This thesis analyses the utilization of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their contribution to economic and technological development and policies to be implemented for the SMEs to make more use of the system in order to reach a desired level of growth. Small and medium-scaled enterprises constitute more than 90 % of all firms almost all over the world and a substantial proportion of employment and turnover. This fact bares the necessity for the SMEs to make more use of the intellectual property rights system which is one of the components of innovation and technological growth, in order to achieve the desired level of economic and technological development. This paper discusses the existing and possible contribution of the IPRs obtained by SMEs to economic and technological development and the policies to be implemented in order to encourage intensive utilization of the system by the SMEs. The results of surveys previously carried out both in Turkey and abroad are incorporated within the results of a survey which was organized in the context of this thesis among 86 enterprises in 12 organized industrial zones all over Turkey. The latter survey measures the IPR utilization of the SMEs and the reasons behind under-utilization. Among the firms studied, 60 % of them are R&amp / D performers, 34 % have a distinct R&amp / D department while 56 % of them reported to have developed a new product, process or design. However only one third of these innovative firms have had an IP application and the percentage was even lower with IPR supports / only 2.3 % of the firms applied for IPR supports. The main reason for this underutilization of both IPRs and IPR supports was found as lack of awareness. Policy proposals were tried to be put forward depending on the findings of the survey and raising awareness was defined as the most important measure to be taken.

The major themes of this thesis are the impact of Intellectual Property (IP) systems on foreign direct investment spillovers and bilateral FDI flows. This thesis consists of three empirical studies. The first study integrates in the existing theoretical frameworks the distinct effect of the public IP enforcement element of IP systems on FDI horizontal spillovers. By employing a meta-analysis approach and the ordered probit model estimation technique, it finds that the strength of public IP enforcement in a host country has a positive effect on FDI horizontal spillovers but it dampens the positive effect of IP law protection on FDI horizontal spillovers when it becomes too strong. The second empirical study examines the impact of IP systems on FDI vertical spillovers. This study employs a similar conceptual and empirical approach and finds that the strength of public IP enforcement has a positive effect on FDI vertical spilloversbut a negative moderating effect on the relationship between the strength of IP law protection and FDI vertical spillovers. In the third empirical study, a gravity model is applied to test the effect of IP systems on bilateral FDI flows in OECD countries. Using the Poisson pseudo-maximum-likelihood, it finds both the strength of IP law protection and the strength of public IP enforcement to have a positive effect on bilateral FDI flows. The broad implication of these findings is that countries should strengthen both their IP law protection and enforcement but apply appropriate measures to mitigate the negative effect resulted from excessive IP protection.

Recent research approaches in semantics based video content analysis require shot boundary detection as the first step to divide video sequences into sections. Furthermore, with the advances in networking and computing capability, efficient retrieval of multimedia data has become an important issue. Content-based retrieval technologies have been widely implemented to protect intellectual property rights (IPR). In addition, automatic recognition of highlights from videos is a fundamental and challenging problem for content-based indexing and retrieval applications. In this thesis, a paradigm is proposed to segment, retrieve and interpret digital videos. Five algorithms are presented to solve the video segmentation task. Firstly, a simple shot cut detection algorithm is designed for real-time implementation. Secondly, a systematic method is proposed for shot detection using content-based rules and FSM (finite state machine). Thirdly, the shot detection is implemented using local and global indicators. Fourthly, a context awareness approach is proposed to detect shot boundaries. Fifthly, a fuzzy logic method is implemented for shot detection. Furthermore, a novel analysis approach is presented for the detection of video copies. It is robust to complicated distortions and capable of locating the copy of segments inside original videos. Then, iv objects and events are extracted from MPEG Sequences for Video Highlights Indexing and Retrieval. Finally, a human fighting detection algorithm is proposed for movie annotation.

Recent research approaches in semantics based video content analysis require shot boundary detection as the first step to divide video sequences into sections. Furthermore, with the advances in networking and computing capability, efficient retrieval of multimedia data has become an important issue. Content-based retrieval technologies have been widely implemented to protect intellectual property rights (IPR). In addition, automatic recognition of highlights from videos is a fundamental and challenging problem for content-based indexing and retrieval applications. In this thesis, a paradigm is proposed to segment, retrieve and interpret digital videos. Five algorithms are presented to solve the video segmentation task. Firstly, a simple shot cut detection algorithm is designed for real-time implementation. Secondly, a systematic method is proposed for shot detection using content-based rules and FSM (finite state machine). Thirdly, the shot detection is implemented using local and global indicators. Fourthly, a context awareness approach is proposed to detect shot boundaries. Fifthly, a fuzzy logic method is implemented for shot detection. Furthermore, a novel analysis approach is presented for the detection of video copies. It is robust to complicated distortions and capable of locating the copy of segments inside original videos. Then, iv objects and events are extracted from MPEG Sequences for Video Highlights Indexing and Retrieval. Finally, a human fighting detection algorithm is proposed for movie annotation.

