Abstract
This Ph.D. thesis contains the following three independent chapters."Patents and Follow-On Innovation: Evidence From Patent Renewal Decisions" examines whether patent protection on existing technologies blocks or facilitates technical advances that spur from those existing technologies."The Examination of Continuation Applications and the Problem of Invalid Patents in the U.S." explores how features of the examination process affects examiners' behaviour and, in particular their granting decisions, in the context of continuation applications in hte U.S."Patent Length and Innovation Incentives for Industrial Designs" studies the reaction of inventors to an increase in the term of protection of design patents in the U.S.