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On the Social Desirability of Patents for Sequential Innovations in a Vertically Differentiated Market

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  • Luca Lambertini
  • Piero Tedeschi

Abstract

We consider a market for vertically differentiated goods where firms enter over time, after having developed innovations characterised by different quality levels. We show that patent height and length interact to determine the ultimate emergence of duopoly. In general, imposing quality improvements on later entrants entails the persistence of monopoly, while a duopoly equilibrium emerges when the second innovator is allowed to produce a sufficiently inferior quality and the patent protection granted to the first innovator is not too long-lasting.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Lambertini & Piero Tedeschi, 2006. "On the Social Desirability of Patents for Sequential Innovations in a Vertically Differentiated Market," Working Papers 20060502, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Dipartimento di Statistica.
    • Handle: RePEc:mis:wpaper:20060502
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Colombo, Stefano, 2009. "On the effects of selective below-cost pricing in a vertical differentiation model," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 3, pages 1-13.
    2. Emanuele Bacchiega & Luca Lambertini & Andrea Mantovaini, 2011. "Process And Product Innovation In A Vertically Differentiated Industry," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(02), pages 209-221.
    3. Lambertini, Luca & Tampieri, Alessandro, 2012. "Low-quality leadership in a vertically differentiated duopoly with Cournot competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 396-398.
    4. Wang, Rong-Kuan & Hu, Die, 2017. "Time-cost substitutability, earlycutting threat, and innovation timing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 88-91.
    5. Yi-Ling Cheng & Shin-Kun Peng, 2014. "Price competition and quality differentiation with multiproduct firms," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 207-223, July.
    6. Haejun Jeon, 2016. "Patent litigation and cross licensing with cumulative innovation," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 119(3), pages 179-218, November.
    7. Schubert, Stefanie & Jost, Peter-J., 2015. "Beat the gun - protection against zero-profit imitation," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113045, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; patent height; product quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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