This thesis investigates the impact of finance on technological innovation. In the first essay we study the causal relation between informativeness of stock prices and innovative efficiency. Using mutual fund flow-driven price pressure as an exogenous shock, we show that impairment of stock price efficiency diminishes innovative efficiency. In the year following the price-pressure shock, patents per R&D dollar drop by 4.7%, while citations are 26.2% lower. Consistent with market feedback, stock mispricing has a greater effect on innovative efficiency when there is less information available from other sources, such as insider information or peers' stock prices. We do not find evidence supporting alternative explanations such as the endogeneity of mutual fund trading, financing effect, managerial incentive, or shareholder short-termism. Overall, our findings show that stock markets improve real efficiency by providing useful market feedback. The second essay examines the implication of intellectual property protection (IP) to equity financing. Firms can protect IP by either keeping their inventions secret or seeking patent protection and disclosing the inventions. We expect the relative protection conferred by the methods to affect the choice between secrecy and patenting. Further, we expect the manner of IP protection to affect the information released by firms and, hence, their stock liquidity and cost of equity capital. For our empirical analysis, we rely on the exogenous passage of state-level statutes that strengthened trade secret protection. We show that stronger trade-secret protection increased opaqueness and reduced stock liquidity. Firms that raised equity capital after the enactment of trade secret statutes experienced more negative stock market reactions. By contrast, the implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), that strengthened patent protection, improved the transparency and stock liquidity of patenting firms. After TRIPS the stock market reaction to equity offering by these firms was also less negative. Our findings suggest that stronger patent protection encourages more information disclosure and reduces financing frictions, while stronger secrecy protection induces opaqueness and makes equity financing more difficult. In the third essay, we show that corporate investment in R&D declines sharply following a financial-covenant violation, wherein creditors can use the threat of accelerating the loan to press for changes in firm policies. The reduction in R&D is more severe in firms with low R&D efficiency i.e., when firm R&D is less productive in terms of ROA and delivers fewer patents and citations. It is striking that, despite decrease in R&D, covenant-violating firms do not suffer a drop in innovative output (patents and citations-to-patents). These results highlight that lenders are judicious in exercising their control rights after covenant violations and suggest that bank financing can be a viable source of financing for innovative firms.

Coming together to save the Earth. Ten years have passed since the Earth Summit in Rio created such passion and expectations. Whether the Convention on Biological Diversity has met those expectations or not vary from person to person. / Evidently, the Convention on Biological Diversity is complex, not only in its language, but also in its attempt to balance between conservation and sustainable use, and between the providers of and benefiters from biological diversity. / Subsequent to its conclusion, the Parties have strived to achieve these objectives. This thesis attempts to assist in this process by exploring the means of implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and their consequences. / The scope of the thesis is limited to the matters of sovereignty rights and access to genetic resources, in an effort to clear up the uncertainties in the applications of these components. This thesis attempts to contribute a pragmatic perspective to these matters, which, at their core, rely on the crossing points in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This thesis focuses on ways to reconcile property rights in genetic resources with patent rights in invention using genetic resources. It proposes one interpretation of property rights in genetic resources so as to avoid any conflict with patent rights and accordingly, avoid conflict between the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity and those of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. / I hope that the views and proposals expressed in this thesis will be considered along with other diverse approaches to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

在國際貿易日趨活絡的情況下，智慧財產權受侵害之問題，已成為持續關注的問題。本文探討當智慧財產權等無形資產為外國正版商所擁有時，外國政府透過關稅連結下，本國政府將如何制定國內的仿冒查緝率。透過本研究我們發現當外國市場規模較小時，本國政府會將仿冒查緝率定為零；當外國市場規模夠大時，本國政府會將仿冒查緝率定為查緝率上限；而當外國市場規模介於前兩種情形之間時，仿冒查緝率有可能為零或查緝率上限。 / Because of intense international trade, infringement of intellectual property has caught the persistent attentions. This paper analyzes how domestic government decides the optimal enforcement rate through tariff link when the intellectual property is held by a foreign company. We find the domestic government would set the enforcement rate to zero when the foreign market size is small. On the contrary, when the foreign market size is large, the domestic government would raise the enforcement rate to the upper limit. Besides, when the foreign market size is moderate, the enforcement rate would be zero or at the upper limit.

Firms outsource productive tasks to different locations in order to exploit factor price differentials and gain efficiencies from specialization. However, the benefits of outsourcing come with two risks. The first problem occurs when firms share their pre-existing intellectual property (IP) such as database and trade secrets with contractors. While IP is shared to facilitate the outsourcing project, the contractor may behave opportunistically and misappropriate the IP for its own benefit. Since firms derive significant value from their IP, this can lead to severe economic damages in terms of reduced market share and brand value. The second agency problem arises due to non-contractible effort exerted by the contractor. Depending on the outsourced task, shirking can lead to higher costs and poor quality product. In this dissertation, contractual solutions are developed to mitigate these agency problems associated with outsourcing. First, several IP misappropriation cases are enumerated in the context of outsourcing. The existing literature is reviewed and the limitations are addressed in the light of these actual cases. Second, theoretical models are developed by considering two forms of IP misappropriation, depending on whether a R&D contractor emerges as a direct competitor of the principal firm, or the contractor sells the principal?s IP to a competitor. Contracts are developed to implement a ?carrot and stick? strategy, whereby firms share limited IP with their contractor and also provide incentive payments to deter shirking problem. It is shown that complementary strategies like product differentiation, task modularization, and investment in technological solutions can be useful when legal enforcement is weak. It is also demonstrated that even under the possibility of IP misappropriation; firms may gain from outsourcing if in-house inefficiency is high. However, if legal enforcement is weak, outsourcing would entail higher transaction costs. Finally, an event study is conducted to examine the effect of trade secret misappropriation on the value of Lexar. While Lexar is still outsourcing, it is explored how Lexar survived the IP misappropriation problem through product differentiation and marketing strategies.

<p>The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) ia a multilateral international treaty introduced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that came into effect on 1 June 1995. At a basic level it attempted to establish minimum standards for the regulation of intellectual property rights within those countries that are members of the WTO and signatories to it. This thesis served a dual purpose. The first leg was to embark on an investigation into TRIPS, criticallt analyzing the provisions of the Agreement. The important aim here was to analyze and discover whether TRIPS is sensitive to weaker countries. The second leg was to probe within the the legislative framework of South Africa and determine whether South Africa as a &quot / developing copuntry&quot / , has complied with the demands as expressed by TRIPS. This investigation was done with specific reference to South African patent law.</p>

<p>Many critics have questioned whether the protection of the IPRs would benefit developing countries. It was argued in this paper that developing countires have the interest in protecting IPRs as well. However, it was showed that the benefit of this protection can be realized only if there is a fair rule of the game to all players in the multilateral trading system. The general objective of this research was to examine the current status of IPRs protection and the levels of TRIPS compliance by Rwanda in the area of copyright.</p>

For the past two decades, intellectual property law has been the fastest growing and most dynamic field in Indonesia. But, despite impressive and extensive legal reform conducted by the Indonesian government in the area, intellectual property laws remain very difficult to enforce. Ignorance of intellectual property law is widespread within the country and protection of intellectual property rights is both practically and legally weak.

No description available.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität, Dresden, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-154).

Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2007. / "Master of Arts in arbitration and dispute resolution, LW6409 dissertation." Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 1, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.