2nd TILEC Conference on Competition, Standardization, and Innovation

Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) is hosting a 2nd TILEC Conference on Competition, Standardization, and Innovation December 18-19, 2017 in Tilburg, the Netherlands.  Here is a description:

Innovation is widely recognized to be the main driver of economic growth. Yet, much remains to be learned about how the economic and institutional environment affects the incentives to innovate. Although competition in both R&D and product markets is known to play an important role for innovation, open questions abound. It is not well understood to which extent competition policy can and should take into account dynamic efficiency concerns. Recent years have seen much debate about the functioning of the patent system. Has it become an impediment to, rather than a catalyst of, innovation? In high-tech industries, where products often combine multiple components, the need for interoperability has enhanced the importance of standardization. But how should the standard setting process be organized to best promote investment in, and use of, technology?

The goal of this interdisciplinary conference is to bring together economists and legal scholars in order to advance our understanding of the relationships between competition, standardization, and innovation, as well as their implications for public policy. It aims at fostering exchange between the two disciplines in this field where complementarities between law and economics are particularly strong. Papers need not display use of both legal science and economics, but speakers will be invited to make their results accessible to a mixed audience.

Research of the highest scientific or scholarly quality will be selected, independently of the field of origin and methods used (theory, empirics, experimental research, case study, etc.), provided it sheds light on at least two, and preferably three, of the relevant dimensions (i.e., competition, standardization, and innovation).

Specific topics (non-exhaustive list)

• The relationship between competition and innovation
• The effect of legal institutions on the incentives for innovation
• The treatment of innovation incentives by competition policy
• Competition policy in innovative sectors
• The implications of big data for competition and innovation
• The treatment of standardization processes under competition law
• The treatment of standardization processes under international trade law
• Institutional design of standard-setting organizations
• Fair and reasonable terms for licensing standard-essential patents
• Optimal design of intellectual property regimes
• Alternative incentive mechanisms for fostering innovation

Here is a link to the conference website, for further information.  The deadline for submission of papers is September 15, 2017.  I spoke at the first of these conferences in December 2015, and based on my experience I would highly recommend the event.