121. Reforming U.S. Patent Policy: Getting the Incentives Right
- Author:
- Keith E. Mascus
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- America's robust economic competitiveness is du e in no small part to a large capacity for innovation. That capacity is imperiled, however, by an increasingly overprotective patent system. Over the past twenty-five years, American legislators and judges have operated on the principle that stronger patent protection engenders more innovation. This principle is misguided. Although intellectual property rights (IPR) play an important role in innovation, the recent increase in patent protection has not spurred innovation so much as it has impeded the development and use of new technologies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and America