If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it - A Discussion Paper on the Benefits of the Voluntary Market- - Driven Approach to Innovation

For example, a well documented model developed by Henderson and Clark argues that the ability to innovate is not only dependent on the characteristics of the technology (radical or incremental), but also on the knowledge associated with the different technologies.13 The Henderson-Clark Model makes a distinction between the knowledge of different components of a given product and the knowledge of t. [...] The iPhone, for example, was by no means the first of its kind on the market, nor was any of the technology that it used particularly novel; it is, however, expected to be the product that finds the right balance between price, quality, usability, design and features - in this case the integration of the Smartphone and the iPod onto a single platform. [...] Because it takes the risks the business takes the speculative reward".42 Fast forward to the 21st century, the age of the knowledge-based economy and R&D has become one of the most strategically and operationally important elements of the knowledge-intensive company. [...] to what extent the knowledge asset is urgently needed by the innovator, whether it is the only asset in the market that suits the needs of the innovator and whether the seller is aware of the value of his knowledge asset to the prospective innovator), the market and financial positions of the buyer and the seller (i.e. [...] On the Role of IPRs IV.1 The Economic Rationale for the IP System Before discussing the role of IPRs in the process of knowledge creation and innovation, it would be useful to briefly describe the economic rationale underlying the IP system.