Intellectual Property Infringement by Foreign Firms: Import Protection through the ITC or Court / James A. Brander, Barbara J. Spencer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brander, James A.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Spencer, Barbara J.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w28496.

NBER working paper series no. w28496

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2021.

Summary:

This paper examines intellectual property litigation as a method of protection from patent-infringing imports. Claims against patent-infringing imports entering the United States may be filed before the International Trade Commission (ITC) or in district court. The ITC applies injunctions (import prohibitions) that would seem to provide more protection from infringing imports than the standard license fee remedy in court. Settlements prior to legal adjudication are common in both venues. Using a model with Nash bargaining and Cournot competition, we show that an ITC filing may restrict imports by less than in court. This result tends to apply if product differentiation is high and the size of the patented cost-reducing innovation is large.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2021.