Descriptif

Innovation is widely seen as a key engine of technological progress and economic growth. At the same time, it is a costly and uncertain process for firms: innovation projects involve significant technical risks, and even highly promising inventions do not always translate into profits for the companies that develop them.

In this course, we explore how the innovation process works, what drives it, and what its main impacts are, both at the level of the overall economy and within individual firms. We will also focus on the institutional framework that shapes innovation, with particular attention to the intellectual property (IP) system: by granting temporary exclusive rights over new ideas, IP tools such as patents and trademarks help create incentives to innovate. Finally, we will pay particular attention to firm strategy in an innovative environment.

At the end of this course, students will be able to answer the following questions: 

Understanding Intellectual Property Rights

• What is the purpose of intellectual property (IP) rights?

• What different forms of IP protection are available to innovators?

• What are patents, trademarks, copyrights, and designs—and how are they obtained?

• What alternatives exist to formal IP protection?
  
  

The Institutional Framework for Innovation

• What are the key features of the IP system?

• How does the patent application process work?

• How do you read and interpret a patent document?

• How do you register a trademark?

• What is the territorial scope of an IP right?

• How long do different IP rights remain valid?
  
  

How firms use innovation and IP strategically

• How can firms create and capture value from innovation?

• What determines the economic value of IP?

• How are patents used strategically?

• What are standard-essential patents, and why do they matter?

• What are “patent trolls,” and how can they affect innovation?

• What is involved in patent enforcement and litigation?

• What are patent races and patent thickets?

• How do firms participate in markets for technology?
  
  

How innovation happens at both the firm and the economy level

• What does the innovation process look like in practice?

• What different types of innovation exist?

• What factors stimulate innovation?

• How do innovation, market structure, and competition interact?

• How does innovation differ across industries (e.g., pharmaceuticals vs. software)?

• How and why do governments support innovation through policy?