Policy makers as well as legal theorists argue that Intellectual Property Protection is to provide proper incentives for innovation, especially in cultural industries which rely on a wealth of creative output. Hence, in order to provide incentives ex ante, profits must be secured ex post. However, granting exclusive rights also allows companies to charge higher monopoly prices. The challenge for IP protection is to find the right balance between proper incentives and proper access.
The goal of this PhD thesis is to dispute this challenge and show its weaknesses under certain circumstances. It has the aim to analyze IP protection according to its value for companies, individuals and policy
makers.