Economics of innovation: IPR and competition law institutions

From academic year 2025-2026 this course is scheduled in Quartile 1, Timeslot D

The introduction course in the Economics of Innovation (0SV30) introduced the Innovation Systems approach, explained how the (national/regional/sectoral) institutional environment plays an important role in innovative performance of firms, and provided a brief primer on the Intellectual Property Right system. The Economic Policy course (0SV60) already briefly pointed out the role of competition law.

In this course, we take a deeper dive into this institutional environment. We specifically focus on two important systems:

• The Intellectual Property Right system, which allows firms to obtain exclusive rights via patents, copyright and more.
• The regulatory environment, which offers possibilities but also sets restrictions to what firms are allowed to do, in terms of R&D as well as in terms of commercialization. Here, the course focuses on competition law and merger regulation.

By focusing on these two systems, this course bridges economic behaviour at the micro level (firm management) with the policy level perspective.

The course also trains students to apply this knowledge in the context of sustainable technologies. This involves conducting practical analyses utilizing patent data, as well as examining aspects of competition law and merger decisions. Tools and methodologies that can be used to carry out these analysis will be offered to the students.

After completion of the course, the student is able to:

• describe how economics of innovation are shaped by institutions.

• explain how the IPR system and competition law systems affect firm behaviour.

• apply the above knowledge in the context of sustainable technologies by carrying out empirical analyses that investigate how firms deploy strategies that make use of the IPR and competition law systems.

You must meet the following requirements

• Registered for a degree programme other than
• HBO-TOP Applied Physics, Pre-Master

• An Open Access book published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
• Various journal papers, accessible via the TU/e library