökonomischen Implikationen der Patentierung von software-bezogenen Erfindungen.

Foresight has experienced a great upswing in the last few years, partly in view of the Millenium. Innovations for our Future describes not only the big development trends of the future in research and technology, but also the re-discovery of the Delphi method. The Delphi method is not new, but with further developed methodology it is being used increasingly to take stock of innovative future developments. The book describes results of the widespread national survey of 1998, a German-Japanese comparison, another comparison with the preceding Delphi study as well as its utilization and implementation.

Die Arbeit wurde von der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultat der Universitat Freiburg mit dem Friedrich August von Hayek-Preis 1996 ausgezeichnet. Das Informations- und Kommunikationszeitalter lost neue Risiken fur die Datensicherheit von Kommunikationsverbindungen und damit entsprechenden staatlichen Handlungsbedarf aus. Ausgehend von der Erwartungsnutzentheorie wird zunachst das optimale Ausmass an Sicherheitsmassnahmen abgeleitet. Sodann werden Ursachen fur Fehlallokationen identifiziert und wirtschaftspolitische Losungsmoglichkeiten dargestellt. Eine Fallstudie thematisiert die potentielle Gefahrdung der Informationssicherheit in offenen Kommunikationsnetzen. Es folgt eine Analyse der privatwirtschaftlichen Versicherbarkeit dieser Risiken. Nachfolgend werden Grunde aufgezeigt, warum sich in einem deregulierten Telekommunikationsmarkt keine effiziente Informationssicherheit einstellen kann. Das Schlusskapitel unterbreitet konkrete Vorschlage, wie den drohenden Gefahren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland zu begegnen ist."