What patents are traded and who trades them? This research aims to determine the main factors affecting a patent's propensity to be traded on the Swedish Market for Ideas, and to what extent. Theories of the Economics of Intellectual Property Transfers constitute the foundation of the research focus, in combination with earlier research. The factors being studied are divided into patent characteristics and firm characteristics. To the extent of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to provide empirical evidence of determinants of the Swedish market for patent transfers. Data is triangulated from three data sources (legal data from EPO, patent data from PATSTAT and firm data from Serrano Database). Hence, a combined data set with extensive information is analyzed by both descriptive statistics and regression analysis to approach four Hypothesis. Through the use of Logit regression model the binary outcome of whether a patent is traded or not is assessed. Furthermore, Negative Binomial estimators and Poisson model address the likelihood of the number of times a patent is being traded. The main findings are; (1a) patents of higher value, indicated by the number of citations, have a higher likelihood to be transferred, (1b) patents of a younger age are more frequently traded. Additionally, (2a) larger firms, to a higher extent, engage in patent transfers. The results are however mixed concerning the effect on firm size on the propensity to change owner. Lastly (2b), transferred patents are mainly within information technologies. In a competitive environment where the share of intangible assets is increasing and a large fraction of patents remain unused, there are efficiency gains to be realized by a developed Market for Ideas. This research, therefore, provides a contribution to a novel research area, with implications for both policy makers and managers, regarding the increased importance of the strategic use of intellectual property.

La tesi doctoral Publicidad comercial y libertad de expresión analitza les conseqüències jurídiques de la protecció de la publicitat i d'altres formes de comunicació comercial mitjançant la llibertat d'informació i d'expressió prevista en els articles 20.1 a) i d) de la Constitució. S'examina, en primer lloc, la jurisprudència dictada pel tribunal Suprem Federal dels Estats Units, el Tribunal Europeu de Drets Humans, el Tribunal Europeu de Justícia i el Tribunal Constitucional Alemany. En segon lloc, la tesi analitza els fonaments econòmics, socials i legals que advoquen per la protecció constitucional de la publicitat comercial. Les conclusions bàsiques del treball apunten a què les comunicacions comercials compleixen les funcions que tradicionalment s'associen a la llibertat d'expressió entre d'altres, promoció de l'autogovern democràtic i foment de l'autonomia individual i que els límits a la seva realització han d'enjudiciar-se d'acord amb el principi de proporcionalitat. / La tesis doctoral Publicidad comercial y libertad de expresión analiza las consecuencias jurídicas de la protección de la publicidad y otras formas de comunicación comercial mediante la libertad de información y expresión prevista en los artículos 20.1 a) y d) de la Constitución. Se examina, en primer lugar, la jurisprudencia dictada por el Tribunal Supremo Federal de los Estados Unidos, el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos, el Tribunal Europeo de Justicia y el Tribunal Constitucional Alemán. En segundo lugar, la tesis analiza los fundamentos económicos, sociales y legales que abogan por la protección constitucional de la publicidad comercial. Las conclusiones básicas del trabajo apuntan a que las comunicaciones comerciales cumplen las funciones que tradicionalmente se asocian a la libertad de expresión entre otros, promoción del autogobierno democrático y fomento de la autonomía individual y que los límites a su realización deben enjuiciarse de acuerdo con el principio de proporcionalidad. / The PhD dissertation Publicidad comercial y libertad de expresión explores the legal consequences of protecting advertising and other forms of commercial speech through freedom of information and expression set forth in articles 20.1 a) and b) of the Spanish Constitution. It discusses, on the one hand, the case-law by the U.S. Supreme Court, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice and the German Constitutional Court. On the other hand, the dissertation analyses the economic, social and legal underpinnings which support the constitutional status of commercial speech. The basic conclusions of the research assert that commercial communications perform functions traditionally associated to freedom of expression among others, fostering democracy and promoting individual autonomy and that limitations to commercial speech ought to be scrutinized with resort to the principle of proportionality.