Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/142531 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
EERI Research Paper Series No. 20/2008
Publisher: 
Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels
Abstract: 
An extensive empirical literature indicates that, even without formal intellectual property rights, innovators enjoy a variety of first-mover advantages and that `imitation' is itself a costly activity. There is also accumulating evidence that an `open' approach to knowledge production can deliver substantial efficiency advantages. This paper introduces a formal framework incorporating all of these factors. We examine the relative performance of an `open' versus a `closed' (proprietary) regime, and explicitly characterise the circumstances in which an open approach, despite its effect on facilitating imitation, results in a higher level of innovation.
Subjects: 
Innovation
Imitation
Intellectual Property
Openness
Open Source
JEL: 
L17
L5
O3
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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