This thesis carries out empirical investigations of the possible impacts of institutions relating to different aspects of innovation, namely incremental innovation activities, collaborative research and development (R&D) activities and radical innovation outcomes. It comprises three studies. The first empirical study focuses on examining the impact of financial constraints and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on incremental innovation. Using firm-level data from transition countries and employing a two-step probit model with endogenous regressors, this study provides evidence that both financing constraints and strong IPR protection are negatively associated with the incremental innovation activities of firms. Results also confirm that financing constraints faced by firms are significantly influenced by the overall levels of development of financial institutions within a country. The second empirical study looks at the effects of contracting institutions and intellectual property institutions on firms’ collaborative research and development (R&D) activities in developing and transition countries. By employing the Cragg double-hurdle model, this study finds that efficient contract enforcement has a positive effect on the likelihood of firms engaging in R&D partnership and the intensity of firms' expenditures on collaborative R&D. On the other hand, the decision of firms to participate in R&D partnerships and their level of expenditure on collaborative R&D are adversely affected by the strength of IPR protection. The third empirical study investigates the influences of a set of institutions on producing new-to-the-world technologies, as measured by patents. This study is conducted by using a large panel dataset of 98 developed and developing countries over a period of 23 years. Building on the idea production framework, the unconditional quantile regression (UQR) estimates of this study show that along with key research inputs (i.e., existing knowledge stock and resources devoted to R&D), the strength of IPR protection, quality of governance and functioning of financial institutions are also significant determinants of the patent output of a country. The UQR methodology also demonstrates that the effects of institutions on patent production are heterogeneous throughout the various quantiles of patent output distribution. This thesis, therefore, offers an example of how the new institutional economics (NIE) theory is applicable in analysing innovation performances. The findings of this thesis propose useful policy directions that can assist policymakers and managers in accelerating innovation and technological development. / Ministry of Public Administration, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Diese Dissertation behandelt Fragen des Wettbewerbs auf Softwaremärkten. Konkret geht es um folgende Frage: Welchen Einfluss haben kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMUs) auf die Wettbewerbskonditionen in der Softwarebranche vor dem Hintergrund des zunehmenden Einsatzes von rechtlichen Maßnahmen zum Schutze des geistigen Eigentums? Theoretischer Teil: Wir untersuchen theoretisch Übertragungseffekte (Spillovers) zwischen KMUs und größeren Softwareunternehmen im Kontext von gebündelten Produkten (bundling). Während Bundling und die resultierenden wettbewerbspolitischen Optionen in einem statischen Kontext gut verstanden sind, gibt es noch offene Fragen im dynamischen Kontext. Hier untersuchen wir, inwieweit die Standardargumente gegen Bundling an Gültigkeit verlieren. Wir kommen zum Schluss, dass Wettbewerbspolitik in Softwaremärkten in einem dynamischen Kontext Bundling durchaus in Betracht ziehen sollte. Empirischer Teil: Wir untersuchen, ob der zunehmende Einsatz von Schutzrechten durch KMUs dazu führt, dass der Wettbewerb im Bereich der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IuK) zunimmt. Diese empirisch fundierte Arbeit analysiert einen Datensatz von KMUs aus der IuK-Industrie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Softwareherstellern. Mit Hilfe einer Varianzanalyse untersuchen wir den Einfluss von vier Faktoren auf den Einsatz von Schutzrechten, nämlich: Globalisierung, rechtliches Umfeld, kooperative Forschung und Open Source Software-Nutzung. / This dissertation focuses on competition within the software market. Specifically it aims to provide further understanding and insights to the following question: In the context of intellectual property rights (IPR), what impact do small and medium sized enterprises (SME) have on competition in the software industry? Normative contribution to the dynamic policy literature: Bundling and the resulting competition policy measures are well understood under static conditions. In this essay, we theoretically examine the spillover exchange between SME and large software firms in the context of bundling. Based on the findings of our static model, we suggest that competition policy in the software market should consider bundling under dynamic competition because it could lead to a different conclusion resulting from the factors unique to the software market e.g., OSS programmers. Positive contribution to IPR literature: We empirically examine whether increased IPR adoption by small and medium sized enterprises enables greater competition within the information and communications sector. The analysis is based on a dataset of SME in the information and communications sector which also includes the software industry. We make use of the analysis of variance in order to study the impact of four factors on SME adoption of intellectual property rights, namely; globalization, legal frameworks, cooperative research and open source software use and development. i