A Generation of Software Patents
This report examines changes in the patenting behavior of the software industry since the 1990s. It finds that most software firms still do not patent, most software patents are obtained [...]
Are Patent Fees Effective at Weeding out Low-quality Patents?
The paper investigates whether patent fees are an effective mechanism to deter the filing of low-quality patent applications. The study analyzes the effect on patent quality of the Patent Law [...]
An Empirical Look at Software Patents
U.S. legal changes have made it easier to obtain patents on inventions that use software. Software patents have grown rapidly and now comprise 15 percent of all patents. They are [...]
Econometric Evidence on the R&D Depreciation Rate
This paper presents estimates of the R&D depreciation rate using survey data on Australian inventions. Its novelty is twofold. First, it relies on direct observation of the revenue streams of [...]
A New Copyright Bargain?: Reclaiming Lost Culture and Getting Authors Paid
Despite having put authors at the forefront of expansionary rhetoric for generations, copyright can’t seem to find a way of actually getting them paid. At the same time, current approaches [...]
Freedom of Artistic Creativity and Copyright Law: A Compatible Combination?
Copyright was originally intended to serve creators as an engine of free expression, protecting them from the interference of others and from all risk of censorship. To this end, a [...]
Entrepreneurial Spillovers from Corporate R&D
This paper documents that corporate R&D investment increases employee departures to entrepreneurship. We use U.S. Census data, and instrument for R&D with its tax credit-induced cost. The ideas or skills [...]
It is Easy to Be Brave from a Safe Distance: Proximity to the SEC and Insider Trading
We use hand-collected data from SEC's litigation releases for insider trading violations to examine the effect of geographic distance on its enforcement activities and insider trading activities. First, we find [...]
Intellectual Property Rights and Standard-Setting Organizations
The role of institutions in mediating the use of intellectual property rights has long been neglected in debates over the economics of intellectual property. In a path-breaking work, Rob Merges [...]
Why “Intellectual Property” is a Misnomer
In this paper we scrutinize the moral case for copyright and patent laws and find it wanting. “Intellectual property” is a misleading description of those laws in their current form; [...]