Rent Check
A new paper finds mixed effects from non-practicing entities, also called “patent trolls.” While they are able to serve as middlemen for firms with IP that they likely won’t use, there are clear negative effects on downstream innovation.
News and Commentary
Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has released an outline for a national right-to-repair plan that would allow farmers to repair their own farming equipment. Currently, there are 20 states with right-to-repair laws that prohibit manufactures from creating monopolies on the repairing of their goods.
The Foundation for Economic Education outlines the three-step government process that has resulted in insane insulin prices: restricting supply, preventing competition, and removing price transparency.
An anonymous redditor is being sued by Watchtower, a group associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses, for copyright infringement. The EFF is defending the redditor, who is a member of the Jehovah’s Witness community and has been posting information about the magazine to Reddit.
Florian Mueller looked at two different Article 13-related stories. First, he questioned the legitimacy of the vote, after it was reported that a number of MPs accidentally pushed the wrong voting button in the close 317-312 vote against allowing votes on specific articles. Then, he expressed mixed views over an Austrian proposal to exempt startups from the Article 13 rules.
He also provided an update on the patent dispute between Apple and Qualcom. Natasha Lomas also gave an update, calling it a “draw”.
Tech Crunch looks at how the 2014 Alice Supreme Court case has changed the way tech companies develop new intellectual property. Without the ability to collect patents to use for fundraising, autonomous vehicle companies have had to be more protective of “trade secrets” in their development processes.
New Research
Are high prices the worst thing about Monopolies? A new study argues that the deadweight loss caused by reduced production from monopolies is actually the most harmful thing about them.
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