Sequential Innovation and Intellectual Property. A Comparison of Empirical and Experimental Findings

The thesis explores the impact of patents on sequential innovation in two distinct industries: software and biopharmaceuticals. It argues that patents may obstruct innovation in the software sector, while their effects in biopharmaceuticals are less clear. By comparing these industries, the research highlights that the characteristics of the software industry align more closely with the experimental framework proposed by Brüggemann et al. (2016), suggesting that biopharmaceuticals occupy a unique position in the debate regarding patents and innovation.