Description
Book SynopsisAn examination of how the patent system works, imperfections and all, to incentivize innovation Do patents facilitate or frustrate innovation? Lawyers, economists, and politicians who have staked out strong positions in this debate often attempt to validate their claims by invoking the historical record--but they frequently get the history wrong. The Battle over Patents gets it right. Bringing together thoroughly researched essays from prominent historians and social scientists, this volume traces the long and contentious history of patents and examines how they have worked in practice. Editors Stephen H. Haber and Naomi R. Lamoreaux show that patent systems are the result of contending interests at different points in production chains battling over economic surplus. The larger the potential surplus, the more extreme are the efforts of contending parties-now and in the past-to search out, generate, and exploit any and all sources of friction. Patent systems, as human creations, are th
Trade ReviewThis new collection of eight essays fills a gap in the scholarship on patent history during the industrial era. The work brings together scholars whose expertise includes law, economics, business, science and technology, political science, and history.... This cohesive published result of their careful collective discussion explores the historical battle over the role that patents play in encouraging innovative activities.... In sum, the essays show the importance of patent law in the modern economic system. Recommended. * CHOICE *
In a new series of essays, The Battle Over Patents, 10 economists, historians and lawyers make a compelling case that patents remain the best, if imperfect, way of rewarding inventors and disseminating knowledge. * Financial Times *
Table of ContentsPreface Stephen Haber and Naomi R. Lamoreaux Introduction Stephen Haber and Naomi R. Lamoreaux Chapter 1. Patents in the History of the Semiconductor Industry: The Ricardian Hypothesis Alexander Galetovic Chapter 2. Do Patents Foster International Technology Transfer? Evidence from Spanish Steelmaking, 1850-1930 Victor Menaldo Chapter 3. Did James Watt's Patent(s) Really Delay the Industrial Revolution? Sean Bottomley Chapter 4. Dousing the Fires of Patent Litigation Christopher Beauchamp Chapter 5. Ninth Circuit Nursery: Patent Litigation and Industrial Development on the Pacific Coast, 1891-1925 Steven W. Usselman Chapter 6. The Great Patent Grab Jonathan M. Barnett Chapter 7. The Long History of Software Patenting in the United States Gerardo Con Diaz Chapter 8. History Matters: National Innovation Systems and Innovation Policies in Nations B. Zorina Khan Index
